Illinois Surgeon Does Outpatient Hip Replacement

Shawn W. Palmer, M.D., of Midwest Bone and Joint Institute at the Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC), in St. Charles, Illinois, has performed the state’s first outpatient anterior approach hip replacement surgery.

According to PR Newswire, during surgery the hip is replaced from the front side without cutting any muscle. This is said to allow patients to go home just hours after receiving the procedure. They resume normal activities such as driving a car within just a few days.

The contrast with patients who undergo traditional hip replacement surgery is dramatic. They usually spend up to four days in the hospital recovering, experience more post-operative pain, and may require extended therapy. The cost difference is substantial. When performed in an ambulatory surgery center, the hip replacement surgery costs up to 66% less, thus potentially saving patients thousands of dollars.

“Patients not only experience less pain and recover better at home, but also appreciate the dramatic reduction in cost as many begin to bear more responsibility for their own healthcare expenses, ” said Palmer. “We’re pleased to be among just a handful of providers throughout the country offering this life-changing surgery in an ASC setting.”

Not every patient is a candidate for outpatient surgery. One who was is Betsy Evett of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. PR Newswire quotes her saying, “I was walking within three hours of surgery and off my pain medication after two days. The cost difference was substantial; I saved more than half the cost of having the procedure done at my local hospital, yet received first-class care.”

Palmer, who has been installing new hips in a hospital setting for five years, credits the advances in pain control and minimally-invasive surgery, with making it possible to offer this type of surgery in an out-patient setting.