Assel MJ, et al. - Whether the postoperative length of stay would serve as a function of time of surgery and would represent a poorer marker of recovery compared with the time of discharge in the short-stay surgery setting, where patients stay in the hospital for a single overnight at most, was investigated in this study. At an ambulatory surgical hospital, 891 mastectomy and 538 prostatectomy patients who had a planned single overnight stay post-surgery during 2016, were examined for the link between surgical start time and postoperative length of stay or discharge time. Findings revealed postoperative length of stay as a poor outcome measure in a short-stay setting. The use of discharge time with adjustment for surgery start time was recommended for evaluation of the rapidity of recovery for single overnight stay patients.