Development of a same day laminectomy program.

Historically, patients undergoing a lumbar laminectomy for discectomy (LLD) have been admitted to the hospital for 1 to 3 days. Because a patient undergoing a surgical procedure is not necessarily medically ill, many surgical procedures are now performed on an outpatient basis. A multidisciplinary nursing team proposed that some patients scheduled to undergo an LLD would be able to have this surgery as an outpatient. A 6-month research project was developed to study outcomes of patients undergoing LLD who were discharged after 4 to 6 hours of postoperative care in the PACU. Guidelines were established to define the candidates for enrollment in the same day LLD. A patient clinical pathway was established, and outcome monitors were selected. Twenty-seven patients were enrolled in this study. This article describes the process of development, application, and future implications of this study.