Can abdominal surgical emergencies be treated in an ambulatory setting?

INTRODUCTION

The performance of emergency abdominal surgery in an outpatient setting is increasingly the order of the day in France. This review evaluates the feasibility and reliability of ambulatory surgical treatment of the most common abdominal emergencies: appendectomy for acute appendicitis and cholecystectomy for acute complications of gallstone disease (acute cholecystitis and gallstone pancreatitis).

METHODS

This study evaluates surgical procedures performed on an ambulatory basis according to the international definition (admission in the morning, discharge in the evening with a hospital stay of less than 12 hours). Just as for elective surgery, eligibility of patients for an ambulatory approach depends on the capacities of the surgical and anesthesia team: to manage the risks, particularly the risk of deferring surgery until the morning); to prevent or treat post-operative symptoms like pain, nausea, vomiting, re-ambulation in order to permit rapid post-operative discharge.

RESULTS

Recent studies have shown that appendectomy for non-complicated acute appendicitis can be deferred for up to 12 hours without any increase in danger. Many other studies have shown that early discharge after appendectomy for acute non-complicated appendicitis is feasible and safe. Nonetheless, there is only one published series of truly ambulatory appendectomies. The results were excellent. Patients who presented in the afternoon were brought back for operation the following morning. The appropriate timing for performance of cholecystectomy in patients with acute calculous cholecystitis or gallstone pancreatitis has not been well defined, but is always somewhat delayed relative to the onset of symptoms. To minimize operative complications, cholecystectomy for acute calculous cholecystitis should probably be performed between 24 and 72 hours after diagnosis. Cholecystectomy for gallstone pancreatitis should probably not be delayed longer than a week; the need to keep the patient hospitalized during the interval has not been demonstrated. Early discharge after cholecystectomy was usually possible, even in series where acute cholecystitis was diagnosed intra-operatively. Cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis and gallstone pancreatitis seems to be feasible but no reports specifically support this approach.

CONCLUSIONS

Emergency abdominal surgery seems to be feasible on an ambulatory setting for non-complicated acute appendicitis, acute calculous cholecystitis and gallstone pancreatitis. Only a single French series on ambulatory appendectomy for acute appendicitis has been reported.