[Is there a role for ambulatory management of emergencies?]

The Public Health Code includes the practice of ambulatory surgery. The regulations are well defined and different from the practice of out patients' care. Good practice of this surgery necessitates the will and involvement of the patient, the support of his/her family which means that the operated patient is not alone when he/she returns home after surgery and a medical team remains in contact with the patient. The majority of hand trauma surgical procedures can be performed by ambulatory surgery. Only operations necessitating permanent post-operative care and specific treatment as in the case of intense pain and surgical procedures in multi-trauma require traditional hospitalisation. To this day, there is no or very little litigation related to this surgical practice; the rules and professional obligations are the same as those for surgery with traditional hospitalisation. There are less risks of hospital infections because the operated patient spends only a few hours in the hospital. The rules specify that the proper functioning is under the responsibility of the co-ordinator of the ambulatory surgery unit.