Patient Selection

We take patient selection very seriously. Not every patient who is interested will qualify. We look for patients who are very motivated to return to an activity level better than they had pre-surgery. We look for someone who is in reasonably good physical condition. It is also very important that the patient has a strong support system in their home. Recovering from major surgery is a full-time job, so it is imperative to have an extra set of hands and eyes to watch over you. We work with a home health company to provide nursing and physical therapy, but they are not in the patient’s home 24 hours a day.

What are the advantages to having this done as an outpatient procedure?

There are several advantages to having this surgery performed on an outpatient basis:

• Less chance of acquiring an infection because patient spends less time in the hospital, and the incision is coated with a skin glue to seal it.
• Less financial burden– outpatient procedures are always less expensive, so depending on the patient’s insurance, out-of-pocket costs will be less.
• There is less burden on the insurance company and on the hospital staff.
• Recovery will be in the comfort of the patient’s home, which means more privacy, their own food and bed.
• Home health care will be pre-arranged, so the patient will know what to expect from the nurse and physical therapy

How is outpatient knee replacement possible?

Over the past several years, we have seen many changes occur that brought us to the point that out-patient total joint replacement surgery was possible:

• Advancement in surgical techniques– Incisions are smaller, reducing likelihood of Infection and pain
• Improvements in anesthesia allow for rapid recovery, shorter duration of care and the techniques used are more cost- effective.
• Pain management techniques have improved
• We are using newer, longer lasting local anesthetics
• We have developed protocols for post-surgery home-health care, including nursing and physical therapy visits. Patients receive the same clinical care at home as they would in a hospital.