Total hip arthroplasty in an outpatient setting in 27 selected patients

Background and purpose — As a result of introduction of a fast-track program, length of hospital stay after total hip arthroplasty (THA) decreased in our hospital. We therefore wondered whether THA in an outpatient setting would be feasible. We report our experience with THA in an outpatient setting.

Patients and methods — In this prospective cohort study, we included 27 patients who were selected to receive primary THA in an outpatient setting between April and July 2014. Different patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) were recorded preoperatively and at 6 weeks and 3 months postoperatively. Furthermore, anchor questions on how patients functioned in daily living were scored at 6 weeks and 3 months postoperatively.

Results — 3 of the 27 patients did not go home on the day of surgery because of nausea and/or dizziness. The remaining 24 patients all went home on the day of surgery. PROMs improved substantially in these patients. Moreover, anchor questions on how patients functioned in their daily living indicated that the patients were satisfied with the postoperative results. 1 re-admission occurred at 11 days after surgery because of seroma formation. There were no other complications or reoperations.

Interpretation — At our hospital, with a fast-track protocol, outpatient THA was found to be feasible in selected patients with satisfying results up to 3 months postoperatively, without any outpatient procedure-specific complications or re-admissions.