AN EXPERIENCE OF DAY CASE HERNIOTOMY AND ORCHIDOPEXY IN A PRIVATE SURGICAL UNIT, DIR TIMERGERA

OBJECTIVE: To study the outcome of day case paediatric herniotomy and orchidopexy in a private surgical unit, in terms of early post-oper­ative complications. METHODOLOGY: This retrospective study was conducted in a private surgical setup in Dir, Timergera, Pakistan from 01-01-2011 to 30-12- 2012. Male paediatric patients (n=160) who underwent herniotomy and/or orchidopexy were selected from patient information systems through manually maintained patient registers. The data was recorded and analyzed in Microsoft Excel 2007. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 25.35±4.84 months. Out of 160 patients, 116 (72.5%) underwent herniotomy and 44 (27.5%) patients had orchidopexy plus herniotomy. Of the 160 operated, 127 (79.4%) were discharged on the same day whereas 33 (20.6%) patients were discharged the next morning as they were from far-flung area and could not reach their destinations on same day. Out of 166 patients with herniotomy, 96 (82.8%) were discharged the same day whereas 20 (17.2%) were discharged the next day. Out of 44 patients with or­chidopexy, 31 (70.5%) were discharged the same day and 13 (29.5%) were discharged next day. No mortality or major complications were reported in the 3 weeks follow up. None of the patients reported for readmission in those three weeks. CONCLUSION: Day case herniotomy and orchidopexy in a paediatric population is safe with minimal or no complications in the immediate post-operative period and should be recommended in developing coun­tries on regular basis.