Although hip and knee replacements are the most effective solutions for patients with severe arthritis, modern implant designs have not significantly reduced postoperative pain, stiffness and long difficult rehabilitation.
At a recent SwiftPath Symposium in San Diego, surgeons compared traditional joint replacement methods to methods utilized in the SwiftPath Program to determine its impact on recovery.
The symposium focused on issues that matter to patients:
• Pain management
• Alternatives to narcotics
• Minimally invasive surgical techniques
• Computer navigation and robotics
• Speed of recovery
I served as moderator for the symposium and pointed out that “joint replacement is a highly successful operation but postoperative pain and stiffness stand as the single most common cause for patient dissatisfaction. Extensive surgical approaches, bleeding and prolonged hospitalization likely contribute to the problem — stiffness that naturally leads to months of arduous and painful physical therapy that we simply come to believe is part of the surgery.”
Minimally invasive surgical techniques for hip and knee replacement help reduce postoperative pain, stiffness, inactivity and narcotics use. The SwiftPath Program combines these improvements with a comprehensive and systematic approach to patient engagement, modern pain management, early discharge and rapid mobilization.
For the last two years, the SwiftPath Program has been used in thousands of joint replacements performed across the country. Using predictive analytics, patients are assigned a standard hospital stay, 23-hour stay or same-day discharge. The program is so effective that many patients can be discharged directly to home with no use of rehabilitation centers, hotels or other types of recovery suites. There is minimal blood loss, so postoperative labs are no longer required. Patients participate in an online, cyber-secure patient-reported outcome system documenting their daily pain experience, weekly rehabilitation, return to activities and overall patient satisfaction.
Craig McAllister, is in private practice in Kirkland. He is a fellowship-trained, sub-specialist in hip and knee surgery.
