Nasal Surgery
Most septal and sinus surgery can be done under local anaesthesia with sedation. However, both involve nasal packing. Whilst patients can be sent home with nasal packs, many surgeons don’t recommend this . If the patient were to have some bleeding at home, then neither he nor the doctor would know if it was significant bleeding unless seen.
It could so turn out that the the surgeon is needed to rush to the patient’s home in the middle of a busy day, maybe to find only insignificant oozing! All these eventualities are thwarted by keeping them in the hospital for observation and easily accessible medical help. On the other hand, most patients do not bleed and tend to be more comfortable at home and could be called to the clinic after 24-48 hours for pack removal.
Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR)
Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) can be done easily under local anaesthesia and sedation and the patient sent home after pack removal in the evening, provided there is no bleeding
Endoscopic sinus surgery
Endoscopic sinus surgery involving removing extensive polyposis in the sinuses.It is done under general anaesthesia and these patients are usually advised to stay in hospital as there may be bleeding associated with major sinus surgery. Patients who have epistaxis, a medical term for nose bleed, (without any major causative pathology) are excellent candidates for day care endoscopic surgery. Earlier these patients would be packed for 48 hours and the packs removed with frequent rebleeding. Now, with the endoscope, the bleeding point can be identified and cauterized and the patient sent to the room without packing and fear of bleeding. They are then discharged soon after a few hours of observation.