As one
decade finishes, a new one begins with promise and excitement. As I look back
at 2019, it was another great year for joint replacement. I got to experience
the role of caregiver to a knee replacement patient and realized the challenges
our patients face in the first few weeks after surgery. I am happy to say 10
months after surgery the patient is back skiing and enjoying so many of the
activities which were painful before surgery.
As we start 2020, our outpatient surgery center
is nearing completion. This state-of-the-art facility, with 6 operating rooms
and overnight care suites, will allow a smooth transition from overnight stay
to same day discharge. We have been fine-tuning our pre-operative protocols and
patient-care pathways, developing and adopting patient-engagement apps and
embracing digital technology to enable us to deliver the highest quality care
for joint replacement patients. This is an exciting time as we evolve from
focusing on the implants we develop to the techniques and ways to perform the
surgery better. All implant manufacturers have optimized the implants, what we
are now striving for is how we perform the surgery better. We use computers to
help us better align and implant our devices so hopefully we can decrease the
variance of results. Stay tuned for an exciting 2020 in the field of joint
replacement.
