Can You Have Outpatient Brain Surgery In An Ambulatory Surgery Center?

InnovationHealthcareCan You Have Outpatient Brain Surgery In An Ambulatory Surgery Center?ByRichard Menger MD MPA,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Richard Menger is a neurosurgeon and a political scientist.Follow AuthorMay 27, 2026, 05:56am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.The recovery room in a hospital for outpatient procedures is where patients are taken after surgery or a medical procedure to recover from anesthesia. Their vital signs are closely monitored by a nurse until they regain consciousness. Once the patient is awake and stable, they are discharged. Outpatient procedures are typically simpler, carry lower risks, and do not require an overnight hospital stay, helping to reduce costs for both the patient and the healthcare system. Ambulatory Surgery Centers or ASCs go one step further without necessarily needing the full hospital system for support. (Photo by: Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesPatients are now undergoing intricate brain and spine surgeries in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and returning home the same day. This is not peripheral experimentation but the logical evolution of contemporary neurosurgery, grounded in robust, peer-reviewed outcomes from high-volume centers.For decades, the phrase “brain surgery” conjured images of sterile hospital operating rooms, multi-day ICU stays, and six-figure bills. That era is drawing to a close. Pioneering neurosurgeons are now safely performing intracranial and spinal procedures in ASCs — outpatient facilities where patients arrive in the morning and frequently return home the same day. The data are unequivocal: when executed in the appropriate setting by experienced teams, these procedures yield equal or superior safety profiles, markedly elevated patient satisfaction and cost reductions of 30-50%...