Outpatient surgical unit: critical review after the first year of operation.

Introduction: Outpatient surgery has been quickly accepted by many hospitals, showing a lot of advantages, both in the quality of health care and also in hospital management. Following this trend, our Hospital started operating an Outpatient Surgical Unit in May 1997. Objectives: Once we had reached our 'cruising speed', we thought it wise to make a critical review of our experience. Material and methods: We have reviewed 331 patients who underwent surgery during the first year of operation, with special attention to the acceptance of this type of surgery by the population in general, and to the changes in pre-operative and post-operative protocols that this process has caused. Results: The rate of admission was 3.02%, and all of them occurred after 24 h. We found 57 minor complications (spotty dressing, mild inflammatory signs) on the first day assessment, but only 16 patients had refered complications. 91.5% of the questionnaires sent back by the patients qualify the experience as good or excellent. Conclusions: Outpatient Surgery is a good solution for many surgical pathologies, as it is well accepted by the general population. Inclusion and exclusion parameters regarding age, architectural obstacles and post-operative care can become selectively more lax.