DAY SURGERY

Day surgery (also called ambulatory or outpatient surgery), the practice of performingsurgery without an overnight hospital stay, is not new- indeed it can trace its origins back to the early1900s- but it only really became popular from about the 1980s. north america, the united kingdomand northern europe were amongst some of the earliest advocates, but the practice has since spread farwider. experience from north america suggests that 70-80% of all elective surgeries may be possibleon a day case basis and the united kingdom is rapidly approaching these levels.