After returning home, the 52-year old patient had access to in-home care from Bayada Nurses/Home Care Specialists. “The procedure was very successfully and she’s doing very well. I look forward to the future,” says Dr. Haynes. He feels a large percentage of total joint surgeries can become outpatient procedures and will be performing the first outpatient total hip replacement surgery in Virginia in late July.
Q: Why was it possible to perform the total knee replacement surgery as an outpatient procedure?
Dr. Boyd Haynes: I have been doing partial knee replacements as an outpatient procedure for 5-7 years. We extended the basic principles from partial knee replacements to total knee replacements and it is a fairly straight-forward transition. The surgery is minimally invasive compared to what we used to do years ago so recovery is quicker. We have also developed an Outpatient Total Joint Protocol which has helped along with advanced pain management and coordinated outpatient home health care. All of these have played an important role in outpatient total joint replacement becoming a reality in Virginia. All patients need to be motivated with supportive family.
Q: What led to your decision to perform this procedure now?
BH: I look at it as a natural progression. I try to look at and see how I can help my patients and what I would want if I were in their place. I would love to recover at home and not be admitted to the hospital for my joint replacement.
Q: What is the advantage to making this an outpatient procedure?
BH: My concern with joint replacement now is infection. If I can treat my patients as outpatients, I think their risk of hospital acquired infection should be less. I also use skin glue on all incisions and feel sealing the skin when they leave the OR should also decrease infection. At home the patients are able to sleep in their own bed which allows better rest (without nursing interruptions), get medications when they want and eat their own food. They do the same amount of therapy, lab work and vital sign checks as they do if they were in the hospital. They just recover at home instead of the hospital bed.
Q: What does making the surgery outpatient mean for the future?
BH: I think the procedure is not for everybody because you have the older population as well as the sicker population who need more help. For healthy motivated people, I think outpatient joint replacement surgery is a great option. There should also be some cost savings by doing them as an outpatient.
Q: Do you think other total joint surgeries can be outpatient?
BH: Yes. Twenty years ago, all total joint patients stayed in the hospital 7 days. Now we are progressing to outpatient total hip and knee replacement. It’s pretty outstanding what we’ve been able to do in past two decades. The future is bright.
Learn more about Orthopaedic & Spine Center.
Read other coverage on knee replacement.
-Study: Biologic Knee Replacement Could Most Efficiently Slow Arthritis Progression
-Two New Jersey Orhtopedic Surgeons Perform First Patient-Specific Knee Surgery in Northwest
-Study: Total Knee Replacement Improves Balance in Elderly
