Key points
  1. There is a lack of standardised day case criteria for patients with OSA undergoing nasal and/or palatopharyngeal surgery.
  2. Approximately 50% of 1727 patients with OSA in 10 published series were discharged as a day case following nasal and/or palatopharyngeal surgery. It was not clear which cases were planned as a daycase and which cases were allowed home the same day based on favourable post-operative clinical parameters.
  3. Respiratory events occurred in around 5%, and the majority of these patients were simple desaturations managed by oxygen supplementation in the inpatient groups. Other complications included laryngospasms, tongue swelling and floor of mouth haematoma causing airway obstruction.
  4. Concurrent tongue base surgery was associated with more serious respiratory events such as tongue swelling and floor of mouth haematoma causing airway obstruction.
  5. There is a need for well-designed prospective studies exploring pre-defined discharge criteria and the systematic assessment of post-operative complications especially in the daycase group to provide more evidence on the safety in this population.