Fast-Track Surgery in Gynaecology and Gynaecologic Oncology: A Review of a Rolling Clinical Audit

Clinical audit is the process by which clinicians are able to demonstrate to themselves, their patients, hospital administrators, and healthcare financial providers the outcome and safety of their clinical practice. It is a process by which the public can be assured of safety and outcomes. A fast-track surgery program was initiated in January 2008, and this paper represents a rolling clinical audit of the outcomes of that program until the end of June 2012. Three hundred and eighty-nine patients underwent fast track surgical management after having a laparotomy for suspected or confirmed gynaecological cancer. There were no exclusions and the data presented represents the practice and outcomes of all patients referred to a single gynaecological oncologist. The majority of patients were deemed to have complex surgical procedures performed usually through a vertical midline incision. One third of patients had a nonzero performance status, median weight was 68 kilograms, and median BMI was 26.5 with 31% being classified as obese. Median operating time was 2.25 hours, and the median estimated blood loss was 175 mL. Overall the median length of stay (LOS) was 3 days with 95% of patients