[Is it possible to avoid a penal offence in carrying out ambulatory anesthesia?].

French jurisprudence about outpatient anaesthesia is resolutely unfavorable. It is principally based on the June 22nd 1972 decision of the cessation court, the highest court of justice in France. Preoperative non hospitalisation has been considered as a fault by negligence/carelessness of the practitioners. It resulted in their penal condemnation for involuntary injuries and compensation for the harm. This decision is linked with the evolution of the fault and the responsibility share between surgeon and anaesthetist. The post-operative phase seems to involve "theory of missing luck" (causality linkage or the detriment in itself), excluding a penal condemnation but not a partial compensation. Though some new legal considerations could be put forward, a written contract between physicians and patients is necessary in outpatient surgery, whereas the medical files and the organisation of the unit can prove the quality of medical care.