Septal and turbinate surgery: is overnight essential?

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Surgical Outcomes
• Ambulatory Surgery

Background:

• Outpatient septoplasty and turbinate surgery are common but debated.
• Assessing safety and outcomes of these procedures is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate perioperative complications, hospital stay prolongation, and revisits after septoplasty with turbinate surgery.
• Determine the safety of these procedures in an ambulatory setting.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 227 patients undergoing septoplasty and/or turbinoplasty.
• Collected demographic, clinical, surgical, and anesthetic data.
• Primary outcomes included complications, prolonged hospital stay (PHS), and unexpected hospital revisits (UHR).

Main Results:

• Unexpected hospital revisit rate was 4.8% within 48 hours and 6.6% within 30 days.
• Common reasons for revisits included nasal obstruction and epistaxis.
• No intraoperative complications or readmissions after discharge occurred. Turbinate procedures did not increase complication risk.

Conclusions:

• Septoplasty and turbinate surgery show potential for day-case procedures.
• Patient selection is critical for safe and effective ambulatory surgical care.
• While UHR rates were noted, major complications were avoided.