The landscape of total joint arthroplasty (TJA) has undergone a radical transformation over the last decade, primarily driven by the rapid and successful migration of primary procedures to the outpatient setting. Powered by advanced multimodal pain protocols, enhanced recovery pathways, and meticulous patient selection, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are now routinely executing same-day discharge (SDD) primary hips and knees.
However, as inpatient hospital capacity becomes increasingly constrained a reality exacerbated by the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and changing Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations the orthopedic community is pushing the boundaries further. The next logical, yet highly debated, frontier is outpatient revision and conversion TJA (rTJA).
