Assessing day-case septorhinoplasty: prospective audit study using patient-based indices.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety, efficacy and acceptability to patients of day-case septorhinoplasty. Twenty-nine patients undergoing elective septorhinoplasty in a dedicated teaching hospital day-case unit were asked to complete day surgery questionnaires (DSQ) at six weeks post-operatively. Details of surgery performed, demographic data, readmission rates and complications were collected prospectively. No major complications were recorded. One patient had to be admitted for overnight observation following post-operative bleeding. The DSQ showed that the great majority of patients were satisfied from the day-case setting (satisfaction score 81). This preliminary study showed that day surgery septorhinoplasty was acceptable to the patient and was associated with a very low re-admission rate. We believe that in carefully selected young healthy patients it is an acceptable alternative to an in-patient procedure.