Orthopedics / TJR

East Providence, R.I.-based East Bay Surgery Center has recorded more than 300 total joint replacements since it opened in 2019.

From one ASC's 4,000th total joint replacement to another's first three-level lumbar fusion, here are six milestones in outpatient spine and orthopedic surgery so far this year:

P. Brodie Wood, MD, told Thurston Talk his total joint replacement practice in Olympia, Wash., shifted largely outpatient during the pandemic.

Natick, Mass.-based New England Surgical Suites announced the completion of the center's first total shoulder replacement.

Patients from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and patients from racial minorities were less likely to have a total joint replacement, according to a study published March 5 in The Journal of Arthroplasty.

Raghu Reddy, administrator at Cumberland-based SurgCenter of Western Maryland, spoke about payers' evolving attitudes toward spine and orthopedic surgery during Becker's Orthopedic, Spine + ASC Virtual Event on March 18 in the session "The Next 18 months: What to Expect…

While the number of orthopedic procedures — particularly knee and hip replacements — being performed in ASCs continues to grow, this rapid growth creates operational and administrative challenges.

Cincinnati-based Beacon Orthopaedics performed its 4,000th total joint replacement in an ASC setting, the practice announced March 15.

Barbara Bergin, MD, orthopedic surgeon at Austin-based Texas Orthopedics, Sports & Rehabilitation Associates, spoke about the growth of women in the orthopedic field and her outlook on ASCs on "Becker's Ambulatory Surgery Centers Podcast."

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, about 750,000 total knee replacements and 450,000 total hip replacements were performed in the U.S. annually, with wound complications the No. 1 reason for hospital readmissions.