PLENARY SESSION: Same Day Surgery

Overnight Discharge Program

Alexandra Chow, BSc Eng, MD, FRCS(C)
Advanced GI MIS/Bariatric Fellow
CASES, Royal Alexandra Hospital
University of Alberta 

Dr. Alexandra Chow is currently completing her Advanced GI MIS/Bariatric Fellowship with the Centre for Advancement of Surgical Education and Simulation (CASES) at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. She received her medical degree from the University of Alberta and completed her general surgery residency at the University of Ottawa. She has been actively involved with research on the optimization of perioperative care for bariatric surgery patients and evaluating protocols and outcomes for short-stay bariatric surgery.

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Presentation Overview: 

Given increased surgical wait times secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing hospital bed pressures, maximizing bariatric surgical volumes while not compromising patient safety in the perioperative period is a priority. Like many other centers, the standard practice at our high-volume, accredited bariatric program in Edmonton, Alberta prior to 2020 was for patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass to be admitted to hospital two or more days postoperatively for supportive treatment and monitoring. With the promotion of fast-track and Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocols for bariatric surgery, recent studies have demonstrated the safety and feasibility of hospital discharge within 23-hours of surgery. In this session, we present our institutional experience transitioning to a model of extended day surgery (XDS) 23-hour stay after bariatric surgery.