Background and Aims In February 2022, the General Office of the National Health Commission issued a notice regarding the publication of the Recommended Catalog for for Day Surgery (2022 edition), in which the procedure for the retrieval of the inferior vena cava filters was not included. This study was conducted to analyze clinical characteristics, mid-term outcomes, and hospitalization cost composition of day surgery retrieval and conventional inpatient retrieval of inferior vena cava filters at the authors' hospital, to assess the safety and feasibility of performing this procedure this procedure in day surgery mode.Methods The data of 229 patients who underwent inferior vena cava filter retrieval in the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from May 2017 to August 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 91 patients underwent day surgery retrieval (day surgery group), while 138 patients underwent conventional inpatient retrieval (conventional inpatient group). The general information, complications, follow-up results, and cost details were compared between the two groups of patients, and cost details were analyzed using the structural change analysis method.Results There were significant differences in anticoagulant and alanine aminotransferase levels between the two groups (both P<0.05), but the means were within the normal range, and other baseline characteristics showed no significant differences (all P>0.05). There were no significant differences in the success rate and operative time between the two groups (both P>0.05). However, there were significant differences in hospitalization duration and costs (both P<0.05). All patients in the day surgery group were discharged within 48 h, with a median hospital stay of 1.6 d, while the conventional inpatient group had a maximum hospital stay of 15 d, with a median stay of 6.0 d. The average standard amount per capita for hospitalization in the day surgery group was 22 547.1 yuan, a reduction of 8 153.1 yuan compared to the conventional inpatient group. The contribution rate of structure variation for material costs were 30.57%, with a decrease of 11.4%; for drug costs was 25.81%, with a decrease of 62.7%; for treatment costs, the contribution rate was 19.4%, with a decrease of 9.7%. Compared to conventional inpatient care, the proportion of drug costs in the day surgery mode decreased by 6.9 percentage points (7.16% vs. 14.10%, P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of perioperative complications between the two groups (P<0.05). The median follow-up time was 23 (1-64) months, and there were no statistically significant differences in outcome events (recurrence of symptomatic pulmonary embolism, recurrence or exacerbation of deep vein thrombosis in the lower limbs, and all-cause mortality) between the two groups (all P>0.05).Conclusion The retrieval of inferior vena cava filters in a day surgery setting is safe and feasible. Moreover, compared to the traditional inpatient mode, it significantly reduces drug costs and the percentage of drug expenses. This approach can play a positive role in the appraisal system of public hospitals.