OSE_1306_part2_Layout 1 6/3/13 3:41 PM Page 66
O R T H O P E D I C S
FACTS & FIGURES
The Big-Picture Benefits
U
TREND SETTER
sing techniques I
Richard Berger, MD,
has performed
developed, we
approximately 5,000
outpatient joint
replacement procebegan outpatient
dures since 2001.
hip replacements here
at Rush University
Medical Center in
Chicago, in 2001, on a
select few healthy patients. As my technique
evolved, we performed multiple cases a day on
older, sicker individuals, essentially opening up the
surgery to all patients. Then, in 2003, we started
doing outpatient knee replacements. Since then,
I've performed approximately 5,000 joint replacement procedures.
Last year, 63% of the more than 1,000 patients
who underwent total hips, total knees and partial
knees under my care went home the day of surgery, 35% went home the following day and 2%
stayed multiple nights. More than 1 million joint
replacements are performed in the United States
annually and the average length of stay is almost 5
days, which equates to 5 million hospital days.
Imagine how much money the healthcare system
would save if more surgeons performed knee
replacements that let patients go home the day of
surgery or, at the very least, the day after.
— Richard Berger, MD
6 6
A highly skilled and
knowledgeable surgical team is a must to
make outpatient knee
replacement work. So
is a dedicated nurse
assigned to trail
patients from pre-op to
PACU, ensuring they
receive medications
and post-op therapy at
precisely the right
times. Every aspect of
care — epidural placements, administration
of pain and PONV
medications, fluid
boluses, physical therapy sessions — must
go off without a hitch
in order for patients to
meet same-day discharge criteria. OSM
Dr. Berger (r.a.berger@sbcglob al.net), a
pioneer in minimally
invasive hip and knee
replacement surgery, is
affiliated with Midwest
Orthopaedics at Rush
University Medical
Center in Chicago, Ill.
O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J U N E 2013
