The authors report their personal experience of ambulatory surgery (AS) in a series of patients operated on from 1991 to 1996. The series includes 1118 surgical operations performed as outpatient procedures with immediate discharge. The following types of anesthesia were used: local infiltration (84%), superselective spinal (11%), blended or general (5%). Hernias of the abdominal wall, varicose veins and anorectal diseases were the more frequent pathologies operated on. Results of surgery are satisfactory, reconfirming the advantages of AS such as the absence of complications due to anesthesia and hospital stay, the better relationship between patient and surgeon, and the prompt return to working activities.