Preparing Your Practice for Strong Same-Day Hip Replacement Surgery Demand

When older patients are researching their hip replacement options online, they’re going to find a lot of positive press coverage of same-day hip replacement surgery. The Watson-Jones anterior approach – also known as anterior hip replacement – is a less invasive procedure that can be performed on an outpatient basis. This makes it a more affordable, attractive option to many patients.

There may be a therapeutic benefit to having anterior hip replacement performed as an outpatient surgery as well. A research team that tracked 225 patients who’d had same day hip replacement at NYU Langone. These patients reported less pain, had fewer readmissions, and had consistently high patient satisfaction scores. *

Active Lifestyles & Anterior Hip Replacement: What’s the Connection?

During the annual meeting of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Dr. Matthew Sloan, lead researcher on a University of Pennsylvania study, reported that the average age of people having hip surgery replacement has declined.** Hip replacement patients are getting younger – while the majority of patients are in their 50’s and 60’s, significant numbers of patients are in their 40’s, 30’s, and even 20’s.

The nature of the procedure means it’s not recommended for every patient. To qualify, patients must be fit, able to actively participate in their own recovery at home – including performing some of the activities of daily living independently – and have adequate support in place to assist in their recovery.  Many patients prefer anterior hip replacement because the less invasive nature of the procedure and shorter recover time allows them to return to their active lifestyle quickly. For patients still in the workforce, this return to full earning capacity is important.

Preparing Your Practice to Serve the Same-Day Hip Replacement Patient

Anterior hip replacements are performed using fluoroscopic assistance to ensure accuracy of component positioning and to minimize leg length inequality. That means you’ll need a c-arm with an extended field of view (i.e., OEC 9800 or OEC 9900 with 12” image intensifier) that delivers accurate high-resolution images in real time to your physician and clinicians.

The most cost-effective way to procure a c-arm is to choose a refurbished unit. For example, the OEC 9800 C-Arm with 12” image intensifier – the c-arm most familiar to many orthopaedic surgeons and the standard from which many of its competitors are measured  – is available at a considerable savings. If you are able to find and acquire the newer OEC 9900 Elite C-Arm with 12” image intensifier from a reliable reseller, you may be able to achieve a significant savings over purchasing a new system.  C-arms are available to rent, lease, or purchase. Contact us for more details.