Published on Feb 28, 2022

What is Daycare Surgery?

First off Daycare surgery is a modern form of surgery. In this type of surgery, a patient will undergo surgery and also will be discharged the same day. Usually, the surgery will commence in the morning and the patient will be discharged within 24 hours. A patient discharged within that time frame is no excuse for him or her to go about their daily routine.

Daycare surgery through modern has been around for more than a century. Dr. James Nichol, a Scottish surgeon started daycare surgery in 1909. 10 years later, an anesthetist, Ralph Walter decided to set up a unit to handle the daycare surgeries. Many years come and gone surgeons decided to employ the same concept. It is here to stay.

Eligible Patients for Daycare Surgery

Not all patients can undergo the modern form of surgery. Patients who can meet certain conditions as listed below

Obesity: A patient should fall under the Body Mass Index (BMI) range of 30 – 37. Adequate and strict measures would be put in place for the procedure to go on. Patients who are above this range can’t undergo daycare surgery.
Existing Medical Conditions: Previous or current medical conditions like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, etc might or might not undergo this type of surgery. This will be at the discretion of the doctor
Caretakers: There should be someone to take care of you after the surgery. He or she should also be responsible for taking you back home as you can be discharged the same day. In the case of when an emergency might arise, he or she should be capable of bringing you back to the hospital. The caretaker can also ensure that the place the patient stays in after the procedure has to be clean.

Advantages of Daycare Surgery

For Dr. Ralph Walter to setup, up a unit dedicated to daycare surgery saw the importance attached. These advantages have progressed over time and might also fall out of the scope of the importance he might have seen. These advantages are:

Discharge of patient on the same day.
Reduced complications after the procedure.
Fast recovery.
Minimal or no risk associated with general anesthesia.
Lower chance of contacting hospital infection.
Reduced cost for the patient or sponsor.

Recovery from Daycare Surgery

Patient recovery will go through 2 phases. In the 1st phase, the patient’s vitals will be monitored to see if all is stable. During this phase, the patient will experience less vomiting, pain, and dizziness. After this phase comes to the 2nd phase. During the 2nd phase, the patient has to be on consciously good terms after which he or she can be discharged. In a scenario where the patient does not fulfill the 1st phase of recovery, more time will be allocated for the patient to stay in the hospital. In some cases, he or she might spend more than a day in the hospital.

Complications Associated with Daycare Surgery

There are minimal complications associated with this type of procedure. The doctor carrying out the operation would access you a week or 2 weeks into the due date to check for the least complications that can arise. The doctor will go further with the surgery only when it has been determined that there are complications after surgery. Regardless, there might be a few complaints of pain or uncomfortable bowel movements. The patient letting the medical staff know will bring about immediate treatment to resolve those problems.

List of Daycare Surgeries

These surgeries are divided into the respective specialties it falls under. Also, the list provided does not indicate a certain hospital(s) is capable of providing all or some of the procedures. The list is also not a comprehensive or complete one. Daycare surgeries are grouped into specialties like ENT (ear nose and throat), vascular surgery, orthopedics, plastic and cosmetic surgery, general surgery, ophthalmology.

ENT (ear nose and throat)	Gynecology	Orthopedics
Adenoid + Tonsil + Septo + Turbo	I&D of Bartholin Abscess	Knee Arthroscopy
Excision of Scar of Nose + Repair	Hysteroscopy	Elbow Wound Debridement + Skin Graft
MLS Biopsy	Suction Evacution	Implant Removal
Septoplasty + FESS + Turbinectomy	Hysteroscopy + D&C	Humeral Implant Removal + ORIF + Bone Grafting
Nasal Endoscopy	Cervical Biopsy	Toe Amputation
Mastoidectomy	Diagnostic Lap Overin Cystectomy	Closed Reduction Pop Cast Application
Mastoid Tympanoplasty	Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy	Shoulder Injection
Tonsil + UPPP	Dilation and curettage	Elbow Implant Removal
Revision Septoplasty
Augmentation Rhinoplasty	General surgery	Vascular surgery
Reduction of Fractured Nasal Bone	Papiloma Excision Lt Head + Wart Over Rt Side of Abdomen	A V F
	Fistula Biopsy	Permcath Change
	Bone Marrow Aspiration	PermCath Placement
Plastic and cosmetic surgery	Lap Appendectomy	PermCath Removal
Rhinoplasty	Wide Excision	PermCAth Checking
Debridement	Hemi Thyroidectomy	Hickmen Catherter Placement
Cyst Excision	Circumcision	Transfemoral Thrombectomy
Fat Grafting		Permcath Removal +HD Sheath Placement
Ear Lobule Repair	Ophthalmology	Fistuloplasty + Thrombectomy
Mole of Cheek Excision	Cataract surgery	Lip Excision & Suturing
		Granuloma Suction of Chin