The feasibility and safety of same-day discharge after robotic-assisted hysterectomy alone or with other procedures for benign and malignant indications

• Same-day discharge was planned in 200 cases and 157 (78%) had successful same-day discharge.
• Forty-three (22%) patients required postoperative admission, 23 for medical reasons and 20 for non-medical reasons.
• Operative time, case ending before 6 pm, and use of intraoperative ketorolac were associated with successful same-day discharge.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to report the feasibility and safety of same-day discharge after robotic-assisted hysterectomy.MethodsSame-day discharge after robotic-assisted hysterectomy was initiated 07/2010. All cases from then through 12/2012 were captured for quality assessment monitoring. The distance from the hospital to patients' homes was determined using http://maps.google.com. Procedures were categorized as simple (TLH +/− BSO) or complex (TLH +/− BSO with sentinel node mapping, pelvic and/or aortic nodal dissection, appendectomy, or omentectomy). Urgent care center (UCC) visits and readmissions within 30 days of surgery were captured, and time to the visit was determined from the initial surgical date.ResultsSame-day discharge was planned in 200 cases. Median age was 52 years (range, 30–78), BMI was 26.8 kg/m2 (range, 17.4–56.8), and ASA was class 2 (range, 1–3). Median distance traveled was 31.5 miles (range, 0.2–149). Procedures were simple in 109 (55%) and complex in 91 (45%) cases. The indication for surgery was: endometrial cancer (n = 82; 41%), ovarian cancer (n = 5; 2.5%), cervical cancer (n = 8; 4%), and non-gynecologic cancer/benign (n = 105; 53%). One hundred fifty-seven (78%) had successful same-day discharge. Median time for discharge for these cases was 4.8 h (range, 2.4–10.3). Operative time, case ending before 6 pm, and use of intraoperative ketorolac were associated with successful same-day discharge. UCC visits occurred in 8/157 (5.1%) same-day discharge cases compared to 5/43 (11.6%) requiring admission (P = .08). Readmission was necessary in 4/157 (2.5%) same-day discharge cases compared to 3/43 (7.0%) requiring admission (P = .02).ConclusionsSame-day discharge after robotic-assisted hysterectomy for benign and malignant conditions is feasible and safe.