Abstract
We investigated the patients' opinion on laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which has the reputation of becoming one of the day-care surgical procedures of the future. The most desirable admission day in the day before the operation: 55%, 2-3 days prior to the operation: 43% and on the day of the operation: 2%. The request admission on the day of the operation was considered to be due to personal reasons. More than 83% of the patients did not mind the increase in the charge caused by a prolonged postoperative period. Eighty percent of patients had taken out some form of private sickness insurance and 86% of them applied to their insurance company for payment. The incremental daily charge that may well make patients want to shorten the hospital stay is 10, 000 yen as a standard. The average postoperative period is 4.5±1.9 days for all patients, and those classified by the patients'degree of work-load were: extremely busy: 3.7±0.8; busy: 4.3±1.9; relatively no work pressure; 4.5±1.9; and no pressure of work: 5.2±2.0 days respectively. The group without any work pressure had a statistically significant prolonged postoperative period compared with the extremely busy and busy groups. However, 87% of all patients were of the opinion that the same postoperative period as they experienced was suitable, and 8% of the patients desired a shorter stay. In addition, patients who positively desired a decrease in the postoperative stay without any change of the charge were about 3% of all patients. In conclusion, patients of this study still have not recognized laparoscopic cholecystectomy as a day-care surgical procedure in the present health care system.
