Observations and results
All 600 patients with uncomplicated appendicitis were found eligible
for discharge and were discharged within 24 hours of surgery. All 220
patients selected for same day discharge and operated electively as
first case in morning were successfully discharged from hospital on
same day with average length of stay of 6 hours (range 5 to 8 hours).
The average length of stay for the remaining patients was 16 hours
(range 15 to 22 hours).The average operating time was 45 minutes.
(Range 30 to 75 minutes). There was no significant effect of duration
of surgery regarding postoperative complications and duration of
ambulation after surgery. All patients were mobilized within 2 hours
after surgery. Oral fluids were started within 2 hours of surgery in all
the cases. There were no intraoperative complications. There were no significant
postoperative complications except for pain. Post operatively all
patients had mild tolerable abdominal/shoulder pain, (Numerical
pain rating score 1-3).
There were no re-admissions in my study.
All the patients were followed up on ninth postoperative day and
sutures/staples were removed. During follow-up all patients
complained of mild pain (Score 1-3 Numeric rating scale) for 2 days.
All patients returned to full routine activities within 7 days.
All the patients were happy about early discharge.
All patients were satisfied with the information given and aftercare
provided. All would recommend it to a friend or relative and would
undergo the procedure as a day case again.