[Initial experiences with shorter hospital stays after primary surgery for breast carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE

To describe some personal, medical and financial consequences of moving up the discharge of patients from hospital after an operation because of breast carcinoma.

DESIGN

Descriptive.

SETTING

Department of Oncological Surgery, Medical Centre, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.

METHOD: Thirty-five patients with breast cancer were operated during the period March to August 1997. Thirteen patients of this group were discharged sooner after operation, with the drain still in situ; the other 22 remained in hospital until after removal of the drain. Medical and financial consequences were investigated.

RESULTS

The patient characteristics of the two groups were similar. In the group discharged earlier, the number of postoperative days in hospital on average was 4.5 days smaller. The number of postoperative complications in the two groups were similar; development of seroma after removal of the drain occurred less frequently in the group discharged earlier. The financial savings amounted to an average of Dfl. 2497.-per patient. The patients discharged earlier were very satisfied.

CONCLUSION

The orientative study suggests that moving up discharge after a breast cancer operation is a policy that is safe, financially advantageous and satisfactory to the patients.