[Ambulatory surgery in a urology department. Analysis of the period 2003-2006].
OBJECTIVE
When talking about day surgery we have to differentiate between minor and major ambulatory surgery. Ambulatory surgery enables the patient to stay in the hospital not more than a few hours, showing similar safety and efficacy than conventional surgery. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the results of an ambulatory surgery program.


METHODS
Descriptive retrospective study of the results of the Ambulatory Surgery in a Urology Department, including 4,185 patients in a four-year period, from January 1st 2003 to December 31st 2006.


RESULTS
In the study period the global substitution rate was 83.6%. The hospital admission rate was 2.5%, most of which were early admissions. Major complications appeared in 26 patients (0.6%), being major bleeding the predominant one. Most complications were minor or mild, and pain at the site of the surgical wound was the most frequent problem found.


CONCLUSIONS
The increase and continuous promotion of ambulatory surgery are more than justified. The high satisfaction among patients undergoing this type of surgery, with a very low number of complications registered, provides us with a valuable tool for health-care expenditure control.
Carrión López
Pedro
P
Servicio de Urología, Hospital de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete, Albacete, España. pedrocarrion1980@hotmail.com
Cortiñas Sáenz
Manuel
M
Fajardo
María José
MJ
Donate Moreno
María José
MJ
Pastor Navarro
Héctor
H
Martínez Córcoles
Benjamín
B
Ruíz Mondéjar
Rafael
R
Salinas Sánchez
Antonio
A
Virseda Rodríguez
Julio Antonio
JA
Martínez Gómez
Llanos
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013511:Minor Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014573:Urology Department, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*