[Outpatient surgery]. / Cirugía ambulatoria

The authors describe their experience in 778 patients under an ambulatory surgical program at the Hospital del Niño, IMAN. All were operated with general anesthesia; the child arrives in the morning to the hospital and is released in the afternoon. This report suggests that ambulatory surgery is a procedure which can be carried out in Mexican hospitals, saving time and money, since it decreases the number of beds in use; consequently, a better service can be provided. If it is duly fulfilled, the procedure is safe and an effective surgical care can be given to pediatric patients.