What is Outpatient Hip Surgery?
Outpatient hip surgery refers to surgery on your hip joint that does not require you to stay overnight in a hospital. Modern medicine has advanced to the point where this is not only possible but the preferred method of treating joint disorders.
Outpatient hip surgery most commonly refers to total joint arthroplasty, a procedure to replace the existing hip joint with prosthetics. It’s a very common surgical procedure in the United States, with more than 450,000 performed each year. Many of these surgeries can be performed outside the traditional hospital in an outpatient surgery center.
Outpatient surgery is a same-day procedure that doesn’t require a hospital stay. “Outpatient” means the patient does not experience an overnight stay. Their procedure, whether it’s hip surgery or something else is performed in a state-of-the-art medically approved free-standing clinical facility often called an ambulatory surgical center. Hospitals also have outpatient departments outfitted to handle same-day surgeries. Some physician offices even have ambulatory facilities. All of these facilities are designed to make the patient experience more convenient and less costly with the ultimate goal of better health outcomes regardless of the medical procedure used.
Clinical studies show outpatient surgery centers are at least as safe, if not safer, than experiencing surgery in the traditional hospital setting. The latest data shows that there are approximately 9 million traditional inpatient hospital stays each year, but almost double the number of outpatient surgeries.
What Are the Benefits of Outpatient Hip Surgery?
Hip replacement is a complex medical procedure that has improved tremendously over time. Today’s minimally invasive surgeries not only reduce your stay in the hospital, but improve your recovery time. The benefits of outpatient hip surgery include:
- The incision is much smaller, at three to six inches over 10 to 12 in traditional surgery
- Less scarring and damage to the internal tissue
- Less blood loss
- Less chance of acquiring a hospital-specific infection
- Faster recovery
- Less pain
- Less time in the hospital, with most patients going home the same day
- Rehabilitation occurs at home
- Increased patient satisfaction
- Potentially less cost than traditional inpatient care
- While outpatient hip surgery may not be for everyone, the studies show a positive result in the majority of patients who qualify for these procedures.
Who Qualifies for Outpatient Hip Surgery?
Every surgery is difficult, and patients who undergo hip replacement experience pain as they heal and work to regain their strength and mobility. However, some patients are able to undergo the less invasive outpatient hip surgery. Why are some patients sent to a hospital and some are able to receive the benefits of outpatient hip surgery?
Some patients do not have extensive resources at home to help them during the recuperative weeks after outpatient hip surgery. Other patients have underlying health conditions that can cause complications with their surgical procedure. Generally, patients who qualify for outpatient hip surgery are:
- Healthy, with few underlying conditions that can impair their recovery time, including extensive arthritis
- Mobile, active, independent, and able to move without the use of a walker or wheelchair before the surgery
- Motivated to do the work it will take to get their lives and health back on track
- Supported by a family or friends network of people that can help them conduct their daily tasks in the first few weeks following the surgery
What is Hip Surgery Like as an Outpatient?
Deciding to undergo outpatient hip surgery is a personal decision that you’ll make with your doctor. If same-day outpatient hip surgery is right for you, expect that your clinical care team will typically have you out of the facility within 24-hours, unless additional care is needed. Here are some of the steps you can generally expect with outpatient hip surgery
- Prepare yourself
- Prepare for surgery in the weeks leading up to the event by getting plenty of rest and eating healthy
- Prepare your home
- Work with your primary caregiver on moving furniture and rugs that might trip you in advance of your at-home rehabilitation
- Have a care plan in place for the first few weeks after surgery including coordinating physical therapy
- Prepare for surgery
- Your doctor will likely order blood screening or other tests to be certain you qualify for outpatient hip surgery
- The day of your surgery
- Like any surgery facility, you will check in to the ambulatory surgical center and have some light paperwork
- After check-in you will be taken to your room, change into a hospital gown, and meet with your surgical team
- During the surgery you will be given anesthetic to relax and put you to sleep
- The surgery generally lasts one to two hours
- Discharge and rehab
- After the surgery you will have time to rest and recuperate
- Your doctor will determine when you’re ready to go home
- You will begin basic moments like going to the restroom and walking
- At home you will begin your rehabilitation process with exercises
- Your doctor will periodically check the incision and your general progress in healing
- Within about 12-weeks you may begin recreational activities, but healing is an individual process
Anterior Approach Outpatient Hip Replacement with Dr. Clegg
Dr. Clegg employs the latest anterior approach outpatient hip replacement approach when treating patients. The anterior approach to hip replacement is less invasive because the procedure goes in the front of the hip, carefully moving aside muscle groups to access the joint. By contrast, traditional hip replacement surgery makes a 10- or 12-inch incision and cuts through the muscles and tendons, which prolongs the recovery time by months.
Minimally invasive anterior hip replacement surgery requires just a four-inch incision and it allows patients to be walking within a couple of hours after the operation. Talk with our team today to find out if these innovative techniques can help you heal fast and get your life back as quickly and safely as possible.