title: Early discharge after operation.
abstract: To assess the feasibility and advantages of short-stay surgery in India, a policy of early discharge was adopted for 386 patients undergoing various major and minor operations. The mean postoperative and total hospital stays of patients admitted for minor surgery were 1.9 and 3.7 days respectively; the corresponding figures for age- and sex-matched historical controls were 7.4 and 11.3 days. The mean postoperative and total stays of patients who had undergone major surgery were 4.1 and 8.0 days respectively; the corresponding control values were 8.9 and 12.5 days. The use of absorbable subcuticular skin sutures helped to shorten postoperative hospital stay and avoided an extra follow-up visit. The overall complication rate in the study group was 9.6 per cent and in historical controls 13.4 per cent (P > 0.05). A total of 2357 hospital bed-days were saved during the study and 95.6 per cent of patients approved of short-stay surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Disciplines, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Narayan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative