Safety and Feasibility of Same-Day Discharge After Primary Bariatric Surgery and the Value of Remote Monitoring with the Healthdot.

Abstract

Background: Annually, more than 12,500 bariatric procedures are performed in the Netherlands. Same-day discharge (SDD) has been implemented in several surgical procedures and was recently introduced in bariatric metabolic surgery (BMS). However, the best way to safely facilitate this introduction is a subject of debate. This study aims to assess the feasibility of SDD in selected patients undergoing primary BMS and the value of remote monitoring with a wireless vital sign monitoring system (Healthdot).

Methods: This retrospective study included all primary sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedures in the first year after the introduction of SDD in a large teaching hospital in the Netherlands. SDD patients were remotely monitored postoperatively for 7 days using the Healthdot which measured vital signs continuously. The primary outcome was the success rate of SDD. Secondary outcomes included readmissions, complication rate, and Healthdot alarms.

Results: Out of 813 consecutive primary bariatric procedures between March 2022 and March 2023, there were 514 eligible patients of whom 260 were scheduled for SDD. Successful SDD was achieved in 246 patients (94.6%). Eight patients were readmitted within 48 h resulting in a success rate of 91.5%. Among 217 patients (83.5%) who went home with the Healthdot device, 28 alarms occurred of which 26 did not have a complication. In 11 other patients, a complication occurred without any alarms during the 7-day period.

Conclusions: SDD after primary bariatric procedures is considered safe if specific selection and discharge criteria are maintained. The Healthdot is found to be ineffective in predicting complications in this patient group.