Day-only laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a regional teaching hospital

Day-only laparoscopic cholecystectomy (DOLC) has been demonstrated to be a safe and feasible procedure. The aim of the present study was to introduce DOLC to a busy teaching hospital without a separate day-surgery facility, to identify any problems associated with early discharge, and to determine patient satisfaction.

Over a 2-year period, all patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy under one surgeon were prospectively studied. Patients satisfying criteria for DOLC were offered the procedure. All patients were sent anonymous satisfaction surveys postoperatively.

One hundred and one patients underwent elective laparoscopic cholecystectomies and 41 of these patients were booked for DOLC. Thirty-three (80%) were successfully discharged the same day and there were no complications related to early discharge. Only two of eight unplanned admissions were because of postoperative pain or nausea. Thirty-two (78%) of DOLC patients replied to our survey and of those, 24 (78%) were satisfied with their length of stay. The extra strain placed on day-stay ward resources was reflected in patient survey comments on their care.

Our findings support the evidence that DOLC is safe and feasible. However, in a busy teaching hospital with tight budget constraints and no separate day-surgery facility we found many patients satisfied with their length of stay but not always with the quality of care they received on the day-stay ward. The latter was insufficiently equipped to handle procedures of this complexity. So although in theory DOLC has many advantages, we are unable to institute this as routine practice at this time.