Outpatient Hip Replacement...

[Mags]

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When my wife had her knee replacement the cryotherapy equipment was provided by the hospital. We still have it. I'm sure the insurance got charged handsomely for it.

following knee replacement surgery, I came home from the hospital with a Cold Water Therapy Ice Machine similar to the one shown in this link >>> [url]https://www.amazon.com/Cryotherapy-Circ ... flammation.... they say it can be used for hip replacement .... all I can tell you is its a tremendous help

Wow, Jim, that's quite the piece of equipment! I'll be shocked if this doc doesn't have a "preferred method" of dealing with his outpatients' post-op therapies. Will learn more on Friday, the 13th! This is all great stuff, though! Just more to add to my Q&A List!

[JEBar]

When my wife had her knee replacement the cryotherapy equipment was provided by the hospital. We still have it. I'm sure the insurance got charged handsomely for it.

same here .... it wasn't something we bought separately .... knowing what I know now, if they hadn't of provided one, we would have bought one .... there is no doubt to me that doing so would have been worth every cent

[CT_Shooter]

I have one, too. It was prescribed to help recover from spinal fusion surgery. I agree, it's a wonderful treatment; we also used frozen water bottles instead of ice to cool the water. I laid on it for weeks. Mine circulates the water through the system intermittently, which was helpful. I didn't even think about using it when I had my hip surgery. Duh! It certainly would have helped.

its really a pretty simple device .... a cooler which you fill with ice and water (we found that freezing plastic Coke bottles and adding them to the mix make the cold water last longer) .... turn it on and it circulates the cold water through a hose to a pad that is designed to wrap around the body part, and then a different hose takes the water back to the cooler .... no dealing with wet bags of ice and all of the mess that can cause .... it really works well

[dave77]

I'm sure lots of interesting stuff goes on that we never even think about. I wonder what kind of music my doc pipes into the O.R.?

Better that you never find out!! I had heard of this before, luckily it's very rare.

https://mosaicscience.com/story/anaesth ... paralysed/

[PatientWolf]

I hope you do well. I’ve heard of a lot of people who have been very happy they had the surgery and the fact that it is now an outpatient surgery, I think says a lot about the expected outcomes.

There’s a lot to be said for outpatient surgery. It helps get you away from all those nasties that have a chance to incubate in the hospitals. Don’t get me wrong, certainly the hospital staffs do everything they can to keep them away, but it can certainly be an uphill battle for them based on sheer numbers.

[ESquared]

There’s a lot to be said for outpatient surgery. It helps get you away from all those nasties that have a chance to incubate in the hospitals.

My son's neighbor is in biomed sales, which means he sells all the pieces and parts that surgeons use in these joint replacements. Spent a half hour on the phone with him last night, picking his brain about all the ins and outs of this, as he's been in the O.R. hundreds of times over his 2 decades in the business.
You're absolutely right: the #1 complication is post-op infection, followed by dislocation of the replaced joint. The technology has come so far that outpatient joint surgeries are a win/win for everyone. Lower infection rates, lower costs, more rapid road to rehab, etc.

Very helpful conversation; at least reaffirmed that I'm asking the right questions. Best of all, another one of those "It'll change your life" conversations.

[ESquared]

Finally got in to see the actual surgeon on Friday (the 13th!), and he aced the interview, I'm happy to say. Nice guy, straight shooter, been doing this for 10 years, does about 100 hips and 200 knees per year, so he knows his way around the O.R.
He agrees I'm a good candidate for outpatient, and would prefer to do it in one of his surgery centers vs. a hospital. In his world, "outpatient" means early AM surgery/out-the-door by 1:00 pm or so, and he won't do one after 3:00pm. Couldn't nail him down on recovery expectations, as the paths are so filled with variables.
So, now they work out pre-authorization and surgery center approvals with the insurance folks, and we book a date. Probably 30-45 days out, if the insurance stuff goes through in a timely manner (no assurances, just hope, for now).

[markiver54]

Always a must to find a doctor you're comfortable with. Glad you were able to do that.
Hope you are able to get it scheduled soon and work out the insurance issues. Keep us in the loop Evan.
Glad you chimed in!

[CT_Shooter]

Thanks for the update, Evan I've been thinking about you. Glad you've started the ball rolling. Keep us posted.

[RanchRoper]

Good luck. I think I'll ask for toggle linkage in my knees when the time comes. Just slide the caps off, a little Rem oil and I'm good to go....