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Southwest Florida’s first facility designed to focus on same-day outpatient joint replacement surgical procedures celebrates its 8th anniversary this month, marking several years of steady growth. Shortly after opening its doors on November 11, 2015, the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) hosted the area’s first outpatient total hip replacement procedure. Since then, surgeons have conducted over 15,000 procedures at the center, including more than 2,500 total joint replacements.
With year-to-date case figures topping 2022’s by 3%, Seaside is poised to continue its growth trajectory. “Total shoulder replacements in ASCs have been approved by Medicare beginning January 1, 2024,” explains Seaside Administrator Cindy Schuetz, R.N. “So, we expect to see an increase in those.”
In fact, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) predicts that 51% of all total joint replacements will be conducted on an outpatient basis by 2026. 1 The AAOS cites four main medical advances that made outpatient joint replacement possible:
- More effective anesthetics and pain control
- More refined surgical techniques
- Improved pre-operative safety and patient selection
- More focused Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy within hours of surgery
Other procedures conducted at Seaside include arthroscopies; treatment of fractures; bunionectomies, hammer toe correction and various other foot and ankle procedures; and multiple hand procedures such as carpel tunnel repair and trigger finger repair. A team of more than 15 highly skilled and experienced nurses and administrators assists the surgeons.
1 https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/treatment/outpatient-joint-replacement-surgery/
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