Safety and effectiveness of outpatient parotidectomy: a systematic review of comparative studies on ambulatory parotidectomy.

This meta-analysis compares the safety and efficacy of outpatient or day case parotidectomy versus inpatient therapy. The objective of this study is to integrate current information on postoperative complications, readmission rates, and reoperation rates, as well as to assess the methodological quality of existing studies and provide selection criteria for outpatient surgery. We searched PUBMED, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar from January 1980 to January 2025. Search terms included "parotidectomy", "parotid gland surgery", "outpatient", "ambulatory", and "same-day discharge". We considered studies that compared outpatient and inpatient parotidectomy. The primary outcomes studied were postoperative complications, haematoma, seroma, infection, facial nerve injury, readmission, and reoperation rates. Two reviewers extracted data separately and used the ROBINS-I tool to determine bias. The analysis included 13 trials with a total of 5040 patients (2365 outpatients and 2674 inpatients). Outpatient parotidectomy had a similar complication risk as inpatient surgery (Odds Ratio 0.69, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.49 to 0.98, p = 0.04). Haematoma and permanent facial nerve injury were much lower in outpatients. However, most research showed considerable selection and confounding biases. Outpatient parotidectomy is a safe and effective option for carefully chosen individuals. Standardised selection criteria can help enhance patient outcomes and surgical decision making.