Dina Podolsky, MD, Melanie Howell, Erin Moran-Atkin, MD, Jenny Choi, MD, Diego Camacho, MD. Montefiore
Introduction: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has been shown to be a highly effective surgical procedure for the treatment of obesity. The objective of our study was to examine if early discharge affects readmission rates at 7, 15, and 30 days following discharge.
Methods: A retrospective review of all patients who underwent LSG between January 2013 and December 2014 was performed. The primary endpoint was readmission at 7, 15, and 30 days following hospital discharge. Secondary endpoints included comparing demographic, co-morbidity, and pain scale data between readmitted and not readmitted patients.
Results: A total of 656 cases were reviewed. There were 188 patients (29%) that were discharged on POD 1 and 349 patients (53%) that were discharged on POD 2. Of the patients discharged on POD 1, a total of 6 (3%) were readmitted within 30 days of discharge – 3 (50%) within 7 days, 2 (33%) within 15 days, and 1 (16%) within 30 days. Of the patients discharged on POD 2, a total of 14 (4%) were readmitted within 30 days – 7 (50%) within 7 days, 2 (14%) within 15 days, and 5 (36%) within 30 days. The date of discharge was not found to be significantly associated with re-admission within 30 days (p= 0.7). None of the demographic factors, including gender, marital status, race, as well as having three or greater co-morbidities or an increased pain scale rating at time of discharge were found to be associated with readmission.
Conclusion: Discharge on post-operative day 1 following a LSG is not associated with an increased likelihood of being re-admitted within 30 days of discharge. Further studies are needed to elucidate which factors are associated with an increased risk of re-admission.