Meniscectomy. A comparison of two series treated as outpatients and inpatients.
A total of 129 patients were operated on for meniscus lesion in the knee joint. Of these, 64 were operated as outpatients and 65 as inpatients. The outpatients reported to the operation department in the morning and left the hospital in the evening of the same day, after the operations. The inpatients were admitted to the hospital the day before the operation and were discharged 1--3 days after the operation. Objective postoperative findings, sick-leave periods and the number of visits to the outpatient clinic show no differences between the groups. The end result in the two groups is the same. This investigation also shows that it is possible to operate on patients with meniscus injury as outpatients without increased discomfort for the individual and without medical risks. Thus expensive nursing resources are released for other groups requiring more nursing care.