[Surgical indications for partial inpatient and ambulatory surgery of the lower extremities]

Outpatient (ambulatory) surgery has become widely accepted in free-standing outpatient surgery centres and in hospitals covering the field of hand surgery as well as, increasingly, the field of lower-extremity surgery. Three factors are decisive for secure ambulatory surgery: adequate material and personal resources guaranteeing a round-the-clock medical service, outpatient anesthesia which focuses mainly on the perioperative care of outpatient surgery, and a well-informed patient. Under these prerogatives the majority of surgical procedures of the lower extremities are performed on an outpatient basis without any undue risk. This includes also the diagnostic and operative arthroscopy of different joints.