Shorter length of stay for simple cholecystectomy: cost-effectiveness of alternative strategies.

Patients undergoing simple cholecystectomy during a 12-month period at a Boston teaching hospital were retrospectively divided into two groups: short stay surgery (SSS) patients had a hospital length of stay (LOS) of 5 or 6 days; conventional stay surgery (CSS) patients were hospitalized for more than 6 days. After matching for sex, age, preoperative LOS, and secondary diagnoses, 18 pairs were identified. None of the patients had major complications after the hospital discharge. One to 2 years after surgery, health status was identical in the two groups. Patients in the SSS group reported a larger number of minor complications after hospital discharge and less satisfaction with the adequacy of their length of stay. Shortened length of hospital stay for a subgroup of simple cholecystectomy patients is a promising means of reducing cost with minimal, if any, sacrifice in quality of care and deserves further evaluation.