Re-admission after gastro-intestinal surgery

Re-admission is a new concept in France, born with the advent of day-case surgery, and defined as any re-admission occurring within 30 days after surgery. The re-admission rate has increasingly come to be considered a criterion of the quality of medical care, by both the medical profession and by insurance companies. This report outlines the generalities and definitions related to re-admission after gastro-intestinal surgery, describes the current situation, rationalizes the value of re-admission rates as a measure of quality of care, details the risk factors for re-admission according to the type of intervention, exposes the possible means of prevention and what to do when a patient comes to the emergency room within 30 days after an operation.