[Day Surgery. Five years of experience and activity].
BACKGROUND
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the management of an integrated unit of Day Surgery in a General Surgery Department.


METHODS
An outline of the first 5 years of activity is presented. Setting of investigation: little provincial hospital. Patients have been selected on a basis of Day Surgery specific features: a total of 1,294 patients. Pathologies treated: inguinal hernias, phlebectasias, phimosis, borsitis, arthritic cysts, tendon cysts, carpal tunnel, Dupuytren's disease ("crispatura tendinum"), lymphadenitis, mammary nodules, hemorrhoids, hydroceles, varicoceles, adipomas. Patients' selection parameters, surgical operation type and modalities, postoperative course, protected discharges from hospital, follow-up and complications have all been carefully recorded.


RESULTS
The most numerous operations were related to hernial pathology (54.32%) and to adipomas (10.81%). The form of anesthesia was mainly loco-regional. Only 4 cases (0.3%) had to be hospitalized for the night after operation.


RESULTS
1 serious wound infection, needing removal of the hernial prosthesis; 1 painful "tumefaction" on the inguinal wound for hernioplastic operation; 3 "seromas" in inguinal hernioplastics.


CONCLUSIONS
Advantages of Day-Surgery: cut in health costs due to the reduction of admissions to hospital; reduction in hospital infections and in surgical wounds; reduction in drug use; thinning of waiting lists; increase of available beds for other pathologies; reduction of disability days; high appreciation index.
U.O.A. di Chirurgia Generale, ASL 16 Regione Piemonte, Ospedale di Ceva (CN), Italy. leandro.iv@tiscalinet.it
L
L
Ivaldi
M
M
Perino
G
G
Gambetta
A
A
Ferro
M
M
Colombini
M
M
Gennaro
G
G
Mura
V
V
Carrozza
M
M
Boetti
E
E
Baracco
P
P
Revetria
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies