Laparoscopic cholecystectomy as a day surgery procedure

Outcome is presented for 40 consecutive laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed in a public teaching hospital day surgery unit. The unanticipated hospital admission rate on the day of surgery was 17.5% (seven patients) and the majority of these (12.5%; five patients) were due to surgery-related considerations. Two other admissions were due to nausea and vomiting. One patient was admitted to hospital on the second postoperative day with nausea and vomiting. Procedure duration for the day cases averaged 98 minutes (SD25; range 60-167). Recovery room times before discharge averaged 272 minutes (SD 58; range 125-365). Each day surgery patient averaged 3.3 postoperative home visits from community nurses. Most patients (94%) mobilized at home by the second postoperative day and 85% resumed normal activities of daily living by two weeks. At follow-up, 25 patients (76%) stated they were happy to spend the first night at home, but seven (21%) would have preferred to remain in hospital for the first postoperative night. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be performed successfully as a day-case procedure, but long operating and recovery room times and potentially high admission rates suggest that these factors should be considered in cost equations for day-case management of this procedure.