ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of outpatient care without next-day examination for patients undergoing retinal surgery. METHODS: Patients undergoing ambulatory vitreoretinal surgery between November 2013 and February 2016 at the Vienna medical center were included in this retrospective study. The age, comorbidities, indication, surgical technique and type of anesthesia used, symptoms, intraocular pressure and biomicroscopic examination data at the D0, D7 and M1 visits were recorded. Patient satisfaction with the outpatient treatment was collected by phone call in April 2016. RESULTS: Fifty-three surgeries on 49 patients (24 women, 25 men) with a mean age of 70 years (range, 39-91 years) were analyzed. The surgery was pars plana vitrectomy in all cases, with 26 cases of epiretinal membrane surgery, 7 vitreomacular traction syndrome, 4 vitreous hemorrhage, 6 macular hole, 4 dislocation of lens material, 5 retinal detachment and 1 macular retinoschisis in high myopia. The type of anesthesia was general in 64.1 % of cases (34) and local in 36.9 % of cases (19). Of the D0 examination data, 100 % were compatible with the patient being discharged to home. One patient consulted before the D7 exam for the occurrence of a subconjunctival hemorrhage. There were seven cases (13.2 %) of intraocular pressure elevation and two cases of vitreous hemorrhage (3.8 %) on the D7 examination data. Twenty-seven patients (55.1 %) were reached by phone and all of them were satisfied with their outpatient management. CONCLUSION: Outpatient treatment of patients without next-day examination for vitreoretinal surgery is possible and well accepted.
