in a "step-down area" in recovery, says Dr. Berger. At his facility, total
joint patients stay for several hours in this step-down area and work
with a physical therapist until they can walk, take steps and use the
bathroom. "You want to make sure the patient is able to come home,"
says Dr. Berger.
When patients do arrive home, their care continues. Most facilities
performing same-day joints partner with physical therapy and home
nursing programs to keep patients safe and enhance recovery at
home, or have patients transferred to a rehab facility to stay for sever-
al days after surgery.
If you're not a part of a hospital-based system, your best bet is to
partner with a local physical therapy group that is comfortable with
working with patients directly after surgery, since most therapists
tend to work with patients who've spent time recovering in a hospital,
Dr. Berger says. His center works with a physical therapist that visits
patients several times at home for the first week, until they can drive.
9 6
O U T P A T 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 | M A R C H 2 0 1 5
z TOTAL JOINTS Knees and hips are the most popular outpatient total joints
being performed, although some centers are doing elbows and shoulders, too.
John
A.
Scarfone
(Starfleet
Productions)
