Outpatient parotidectomy.

Encouraged by the success of outpatient thyroid surgery, we have performed outpatient parotidectomy in more than 56 selected patients during the past 5 years. As a result of the success of the procedure and the enthusiastic patient response, the proportion of parotid operations performed on an inpatient basis has declined in the latter part of the series. The indication for surgery in virtually all cases was a mass in the parotid gland. The surgical technique used for inpatient or outpatient parotidectomy was the same. If a diagnosis of carcinoma was made based on frozen section examination, definitive surgery was performed, and the patient was admitted to the hospital. Postoperative interviews were conducted with all patients who had outpatient parotid surgery. There was almost uniform patient satisfaction with the performance of the procedure on an outpatient basis. Outpatient parotid surgery permits more efficient use of hospital facilities and more effective use of the surgeon's time. Outpatient parotid surgery was found to be a safe, cost-effective procedure, convenient for both the patient and the surgeon in selected patients.