Comparative evaluation of 90-day patient outcomes and healthcare encounters following extended day surgery urethroplasty.

INTRODUCTION

Most centers have shifted to an extended day surgery (XDS ) model for urethroplasty. Our study characterizes outcomes and unplanned healthcare encounters of patients undergoing XDS urethroplasty compared to case-matched inpatient controls.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective, two-surgeon, single-center study of patients undergoing XDS urethroplasty (discharge <24 hrs) from November 2020 to November 2021. Patients were case-control matched based on age, stricture length, location, and etiology to patients who had previously undergone inpatient urethroplasty. Data was analyzed using descriptive and univariable statistics. Multivariable analysis by Cox proportional hazard regression was used to identify associations with postoperative complications.

RESULTS

Ninety patients (mean age=53.8 years) underwent XDS urethroplasty during the study period. Mean stricture length was 4.4 cm (standard deviation [SD ] 2.4). Rates of postoperative complications were similar between XDS (17%, n=15) and admitted patients (21%, n=19), and XDS was not associated with increased risk on univariable analysis (odds ratio [OR ] 0.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.31-1.3, p=0.36). When stratifying by location, penile stricture (OR 4.21, 95% CI 1.3-13.8, p=0.02) and lichen sclerosus (OR 2.91, 95% CI 0.79-9.9, p=0.08) were associated with increased risk of postoperative complication. On multivariable analysis, only penile stricture was identified as significant (OR 4.78, 95% CI 1.2-19.4, p=0.03). Forty-eight percent (n=43) of patients had unplanned healthcare encounters postoperatively, with similar numbers of phone calls (n=37) and emergency department visits (n=36) between groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows that XDS urethroplasty is not associated with increased rates of complications relative to inpatient admission. This data supports using an XDS pathway for resource-efficient treatment of urethral strictures in a universal healthcare setting.