OUTPATIENT TOTAL JOINT REPLACEMENT
In recent years, advanced anesthesia and less invasive surgical techniques have allowed total joint replacements to occur in surgery centers in addition to traditional hospital settings. When the procedure takes place in an outpatient facility, patients go home the same day and recover in their own homes. Outpatient total joint replacement has many benefits for patients:
- Less costly than having the same surgeon perform the identical procedure in the hospital.
- A shorter acting anesthesia is used, which allows for an easier recover.
- Outcomes are comparable to those of patients admitted to the hospital and staying at least one night following surgery.*
- Center for Disease Control data shows that outpatient surgery consistently outperforms inpatient surgery in terms of infection rates.
- Patient satisfaction rates is higher in surgery centers than hospitals.
In 2015, Cascade Surgicenter was Central Oregon’s first medical facility that was able to provide same-day hip and knee joint replacements in an outpatient setting. The advancements in pain management techniques, such as longer lasting local anesthetics and a pharmaceutical approach to limit the use of opioids, made this possible. In addition, the physicians at The Center made a commitment to improve patient and family education, preparation, and follow up. The program’s success is based on careful patient selection, patient commitment, and home recovery protocols.
*Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons