[High resolution surgery: one more step in out-patient surgery].

OBJECTIVES: One stop surgery (CAR: Cirugía Alta Resolución) is a step forward in outpatient surgery. The new scheme simplifies ambulatory conventional surgery, achieves more satisfaction between patients and optimizes health resources.

METHODS: By One stop surgery we mean the performance in the same day of both pre-surgery assessment and surgical procedure. This new working way allows performing a surgical procedure in only one visit to the hospital, instead of the average four visits used before for surgical outpatients. Diagnosis, presurgery assessment and post surgery progress are made by the primary care paediatricians at theirs NHS offices. It is essential to maintain a close relationship between the Paediatric surgeons, the primary care paediatricians as well as with paediatric anaesthesiologists and nurses. An autoevaluation is made once a year in which quality survey results are made public and possible areas for improvement are identified, following the model proposed by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM).

RESULTS: We present 416 children treated following this scheme since 2008. Surgery is performed on the abdominal wall, genitals, skin and soft tissues. Families are satisfied with the quality of the whole medical and nursery received care as they qualified it with a 99% satisfaction index. Complications developed in less than 3%.

CONCLUSIONS: One stop surgery is a progress in the outpatient surgery and, for us, it is a consolidated, continuously growing and constantly improving scheme of providing medical care.