Implementation of Ireland's first state-funded day-case total hip arthroplasty programme

Over the last two decades, many elective procedures have transitioned to day-case surgery thanks to the introduction of 'enhanced recovery' protocols. Only recently has total hip arthroplasty been considered a candidate for day-case surgery, as it was once associated with significant pain, mobility impairment and prolonged postoperative recovery. The National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh became the first public hospital in Ireland to set up a day-case total hip arthroplasty service in June 2018, and since then has performed over 109 such cases.

We outline our day-case total hip arthroplasty pathway, with specific focus on anaesthetic considerations. We report rates of failed discharge and readmission.

We achieved successful same-day discharge in 90.8% of our first 109 cases. Readmission rate was 4.6%.

Our experience of implementing a day-case total hip arthroplasty pathway was highly positive and congruent with expectations from the literature. With appropriate patient selection and education, day-case total hip arthroplasty is not just safe, but of benefit to both patients and healthcare systems.