title: Fast-track knee arthroplasty -- status and future challenges.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fast-track programs have been developed for different surgical procedures leading to higher patient satisfaction and lower morbidity. This concept has been extended to knee arthroplasty in recent years. The purpose of this narrative review was to discuss the different aspects of fast-track knee arthroplasty.
  
  
  METHODS
  Both authors searched the contemporary literature on minimally invasive knee arthroplasty and review articles on fast-track surgery aiming to summarize recent developments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Length of stay after knee arthroplasty is influenced by preoperative risk factors, anaesthetic and surgical techniques, pain, orthostatic intolerance, cognitive function, sleep disturbances, bleeding and anaemia and finally muscle function and rehabilitation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fast-track surgery reduces the length of stay and the morbidity after knee arthroplasty.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Optimisation of pre-, per- and postoperative pathway for knee arthroplasty reduces morbidity after this type of surgery and results in shorter length of stay.
authors.affiliation: Section for Surgical Pathophysiology, Rigshospitalet Copenhagen University, Denmark and The Lundbeck Centre for fast-track hip and knee replacement, Av. Hippocrate 10, 1200 Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: henrik.kehlet@regionh.dk.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kehlet
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thienpont
mesh_terms: D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D011184:Postoperative Period; D020127:Recovery of Function
keywords: Convalescence; Enhanced recovery; Fast-track; Knee arthroplasty; Outcome