Ambulatory Surgery

Before the development of general anesthesia and the modern hospital, most patients recuperated from surgery at home. Care on the hospital ward was the fate of the indigent or the soldier. In time surgeons and patients realized that both care and results were better in hospitals. Consequently, there were strong pressures to perform all major operations in hospitals. Indeed, the vast improvement in the quality of surgical care that took place in the United States during this century was dependent on the performance of most major surgical procedures in hospitals where peer review, quality control, accreditation, and educational activities developed. . . .