Safety and Cost‐Effectiveness of Early Discharge Following Bariatric Surgery in an Underserved Urban Population

This study evaluated the safety and economic impact of discharging bariatric surgery patients on Postoperative day (POD) 1 compared to the institutional POD 2 discharge protocol. A retrospective review of 115 patients who underwent laparoscopic or robot‐assisted sleeve gastrectomy and Roux‐en‐Y gastric bypass (RYGB) revealed no significant differences in complications or readmissions between the groups. Discharge on POD 1 demonstrated a cost difference of approximately $1571. Our findings support the safety, feasibility, and financial benefits of implementing POD 1 discharge as standard practice for bariatric patients in underserved urban populations.