Introducing day case thyroid lobectomy at a tertiary head and neck centre

BACKGROUND

Thyroid lobectomy is considered to be a safe day case procedure by the British Association of Day Surgery. However, currently only 5.5% of thyroid surgeries in the UK are undertaken as day cases. We determine if and how thyroid lobectomy with same-day discharge could safely be introduced in our centre.

METHODS

We analysed all thyroid lobectomy surgeries performed between April 2015 and May 2019. Exclusion criteria included completion surgery, revision surgery, additional procedures and disseminated disease. Outcomes were benchmarked against surgeon-reported complications from the British Association of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgery's 5^th National Audit. Additionally, we reviewed the number of patients who met day case criteria currently in use at our hospital to determine accessibility to the service.

RESULTS

In total, 259 thyroid lobectomy surgeries were undertaken and of these 173 met the inclusion criteria. There was no mortality, return to theatre for evacuation of postoperative haematoma or readmission. There was one postoperative haematoma which was drained at the bedside. Some 47 of the 173 (27.2%) patients met day case criteria currently in use at our centre.

CONCLUSIONS

Day case surgery provides a cost-effective solution to rising bed pressures and a coherent protocol can optimise patient safety and experience.

Single hospital visit elective day-case laparoscopic cholecystectomy without prior outpatient attendance

INTRODUCTION

Eighty percent of all UK elective laparoscopic cholecystectomies (LC) are performed as day-case procedures, but the pre-operative patient pathway has received little attention. In response to local patient feedback, we aimed to introduce a single hospital visit pathway for day-case LC.

METHODS

A single hospital visit pathway for elective LC was piloted alongside standard services. Following telephone consultation, a pack containing procedure information, knowledge questionnaire and consent form were sent. Patients were not excluded on age, BMI or co-morbidity criteria, but recent ultrasonography and liver function tests were required. Patients were operated without attending any clinic or pre-operative service. There was no restriction on surgical or anaesthetic technique. Early surgeon-led telephone follow-up was made post-operatively and patient satisfaction assessed at 3 months.

RESULTS

One hundred and sixty-six patients were referred with 92% transferred to day-case waiting lists following telephone consultation. One hundred and six patients underwent LC without previously visiting the hospital with 85% discharged the same day. Nine percent required post-operative primary care review primarily for wound reviews. Median patient-reported time to normal activities was 4 weeks (range 1-12). Ninety-nine percent reported being satisfied with the single-stop pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

Single hospital visit LC is feasible, safe and acceptable for primary care referral patients with symptomatic gallstone disease without evidence of common bile duct or LFT abnormalities.

Prospective survey to study factors which could influence same-day discharge after elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a tertiary care hospital of a developing country

All laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) patients in our hospital setting are admitted overnight. This article assesses the contribution of factors like postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), postoperative pain and surgical complications to overnight stay after elective LC. This 1-year observational study included patients having normal liver functions undergoing elective LC before 1400 h. The collected data included patient demographics, co-morbidities, PONV, pain scores, complications, surgical time, anesthesia technique, use of prophylactic antiemetics, analgesics, patient satisfaction and desire to have this surgery as day case or in-patient procedure. From 930 LC done per annum, 45.2 % (430/950) patients were included in this study. Prophylactic antiemetic was given in 91.6 %, intraoperative narcotics in 94.2 % patients and multimodal analgesia in 85.3 %. The mean pain score in the recovery and ward was maintained to <4. In the ward, 99.1 % patients were able to start oral fluids after 6 h and were started on oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and paracetamol, and none required parental opioid. The PONV score of more than 2 was observed in only 3.2 % of patients in the ward requiring parenteral antiemetic. Surgical complications in the form of bleeding, visceral injury and bile duct leak were observed in 2 % of patients, which was treated intra-operatively. Satisfaction was observed in 99.3 % and desire to stay overnight in 87.4 % of patients. Factors like postoperative pain, PONV and surgical complications were well managed and were not associated with significant morbidity to justify routine overnight admission. However, majority of the patients desired to stay overnight, which could be improved by counseling and education.

Single hospital visit day case laparoscopic hernia repair without prior outpatient consultation is safe and acceptable to patients

BACKGROUND

For some common conditions, pre-operative clinic visits are often of little value to the patient or surgeon with transfer to the waiting list being predictable. In response to local patient feedback, we introduced a single hospital visit laparoscopic hernia surgery pathway with focus on informed consent, patient-reported outcomes and post-operative interaction with primary care services.

METHODS

A single hospital visit service for elective hernia repairs was created. Patients were not excluded on age, BMI or co-morbidity. Following referral, patients were telephoned by a surgeon. If considered appropriate, a symptom assessment tool, procedure information and consent form were sent. All patients were operated without attending clinic or pre-operative assessment. Surgeon-led telephone follow-up was made at either 2 or 7 days post-operatively and patient satisfaction assessed at 3 months.

RESULTS

A total of 517 patients were referred for single-stop surgery between 2012 and 2015. Median age was 58 (range 20-92), 91 % were male, and mean BMI was 25.6 (17.4-52.0). No patient refused the single-visit pathway. Single-stop patients had higher knowledge questionnaire scores (mean 16 vs. 10, p = 0.01) than patients who had attended clinic. Nine (1.7 %) were requested to attend clinic to confirm diagnosis, and three (0.8 %) were cancelled by their surgeon on the operative day. A total of 393 hernia repairs (331 TEP, 63 open) were performed under general anaesthetic. 92 % were discharged on day zero. Telephone follow-up day two rather than seven decreased attendance to primary care services (25 % vs. 57 %, p = 0.001). At 3 months, 95 % were satisfied and symptom scores were reduced (median 5-0, p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Single-visit surgery appears to extend the patient benefits of laparoscopy by reducing hospital visits without compromising safety. Single hospital visit hernia surgery for unselected primary care referrals is possible and acceptable to patients.