The Ambulatory Surgery Centre of the Lausanne University Hospital was established in 1995 as a multispeciality unit comprising general surgery, plastic surgery, otorhinolaryngology, orthopaedics and urology. In its first 3 years of activity 873 general surgery procedures were performed, including biopsies, laparoscopies, inguinal hernia repair and vein stripping. An audit of these cases reveale...

UNLABELLED Postoperative pain is a common reason for the delayed discharge and unanticipated hospital admission of out-patients. In this study, we examined the pattern of pain in ambulatory surgical patients and determined those factors that predict postoperative pain. Ten thousand eight consecutive ambulatory surgical patients were prospectively studied. Preoperative patient characteristics, i...

BACKGROUND There are few data that describe the frequency, anesthetic type, provider, or disposition of children requiring outpatient anesthesia in the United States (US). Since the early 1980s, the frequency of ambulatory surgery has increased dramatically because of advances in medical technology and changes in payment arrangements. Our primary aim in this study was to quantify the number of ...

The principal causes of unanticipated admission to the ambulatory surgery unit at Viladecans Hospital between October 1990 and January 1997 were analyzed. Of 7006 patients who underwent outpatient surgery in our facility, 108 were admitted (1.54%). The mean age was 38 years and 93.5% were American Society of Anesthesiologists’ (ASA) physical status classification I and II. The principal reasons...

Surgical treatment of hernia is one of the most common procedures in general popula‐ tion. Since it was traditionally treated as “non‐complex” operation, it is an ideal pro‐ cedure for ambulatory surgery settings. Ambulatory surgery is superior to in‐hospital treatment due to faster patient flow, reduced patient stress, early mobilization, and lower overall costs. Unforeseen hospitalization can...

Successful ambulatory surgery is dependent on analgesia that is effective, has minimal adverse effects, and can be safely managed by the patient at home after discharge. A number of studies have identified that the provision of effective postoperative analgesia is inadequate for a significant proportion of patients. The following discussion details the current available analgesic options for am...