Abstract
Background: Parotidectomy is commonly performed as an inpatient
procedure due to drain insertion. However recent evidence suggests that
drainless outpatient parotidectomy is a safe option with comparable
postoperative complication and hospital readmission rates to inpatient
parotidectomies. Objective: Patient satisfaction on outpatient
parotidectomy is unclear and this study aims to report patients’
perspective and satisfaction on drainless outpatient parotidectomy.
Design, participants and outcome measures: Anonymous Core questionnaire
for the assessment of Patient Satisfaction’ (COPS) for general Day care
(COPS-D) questionnaire survey was completed by patients who underwent
drainless same day parotidectomy at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee from June
2018 to October 2020. Patient satisfaction on different aspects of their
outpatient parotidectomy journey (e.g. pre-admission, admission on ward,
in-theatre experience, nursing care, pain control and overall
satisfaction) were scored using a five-point Likert scale. Results: A
total of 31 drainless outpatient parotidectomies were performed and 28
patients completed the patient satisfaction survey. The majority of
patients were highly satisfied (i.e. scored 5/5) with their preadmission
visit (79.5%), admission on the ward (84.5%), operating room
experience (96.4%), nursing care (83.9%), medical care (87.5%),
information received (75.0%), autonomy (79.8%) and discharge and after
care (61.9%). Despite preferring drainless parotidectomy, 16/28
(57.1%) patients either stayed for less than 23 hours or preferred to
stay overnight in the hospital for non-surgical reasons. Conclusion:
Outpatient parotidectomy is well received by patients and the majority
preferred drainless parotidectomy over inpatient parotidectomy with
drains. Careful consideration should be given when selecting patients
for day case parotidectomy.