The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has amplified the trend toward outpatient total knee and hip joint replacement surgeries. At NYU Langone Health, orthopedic surgeons have seen an increase in patients discharged home the day of their joint replacement surgery.

“One of the unintentional consequences of the pandemic is patients who were previously apprehensive about going home the day of surgery now want to recover in their own environment,” says William Macaulay, MD, the Dr. William and Susan Jaffe Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and chief of the Division of Adult Reconstructive Surgery at NYU Langone.

Dr. Macaulay believes there will be a growing number of same-day surgeries for appropriate candidates even after the pandemic passes. “I think this is a trend that’s here to stay.”

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