A decade ago, joint replacement surgery called for a seven-day hospital stay. Now the procedure can be done in the morning and a patient can walk out a little after noon.
White Fence Surgical Suites, founded by the physicians of New Albany’s Joint Implant Surgeons, offers outpatient joint replacement and preservation surgeries.
“There’s more risk when people stay overnight at hospitals,” says Dr. Jason Hurst, chief operating officer of White Fence.
“We looked back at our numbers for patients in the hospital, the vast majority under the age of 65, and they were leaving within 23 hours. We realized that’s less than a day. … Why stay at all?
“Simply put, people get better faster at home,” Hurst says. “They can recover without being hassled by nurses, blood draws, beeps and being hooked up to machines. It changes the way people think of health care.”
The key to the quick recovery time is the advancement in anesthesia techniques.
“We take full advantage of regional anesthesia in which we numb only certain parts of the body,” says Dr. Victor Terebuh, anesthesiologist at the surgical center. “This provides better relief with fewer side effects. We do all we can to not limit mobility.”
While the overall procedure takes little time, surgeons and staff members create an environment that prevents a patient from feeling rushed.
“We make sure to maintain a great level of patience because we never want someone to feel like they’re being shoved out the door,” Terebuh says. “Safety and comfort are our top priorities. Everything is patient-focused.”
Brad Beutner, a patient of White Fence and resident of Elida, Ohio, experienced the quality of care firsthand during his total right hip replacement surgery July 8.
“The doctors and surgeons were so confident that everything was going to go smoothly,” he says. “I don’t have a single complaint. There have been no problems.”
Beutner is a walking testament that outpatient joint surgeries can be successful.
“I walked to the car the day of surgery,” he says. “I didn’t have a limp after two and a half weeks. People don’t believe it.”
If a patient isn’t able to recover as fast and decides that he or she does not feel comfortable returning home, the facility has the capability to keep him or her overnight with the same care.
“We can do up to 23-hour observation if necessary,” says Jole Ross-Bagley, nurse administrator at White Fence. “If a patient wants to stay the night, we arrange accordingly. We won’t start care until later on in the morning; that way the patient won’t have to leave at 5 a.m.”
Not only are patients receiving fast service, they are also experiencing great recovery times with no issues after surgery.
“The patients have been so happy with the care,” Ross-Bagley says. “Every single survey came back saying the staff and the surgeons were all fantastic.”
Fresh out of joint replacement surgery, a man was able to stand and thank the surgeons and staff with a handshake before leaving the room for rehabilitation.
When patients are ready to move forward after surgery, they head downstairs to the physical therapy clinic for their initial evaluations.
“Once they finish their first physical therapy session, they are free to head home,” Hurst says. “Everything is done between four and six hours, which was previously unheard of.”
Staff members focus a lot of energy on micro-recovery time – the time it takes for a patient to get home – but there is also an emphasis on the time it takes for a patient to fully recover.
“These surgeries aren’t meant to keep someone down; they’re meant to get a person back up,” Hurst says. “People are on a walker for about two weeks, then a cane and, after six weeks, they shouldn’t need any sort of assisting device.”
The final recovery time is strictly situational. Severity of the procedure, age and willpower all play a role in how long it takes for someone to fully recover.
“A patient won’t just wake up right after and be able to run full speed,” Hurst says. “Most people are doing their activities and sports within 10-12 weeks, but they continue to improve for at least one full year.”
For Beutner, recovery was almost as fast as the surgery itself.
“I forget that I got a new hip,” he said. “I was out golfing five weeks after surgery. It takes seeing the scar for me to remember I had it done. I’m not in pain anymore, so I’m planning to build a shed for my son-in-law.”
To qualify for surgery at White Fence, a patient must not be more than 69 years of age and should not have existing cardiac risks or recent heart complications.
“We are designed for people who are motivated to recover quickly and who are able to get well,” Hurst says. “Because we are a center, and not a full-service hospital, we don’t want to put any patients at risk if they are not relatively healthy enough to have surgery.”
The clinic continues to accept new patients and expand its specialties into new areas, including same-day spinal surgeries. White Fence is currently adding more surgeons from around the United States to its staff.
White Fence represents one of the many advances in the New Albany medical field, including the addition of OrthoNeuro in 2011, the creation of Healthy New Albany and the partnership with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Nationwide Childrens Hospital and the City of New Albany to erect a new health and wellness center
Stephan Reed is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
