Ambulatory Surgery Center
Outpatient total joint replacement
What is an ASC (Ambulatory Surgery Center)?
Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASC’s) are outpatient facilities that offer an alternative to hospitals for patients undergoing routine surgical procedures. Like hospitals, ASC’s are regulated by state and government agencies to ensure patient safety.
Currently, there are more than 5,600 active ambulatory surgery centers in the U.S. ASC’s are high-quality options for patients in need of surgical procedures. Individuals may have a preference based on medical history, accessibility, cost, and other factors. Medicare and private insurance companies are utilizing outpatient surgery centers for a broader range of surgeries since they have proven to offer safe, convenient, and low-cost alternatives to hospital inpatient care.
Advantages to having surgery in an ASC
Less risk
Surgery centers are associated with lower rates of surgical site infections since patients are less likely to be exposed to bacteria and viruses carried by other patients and their visitors. To further protect your safety, outpatient total knee replacements are accomplished using patient-specific and single-use instruments. This means that the joint replacement instruments used for another patient will never be used on you and vice versa. An added benefit is that the instruments are only used once, they never exhibit wear, and are always accurate. Since outpatient surgical patients recover at home, they sleep better, mobilize faster in their familiar home environment, and experience fewer complications linked to inactivity, such as blood clots and pneumonia.
Cost effective
Another reason that outpatients opt for surgical centers over hospitals is the cost. Surgery centers are laser-focused on a particular procedure within a specialty. As such, they deliver that procedure with little waste and great efficiency. This allows them to secure significant savings that they can pass on to their patients. Pricing stability and transparency are important issues with patients in these uncertain times. With the recent changes in Medicare guidance for total hip and total knee replacement surgeries, the surgeons of the UNOVA Hip and Knee Center are the first in the area to offer outpatient total knee replacement to our Medicare patients. The cost savings versus inpatient care are close to 40 percent.
Leading orthopedic surgeons
The surgeons at UNOVA ASC have developed many proprietary pain management protocols such as our opioid-free anesthesia and post-op pain management program. They have trained extensively in and developed minimally invasive muscle and ligament sparing surgical techniques to enhance your rapid recovery. They have trained surgeons both nationally and internationally in outpatient joint replacement techniques.
If you are currently considering a total hip or total knee replacement and are interested in exploring whether outpatient joint replacement is appropriate for you, make an appointment at the UNOVA ASC, to discuss outpatient joint replacement with one our skilled providers.
No outpatient joint replacement surgery would be possible without the dedication and commitment of our highly skilled home health partners. With the blended combination of remote monitoring technology and face-to-face home health contact, the UNOVA ASC post-op care pathway ensures that you are always in contact with your UNOVA ASC team.
We are providing this information to you to serve as a guide through the pre- and post-op process. Your particular journey may involve many or none of the above-mentioned steps. At the UNOVA ASC, we strive to personalize each patient experience. We understand that every patient we encounter is an individual with unique concerns. This video is not meant to be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Those decisions should only be made after consultation with your treating surgeon and primary care physician. As always, your safety is our primary concern and your patience is greatly appreciated.