Abstract
Objective: Assess patient satisfaction with endoscopic nasal polypectomy carried out under local anesthesia. Patient consultation allows us to review and amend practice and is a fundamental aspect of clinical governance, hence ensuring good medical practice.
Method: A 16-point questionnaire was sent to all patients who underwent the procedure over a 2-year period. They were asked about previous operative history, quality of operative information given, level of pain and how well it was managed, effectiveness of procedure on their symptoms, and overall perception of the experience.
Results: Of 32 patients the response rate was 81%. Half of the patients had previously had nasal polypectomy under general anesthetic. Ninety-four percent felt their pain was dealt with appropriately, and all patients were discharged uneventfully within 6 hours. Ninety-two percent reported symptomatic improvement and were happy with the procedure. All but one of the patients preferred avoiding a general anesthetic, and 88% would happily have the procedure performed again under a local anesthetic.
Conclusion: We demonstrate a high level of overall patient satisfaction with this procedure, and conclude that endoscopic nasal polypectomy can be safely and effectively carried out as a day-case local anesthetic procedure. This is in keeping with the Department of Health proposals to maximize day-surgery, and it also represents significant cost savings.
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