DAY SURGERY

Day surgery (also called ambulatory or outpatient surgery), the practice of performing surgery without an overnight hospital stay, is not new- indeed it can trace its origins back to the early 1900s- but it only really became popular from about the 1980s. North America, the United Kingdom and Northern Europe were amongst some of the earliest advocates, but the practice has since spread far wider. Experience from North America suggests that 70-80% of all elective surgeries may be possible on a day case basis and the United Kingdom is rapidly approaching these levels.