Healing at home

Outpatient surgery centers offer lower infection rates and the convenience of recovering at home

By Elise Riley

As the saying goes, there’s no place like home.

That’s true for timeless movies, holiday traditions, and, it turns out, even recovering from surgery.

Outpatient surgical centers offer patients procedures from highly specialized physicians in an environment that is often more cost-effective.

Dr. Michael Rose, a Fellowship-Trained Sports Medicine Specialist with The CORE Institute, performs the majority of his surgical procedures at outpatient centers, including The CORE Institute Specialty Hospital in Phoenix. From rotator cuff or labrum repairs to mending a torn ACL or meniscus, he says that more and more of these procedures are being performed in outpatient surgical centers.

“I mostly operate on the shoulder, hip, and knee,” Dr. Rose said, “and these procedures definitely can be done on an outpatient basis. The trend has been moving more and more toward outpatient surgery. Even some joint replacements that traditionally required a 24-48 hour hospital stay, can now be done outpatient.”

The emergence of surgery centers is a win-win for surgeons and patients and comes with practical but significant benefits: Dr. Rose says outpatient facilities are typically smaller and do not have patients who are there with chronic illnesses or infections. Also, many of these facilities, like The CORE Institute Specialty Hospital, are physician led, which means there are less administrative hurdles for patients. The logistics are much simpler.

Additionally, the reality is that staying overnight in a hospital simply can’t compete with your best four-legged friend, your preferred comfort food, or your favorite pillow.

“It’s really important to be able to recover at home if that is possible,” Dr. Rose said. “You’re in an environment you’re familiar with. A hospital is foreign; it can be chaotic, and it isn’t always easy to rest and relax there.”

Dr. Rose explained the process for keeping patients safe and comfortable post-surgery. “Nerve blocks – which we call regional anesthesia – allow us to get people home the same day of surgery,” Dr. Rose said. “Our nurses go over everything in the recovery room. We’ll do a formal session with a patient’s caregiver and we provide an on-call number. There’s always Dr. Michael Rose someone available who can answer the patient’s questions.”

Dr. Rose explained the most important consideration is matching the patient and their planned treatment with the correct setting. Some patients will be best served by treatment in a hospital. “But when indicated, I discuss with the patient the benefits of surgery in an outpatient facility,” he said.

Dr. Rose advised doing some preparations in the home well before surgery: knowing who might be available to help for a couple of days initially, addressing practical considerations like sleeping arrangements or bathing, obtaining necessary medical equipment, and making sure errands like trips to the grocery store are delegated for several days.

“Most people are happy when they hear a procedure is outpatient, especially now with COVID,” Dr. Rose said. “No one really wants to stay in a hospital.”