10 Things to Know About Same-Day Joint Replacement

Mon Jan 01 0001

Moby Parsons, M.D.

Same-day means that you can actually go home just a few hours after surgery. Programs that call themselves same day and keep patients for 23 hours are not really same-day.
Many studies have now demonstrated that going home the same day is safe for a majority of patients provided no major medical problems that require active management around the time of surgery.
A majority of patients recognize that home is the best place to recover.
Preparation for surgery is key to success and same-day joint replacement requires that patients understand this process and take and active role in getting ready for surgery.
Modern techniques in anesthesia and pain management allow patients to recover quickly and be up and moving soon after surgery.
Rapid recovery programs involve much more than the surgery and include methods that reduce surgical stress such proper nutrition and hydration around the time of surgery.
Same-day discharge requires that much of the post-discharge care is coordinated in advance of surgery.
Experience is important and well-established programs are essential for patient success.
Outpatient surgery is the future of joint replacement and the percentage of patients that go directly home will continue to increase as time goes by.
As more of these cases are ultimately shifted to the ambulatory setting, the aggregate cost of joint replacement care will drastically decline, potentially saving billions of dollars in healthcare spend.