Long surgical wait-times and limited hospital capacity are common obstacles to surgical care in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Ambulatory surgery might offer a solution to these problems. The aim is to study the introduction of ambulatory surgery in a pediatric hospital in SSA.

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study which took place over 6 months. It includes all the patients assigned to ambulatory surgery in the Pediatric University Hospital in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Inclusion Criteria:

• ASA 1 status
• elective surgery with low potential for blood loss or severe pain, lasting less than 90 minutes
• whose parents could be contacted by telephone and who could return to the hospital in less than 1 hour
• Parents gave consent for the surgical procedure

Exclusion Criteria:

• non operative patients