Vaginal hysterectomy, an outpatient procedure

OBJECTIVE: To report our experience of treating women undergoing vaginal hysterectomy in an outpatient setting and to identify risk factors for hospital admission and women dissatisfied with care. DESIGN: Prospective observational report. SETTING: department of obstetrics and gynecology, university hospital in Norway. SAMPLE: 150 women who underwent vaginal hysterectomy at the outpatient clinic from February 2009 to April 2010. METHODS: Perioperative data were collected prospectively and case notes were searched for complications. On the first postoperative day all women were contacted by telephone by a nurse. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to monitor pain and nausea during the stay at the outpatient clinic and the day after surgery. VAS was also used to specify the women's degree of satisfaction with care the day after surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The number of women who could be discharged from the outpatient unit and had a satisfaction score of ≥7 the day after surgery. RESULTS: Of the 150 women, 84% could be discharged after a mean observation period of 276 min (SD ± 80 min). The mean satisfaction score was 9.0, SD ± 1.4, and 92.6% of the women reported ≥7 points in the satisfaction score. No women with serious complications were sent home. Using a multivariable logistic regression model only pain at discharge was found as significant (p= 0.009) for admittance to hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Vaginal hysterectomy is a feasible outpatient procedure and the majority of women were satisfied with the care they received.