Day-case adenoidectomy, parental opinions and concerns

Abstract

Day-case surgery has been urged on the National Health Service by the Audit Commission in the last decade despite concerns about safety. A questionnaire was posted to the parents of 109 children who had recently undergone day-case adenoidectomy, addressing parental concerns and opinions. Eighty per cent of the questionnaires were returned. A high level of satisfaction with day-case adenoidectomy was expressed by the parents. All the children were observed for six hours after surgery prior to discharge. One child was visited at home by his general practitioner in the first 24 hours of discharge but there were no serious post-operative complications and none of the children required re-admission to hospital. Day-case adenoidectomy is safe, very acceptable to parents and does not result in a greatly increased workload for general practitioners.