"One-stop" surgery: Implications for anesthesiologists of an expedited pediatric surgical process

Background. "One-stop surgery" (OSS) allows pediatric patients to undergo i nitial surgical evaluation, anesthesia, surgery and discharge home, on the same day. Methods. Patients referred for umbilical hernia repair, circumcision, or ce ntral venous catheter removal completed a screening questionnaire, after wh ich they were scheduled for initial surgical and anesthesia evaluation if e ligible and had surgery if indicated on the same day. Results. Three patients had comorbidity precluding OSS, two patients refuse d indicated surgery, two patients did not require surgery, and 12 patients did not keep their appointment. Eighty patients had surgery without complic ations. Average total time was significantly shorter for OSS than non-OSS f or circumcision (120 vs 142 min) and umbilical hernia repair (139 vs 165 mi n) but similar for catheter removal (100 vs 109 min). All families were sat isfied with OSS. Conclusions. One-stop surgery appears to be a safe, efficient, and convenie nt alternative to the traditional process for patients and their families.