Day surgery: a post operative audit

Fifty-five patients were followed up after day surgery for breast lumpectomy. It was found that local infiltration with bupivacaine significantly decreased analgesic requirement in recovery. Almost half of the patients could not be contacted during the 24 hour post-operative follow-up by telephone. 7.1% complained of severe pain despite oral analgesics. 14.3% of patients had queries regarding wound care and 78.6% of the patients were willing to undergo day surgery again. Ongoing patient education and good post operative analgesia are crucial to enable successful establishment of ambulatory surgery. Post-operative follow-up is encouraged to audit clinical and social outcomes of day surgery.