Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy as a viable option for an ambulatory surgical procedure: our 52-month experience.

BACKGROUND

We present our experience with same-day discharge (without an overnight stay) after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG) in 821 consecutive patients from 2011 to 2015. This is the largest series published to date of patients undergoing ambulatory surgery for such a procedure.

OBJECTIVES

To review our outcomes from ambulatory SG over 52 months to determine if SG can be safely performed in the ambulatory setting.

SETTING

Ambulatory surgery center.

METHODS

Retrospective review of all consecutive patients undergoing ambulatory SG from January 2011 to April 2015. All patients were discharged home the same day after surgery without an overnight stay at the hospital. Incidence of complications and admission to the hospital after discharge was reviewed up to 30 days from surgery.

RESULTS

From January 2011 to April 2015, 821 consecutive patients underwent SG. Nineteen 30-day complications occurred in the series, 17 of them requiring admission to the hospital. Of the 19 cases, gastric leaks accounted for 7, intr-aabdominal abscess for 4, and dehydration/nausea/vomiting for 4; 4 were due to other causes. Complication and readmission rates at 30 days were 2.3% and 2.1%, respectively. Follow-up at 30 days was 98.4%.

CONCLUSION

With stringent patient selection and utilization of enhanced recovery pathways, our study indicates that SG may be suitable for the outpatient setting. Experience and comfort with bariatric surgery is essential on the part of the operating surgeon to ensure good outcomes. Our low overall readmission and complication rate portends to the feasibility of laparoscopic SG as a safe outpatient procedure.