Recently, a medical study across 21 Kaiser Permanente sites in Northern California — including Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center — showed results that reinforced sending mastectomy patients home just hours after surgery.

The study, published this month in the Annals of Surgical Oncology, is the first large evaluation in the nation of a hospital systemwide at-home recovery program for mastectomy patients.

The research documented a dramatic increase in the rate of outpatient breast surgeries across Kaiser medical centers with no significant increase in post-surgery patient issues requiring emergency room visits or hospital readmissions.