How to perform a thyroidectomy in an outpatient setting.

PURPOSE: In France, the current practice for postoperative care of thyroidectomy is still inpatient care. No series of outpatient thyroidectomy has been reported. The aim of this work was to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and safety of outpatient unilateral thyroid lobectomy in a university hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The procedure was proposed to patients presenting with nodule(s) in one lobe of the thyroid and fulfilling predetermined inclusion criteria. The surgical protocol included no drainage and, progressively, no dressing. Standard anesthetic, analgesic, and antiemetic protocols were used. Unplanned admission, complication, and re-operation rates were evaluated. RESULTS: Among 153 unilateral thyroid lobectomies performed, 95 (62%) were planned for outpatient surgery. The proportion of outpatient unilateral thyroid lobectomies increased during an 8-year period from 36% to 90%. One patient was re-operated because local hemorrhage was diagnosed in the recovery room. He was discharge the next day. Eighteen patients (13.7%) were admitted because of nausea (n = 6), dizziness, and physical discomfort mostly due to anxiety (n = 5). Seventy-seven patients were discharged as planned 6 to 8 h after the operation. No patient was readmitted. CONCLUSIONS: Outpatient unilateral thyroid lobectomy is feasible and safe in the setting of appropriate facilities and management protocol. Strict control of postoperative nausea is essential, and a preoperative education for ambulatory surgery is useful to minimize patient anxiety and increase acceptability.

Day-case laparoscopic cholecystectomy: results of 211 consecutive patients.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this work was to evaluate the feasibility and outcome of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy as a day-case procedure in a French university hospital. METHODS: Since the creation of a surgical day-care centre in 1999, patients without severe chronic disease and anticoagulant therapy were selected for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. They were admitted and operated on in the morning hours and discharged after a double check by the surgeon and an anaesthetist 4 to 6 hours later. They were contacted by telephone the day subsequent to surgery and were seen in the outpatient unit 8 to 10 days after. RESULTS: Two hundred eleven laparoscopic cholecystectomies were performed in day-care surgery from January 1999 to December 2005. The proportion of day-case management increased during the six-year period from 32% to 53%. Eighteen percent of patients had an overnight admission. The overall complication rate was 1.8%. None of the patients had an emergency readmission. Incapacity duration went from 1 to 15 days. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be routinely performed as a day-case procedure.

The clinical efficacy and pharmacokinetics of intraperitoneal ropivacaine for laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

UNLABELLED: Postoperative pain after laparoscopic surgery is less than after laparotomy, and patients may benefit from an intraperitoneal injection of local anesthetic. Thirty-seven ASA physical status I or II patients received in double-blinded fashion 20 mL of 0.9% saline solution (placebo), ropivacaine 0.25% (Rop 0.25%), or ropivacaine 0.75% (Rop 0.75%) immediately after trocar placement and at the end of surgery. We measured pain and morphine consumption until 20 h after surgery. Plasma ropivacaine concentrations were measured. The three groups were comparable for shoulder pain, parietal pain, and incidence of side effects. Visceral pain at rest, during cough, and on movement and total consumption of morphine were significantly smaller in Groups Rop 0.25% and Rop 0.75% when compared with Placebo. Although no adverse effect occurred in any patient, the largest dose led to large plasma concentrations of ropivacaine (2.93 +/- 2.46 microg/mL and 3.76 +/- 3.01 microg/mL after the first and second injection, respectively). We conclude that intraperitoneal administration of ropivacaine before and after surgery significantly decreases postoperative pain. Because the smaller dosage (2 x 50 mg) provided similar analgesia and was associated with significantly smaller plasma concentrations than the larger dosage (2 x 150 mg), this smaller dosage seems more appropriate. IMPLICATIONS: Intraperitoneal ropivacaine 100 mg injected during laparoscopic cholecystectomy significantly decreased postoperative pain when compared with injection of intraperitoneal placebo. At this dose, plasma concentrations remained in the nontoxic range,