Outpatient ACL reconstruction using intraoperative local analgesia and oral postoperative pain medication.
Thirty-five consecutive anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions were performed in an ambulatory surgical unit using a bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft. Patients were evaluated postoperatively to determine the amount of pain medication used, the readmission rate, postoperative complications, and cost. Outpatient ACL reconstruction led to a savings of $4700 compared with the cost of performing the same procedure in a hospital operating room with an overnight admission. This study demonstrates that outpatient ACL reconstruction, using local analgesia intraoperatively and oral narcotic pain medication postoperatively, is a safe and cost-effective procedure with minimal to no morbidity.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick 08903, USA.
E R
ER
Aronowitz
F A
FA
Kleinbart
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D000698:Analgesia; D000772:Anesthesia, Local; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001182:Arthroscopy; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007432:Intraoperative Period; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000070600:Tibial Meniscus Injuries; D016896:Treatment Outcome