[Safety and feasibility of outpatient hydrocele and spermatocele surgery: a prospective comparative analysis]

Hydrocele and spermatocele are fluid collections within the scrotum. Due to a lack of therapeutic guidelines, treatment is largely based on clinical experience. In German-speaking countries, the gold standard for treatment is surgical management. However, postoperative complications occur relatively frequently. Hydrocele and spermatocele surgeries were recently included in the outpatient surgical reimbursement catalog as hybrid diagnosis-related groups (DRGs). Reliable data on whether safe outpatient performance is feasible are currently lacking.

This study aimed to determine whether postoperative complications (measured as Clavien-Dindo III°) occur more frequently in patients treated in an outpatient setting.

The patients were prospectively assigned to an outpatient group and an inpatient group. A total of 82 patients were included. Postoperative complications were recorded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification 30 days after surgery.

The outpatient cohort showed a significantly higher rate of Clavien-Dindo III° complications (p < 0.05). In addition, outpatient patients significantly more often required antibiotic therapy (Clavien-Dindo II°; p = 0.002). No other risk factors for the development of postoperative complications could be identified.

Outpatient hydrocele and spermatocele surgery appears to be associated with significantly increased complication rates of ≥ Clavien-Dindo II°. Based on these data, outpatient surgery should be questioned. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.