To evaluate results and failure factors in endonasal surgery in a private outpatient setting in a tropical environment.

A single-center observational study included 337 patients consecutively undergoing endonasal surgery in a private hospital on Réunion Island, a French overseas administrative Département in the Indian Ocean between 2019 and 2021. The main objective was to assess the success rate of the outpatient pathway. Secondary objectives comprised analysis of complications and identification and management of factors for failure of outpatient management. The study was conducted according to the STROBE editorial guideline.

The 337 surgeries notably comprised 112 septoplasties (37.5%), 104 meatotomies (30.3%), 15 unilateral total ethmoidectomies (4.6%), 48 bilateral total ethmoidectomies with sphenoidotomy (14.3%), and 18 Draf procedures (5.5%). Seventy-five percent of patients (252/337) were operated on as outpatients, with a success rate of 90% (227/252 patients). The rate of severe intraoperative complications was 1.5% (5/337). On multivariate analysis, 3 variables were identified as influencing risk of failure of the outpatient pathway: emergency analgesia in the operating room [odds ratio (OR): 91.61; 95% confidence interval (CI): 22.8–540.3], operating time (OR: 1.05; 95% CI: 1.01–1.09), and recovery room time (OR: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01–1.03).

Our study in a tropical environment found eligibility and success rates for outpatient endonasal surgery similar to those in metropolitan France. This makes surgical and anesthesiological training a key factor in the success of outpatient care, while the location of the care structure and the climate seem to have little impact.