Surgeons at Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee Surgery Center completed the first total shoulder replacement procedure recently, kicking off a comprehensive total joint replacement (TJR) program that will also include knee and hip replacement procedures. The successful shoulder replacement surgery was completed by orthopaedic surgeon Ian Byram, M.D., who specializes in shoulders, elbows, and sports medicine.
“Everything went very smoothly,” Dr. Byram reports. “The patient was discharged home within several hours of waking up. We have checked in with her and she is doing fantastic, experiencing minimal pain, so by all accounts the surgery was a big success. She was pleased with the experience, and two key reasons for that were proper pre-operative counseling and close, post-operative follow-up both by the center staff and our team.”
Creating a positive patient experience is a primary goal of the new TJR program at Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee Surgery Center. And, providing a quality outpatient option for such surgeries is particularly important in a healthcare environment where COVID-19 presents an added challenge.
“You are generally not a good candidate for the surgery center if you have pulmonary compromise or you’re sick. As a result, we have the opportunity to take care of patients’ joint replacement needs in the midst of a medical crisis such as COVID-19.”
Preparation Paves the Way
Prior to scheduling its first total joint procedure, Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee Surgery Center established an infrastructure to properly educate and prepare patients in advance of their surgery, and to ready the full staff. In place as part of this infrastructure are:
- Pre-operative pathway and joint education classes for patients, both done at the Institute
- Team meetings with the anesthesia team, surgeon, and nurses to discuss multi-modal pain management in order to minimize pain after the surgery
- Facility preparation via proper equipment and proper staffing.
“A surgery center does not automatically have all of the instrumentation necessary for joint replacement,” explains Byram. “Our leadership was great about getting all the pieces together in order to kick off a program supporting this first joint replacement and what will soon be many joint replacement procedures.”
Convenience and Efficiency
Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee Surgery Center offers patients the advantage of a facility that is ideally designed for joint replacement procedures, in the same building as multiple other lines of care.
“We have our physical therapists in this building, we have clinicians in this building, we have pre-operative education in this building, and now they can have their surgery in this state-of-the-art facility,” says Byram. “That makes it very convenient and straightforward for the patient, and I think it minimizes communication gaps.”
In this particular case, Byram used CT-guided navigation technology, which is state-of-the-art for shoulder arthroplasty. It allows the surgeon to take a CT scan of the patient’s shoulder, upload it into software, and virtually ‘perform’ the surgery on the software in advance. The procedure is then re-enacted in the operating room with increased precision and accuracy made possible by live feedback regarding the depth and angle of the surgeon’s instruments with respect to the patient’s bone architecture.
Value-Based Care in Action
Launching TJR just six months after the facility opened is an accomplishment that provides a value not widely available in the Institute’s service area.
Says Stephanie Martin, Regent Surgical Health’s vice president of clinical operations, “Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee Surgery Center and Williamson Medical Center have a unique perspective as they continually move healthcare forward to address the needs of the community. The center gives TJR patients the option for an efficient, cost-effective facility where they have surgery, see their physician for follow-up, see their physical therapist, all at a single site of care.”
Click here to learn more about the Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee Surgery Center.