Lean Six Sigma approach to the study of the LOS of patients who undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a bicentric study

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is considered the standard procedure for the treatment of gallstone. Compared to traditional surgery with the introduction of this procedure reduces the recovery time for a patient. According to literature, the postoperative LOS after LC is generally between 3 and 5 days. Length of stay (LOS) is a crucial piece of the patient experience and has proven to be an important indicator of health care efficiency. In the work the clinical data of the patients of the University Hospital "San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona" of Salerno and the patients of the A.O.R.N. "Antonio Cardarelli" of Naples (Italy) were used, comparing two years (2016-2017) to demonstrate that the introduction of corrective actions have led to a reduction in the postoperative LOS. A Lean Six Sigma approach was used, with the implementation of the DMAIC cycle (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control), thanks to which it was possible to demonstrate significant results in the reduction of post-operative hospitalizations.