Same-Day Discharge in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery: A Care Partner Perspective [ID 2683597

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Same-day hospital discharge after minimally invasive gynecologic surgery has gained popularity and become feasible with increased adherence to enhanced recovery after surgery protocols. Benefits include reduced hospital admissions, increased cost-effectiveness, and practicality of patient recovery at home—without any demonstrable increase in patient harm or readmissions. Although studies show patients perceive same-day discharge favorably, there are little data regarding care partner perception of this trend. METHODS: A REDCap survey was administered prospectively to care partners of patients undergoing minimally invasive hysterectomy (MIH) within a single tertiary-care department between November 2022 and September 2023. The 16-question survey included questions evaluating care-partner perspectives regarding same-day discharge and postoperative home care. Approximately 75 patients were targeted for recruitment. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Approximately 66.7% of care partners indicated they were “very comfortable” caring for the patient at home the night of surgery. When asked to rate the level of concern about the patient going home on the same day as surgery, 64% selected a 2 or below on a 5-point Likert scale, with 36.4% of these individuals indicating that they were “not concerned at all.” Moreover, 42.4% of the respondents reported that this was their experience with postoperative home care. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that despite having no prior experience, care partners are comfortable caring for MIH patients on postoperative day 0. This is additive to current literature on patient comfort in same-day discharge. Thus, not only is same-day discharge a reasonable option for many patients but also most care partners are comfortable supporting this plan.