Day Care Total Knee Arthroplasty: Has India's Time Come?

Day care total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has gained global momentum as an effective strategy to reduce hospital stay while maintaining patient safety and clinical outcomes. Although widely adopted in several countries, its implementation in India remains limited.

To review the current evidence on day care TKA and evaluate its feasibility, safety, cost-effectiveness, and potential applicability within the Indian healthcare setting. Methods:A narrative review of the available literature was conducted, examining international experiences, perioperative protocols, patient selection criteria, economic considerations, and reported clinical outcomes associated with day care TKA. Challenges and opportunities specific to the Indian context were also explored.

Evidence suggests that day care TKA can achieve comparable safety, functional outcomes, and patient satisfaction to conventional inpatient arthroplasty in appropriately selected patients. Enhanced recovery protocols, multidisciplinary care pathways, and stringent patient selection are central to successful implementation. Potential benefits include reduced healthcare costs, improved resource utilization, and increased patient convenience. However, barriers such as clinician skepticism, medico-legal concerns, limited patient awareness, and infrastructural variability continue to impede widespread adoption in India.

Day care TKA represents a safe and cost-effective model of arthroplasty care when implemented within a structured framework. With appropriate patient selection, optimized perioperative pathways, and multidisciplinary collaboration, day care TKA has the potential to transform orthopaedic care delivery in India.