ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine if patients undergoing alveolar bone grafting (ABG) can be discharged home on the day of surgery safely and with high satisfaction. DESIGN: This is a prospective cohort study of patients who underwent ABG over a 6-month period (August 2022 to February 2023). Medical records were reviewed, and postoperative surveys were provided to assess patient/family experience. SETTING: Tertiary care free-standing pediatric hospital. PATIENTS AND PARTICIPANTS: Participants who had ABG using iliac marrow from the posterior iliac crest. INTERVENTIONS: Subjects were assigned to overnight admission (ON) or day surgery (DS) based on hospital bed capacity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Main outcome measures were postoperative medical events and satisfaction with discharge timing. RESULTS: 41 participants were included: ON, n = 20 (48.8%); DS, n = 21 (51.2%), and there were no differences between groups in any predictor variable. There were no postoperative medical events. Overall, families reported comfort managing pain, nausea, bleeding, hydration, and nutrition after discharge. Most (83.3% of the DS group and 69.2% of the ON group, P = .644) reported satisfaction with the discharge timing they received, despite this being driven by hospital rather than patient factors. Reasons for some families preferring longer admission included fluid management (n = 2), anxiety about postoperative swelling (n = 2), and a long drive home (n = 1). For the ON group, 16.7% would have preferred same-day discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Same day discharge is safe and well-received in appropriately selected patients who undergo ABG using posterior iliac crest. Perioperative patient/family education is essential.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Pain management strategies following palatoplasty vary substantially. Despite efforts to reduce narcotic utilization, specific analgesic regimens are typically guided by surgeon preference. Our aim was to define analgesic variables that affect postoperative narcotic use and time to resumption of oral intake. DESIGN: This is a retrospective review from 2015 to 2018. PATIENTS: Nonsyndromic patients undergoing primary palate repair. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Analgesic variables included: local anesthetic, pterygopalatine ganglion nerve block, palatal pack, and postoperative use of ketorolac, dexamethasone, and nursing-controlled analgesia (NCA) opioid dosing. Proxy measures for pain included time to resumption of oral intake and morphine equivalence (mg/kg/h) administered. RESULTS: Veau phenotypes for the 111 patients included were: I (28%), II (19%), III (33%), IV (16%), and submucous (4%). Age, weight, local anesthetic, and postoperative use of ketorolac, dexamethasone, and palatal pack had no effect on either proxy measure (P > .05). Postoperative narcotic usage was significantly lower in patients who had an intraoperative suprazygomatic peripheral nerve block and significantly higher when NCA was utilized (P < .05). Neither variable had a significant impact on time to resumption of oral intake (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Several perioperative analgesic strategies lead to comparable postoperative consumption of narcotic and time to resume oral intake. The authors advise careful consideration of NCA due to the potential for increased narcotic utilization that we found in our institution. Based on our promising findings, further studies are warranted to assess risks, benefits, and costs of performing peripheral nerve blocks at the time of palatoplasty.
