The benefits of providing a remote follow up service for Sacral Neuromodulation Surgery (SNS) for faecal incontinence

Purpose SNS is a centralised service. Centralisation can be inconvenient for patients, requiring multiple journeys, travel costs and time off work/childcare. Remote follow-up, as seen during the COVID pandemic, is beneficial for such services delivered over large geographical areas requiring multiple post-op reviews. We compared a group of patients undergoing SNS prior to the pandemic with a group in 2020 to assess the impact of remote follow-up. Method A prospectively maintained database identified consecutive patients undergoing SNS in a single centre in 2017 and compared a similar group of patients undergoing SNS in 2020. Data collected included;number of post-operative clinic appointments and distance travelled to hospital in the first 6 months post-operative period. All patients undergoing SNS in 2020 were invited to take part in a patient satisfaction survey investigating remote follow-up. Results The 2017 group (n = 7), had a total of 20 post-op clinic appointments in the 6 months following surgery (mean 2.9 appointments per patient), with 1.5 days each taken off work or requiring childcare. Patients travelled a mean total of 66 miles for appointments over 6 months. The 2020 group (n = 7) had a total of 6 post-op clinic appointments with the rest provided remotely by telephone. Each travelled a total of 14.65 miles over 6 months. From the survey, 82.4% patients were happy with telephone follow- up, 2% preferred telephone over face-to- face consultation, 13.7% preferred face-to- face appointments and 2% had no opinion. Conclusion SNS follow-up can be provided remotely with significant logistical benefits to the patients, at no detriment to their satisfaction.