SAFETY OF A FREESTANDING SURGICAL UNIT FOR THE ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

Objective: To determine the safety of a freestanding surgical unit for assisted reproductive technology (ART), using the rate of unplanned a dmissions to a hospital within 24 hours of surgery. Design: Prospectiv e. Setting: A freestanding surgical unit within a medical office build ing. Patients: A mixture of private and university-referred patients u ndergoing 6,776 ART surgical procedures. Main Outcome Measures: Patien ts admitted during the first 24 hours of surgery were recorded and hos pital progress was monitored for invasive procedures, treatments, time of discharge, and residual complications. Variables tabulated include d age, fertility diagnosis, ART procedure, E(2) level, number of folli cles by ultrasound, previous surgery, and type of anesthesia. Results: There were 11 hospital admissions (0.16%). Four patients required sur gery: one laparoscopy and three laparotomies. Admissions after vaginal oocyte retrieval were no different from those after GIFT via laparosc opy, 0.16% versus 0.18%, respectively. The number of admissions after monitored anesthesia care was higher than expected compared with gener al anesthesia, Profiles of hospitalized patients showed no apparent di fferences from the nonhospitalized patients. Conclusions: Surgical pro cedures for ART performed in a freestanding surgical unit can be perfo rmed safely with a low hospitalization rate and minimal morbidity.