What are the Benefits of having a Same Day Shoulder Surgery?

Undergoing a same day surgery, also known as outpatient surgery or ambulatory surgery, enables the patient to be discharged home on the same day as the operation. It is a high-quality, cost-effective, and very safe surgical approach that is fast becoming very popular. Here are some of the benefits of having same day surgery.

• Recovery in the comfort of your own home. Not having to spend the night in the hospital and being able to recover in the familiar setting of your own home makes the experience less stressful for most patients than in-patient surgery.
• Use of state-of-the-art surgical techniques. Same day surgery is made possible due to advances in anesthesia, minimally invasive surgery and arthroscopy that allow for better pain control and surgical outcomes.
• Less damage to healthy tissue. Surgery is performed through smaller incisions with less cutting of surrounding anatomical structures, smaller surgical scars, and less blood loss, enabling accelerated rehabilitation.
• Lowered costs. As there are no hospital room and other associated charges, the costs are much lower compared to in-patient surgery. Many people don't realize that the charges at a hospital are typically 3x higher than in an outpatient surgery center even for the same procedure. This could have a significant impact on your out-of-pocket costs.
• Reduced risk of infection. Patients have a reduced risk of getting a hospital-acquired infection due to the shorter stay.
• Quicker return to routine activities. When recovering at home, patients tend to actively participate in their own recovery, which is especially important for restoration of shoulder range of motion and decreased shoulder pain and stiffness.

All these factors contribute to improved patient satisfaction with same day surgery. If you have a shoulder injury that does not seem to be improving with conservative treatment and you would rather not spend too much time in a hospital, consult your doctor or a shoulder specialist to find out if you might be a candidate for same day surgery.

Dr. Patrick Denard has been voted one of the top 20 Shoulder Surgeons in North America and is the most widely published shoulder specialist in Oregon. Dr. Denard has advanced arthroscopy training and is able to perform the vast majority of shoulder procedures in a minimally invasive fashion, including all types of rotator cuff repairs and instability repair. These techniques allow him to repair tears that some consider "irreparable."