Outpatient Surgery Magazine recently posted a very interesting article entitled “Yes, You Can Do Same-Day Hips.” In this article, written by Christopher McClellan, DO and Dave Berheimer, BSN, CRNA, you can read about how one particular surgical center has been experimenting with a same-day total joint replacement program. They have been performing knee, hip, shoulder and ankle replacement surgeries as outpatient procedures for the past two years.

They report that of all these surgical procedures, those receiving hip replacement have fared the best – and by a landslide. They have performed 30 hip replacements in the last two years and state that on average, their patients leave the ASC approximately 3 hours after receiving the 40-minute procedure. These patients have reported low pain levels, even after a grueling round of physical therapy and their overall satisfaction rates are very high.

This is yet another way that ambulatory surgical centers are proving more cost-effective that traditional hospital settings, where patients typically stay and average of 3 days following the surgery. You can learn more by reading the article.