The Medical Center at Bowling Green is offering a new recovery option for people seeking total hip and knee replacements.

The new Outpatient Pathways Program will allow qualified patients to go home on the same day they have surgery.

Med Center Health Joint Replacement Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Rasesh Desai said this is a significant change. Total joint procedures were formerly an inpatient service.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital looked for options that shortened the stay for patients to prevent the chance of infection.

After almost nine months of research, Med Center Health recently began the new program and eight patients have successfully been treated through it.

“All of them have done exceptionally well, and we are very excited to see the continued results,” Desai said. “The feedback has been phenomenal so far. At the Medical Center, we always try to bring new technology and the best options to southcentral Kentucky. We take pride in bringing this kind of technology to this community.”

One major characteristic of the state-of-the-art initiative is its comprehensive approach to treating individuals.

Desai said not only does the program require a team of orthopaedic surgeons and an advanced anesthesiologist, but it also requires extra effort from the nursing staff who stay in touch with patients once they go home.

The process also requires a team of professional physical therapists to provide care for patients at home.

“This is a major surgery, and there are a number of things that could go wrong,” Desai said. “We got information from other centers in the U.S. who have done this before, and we looked at how we could implement this. We have very strict criteria for this.”

Desai said individuals are accepted into the program based on age, weight and their overall medical status. He added many who will seek the surgery will not be able to qualify.

“It takes the right patient to be able to do this,” he said. “We are very careful about selecting patents for this program. When they are selected properly, it works very well. It has many benefits.”

Of the benefits, Desai said one of the most significant is the lower cost.

Such quick visits also ease the workload on hospital staff and allow them to concentrate on other patients.

Desai also theorized that being able to heal at home lessens the psychological stress on the individual and their family.

Kristal Rubin of Bowling Green was one of the patients who went through the new program when she had total hip replacement surgery two months ago.

She says the procedure was a success and recommends it. “I think that it was very efficient,” Rubin said. “It took several weeks to get everything set for the surgery. I met with all the personnel at the hospital as well. They were all very qualified and informative. I felt very comfortable with what was going to happen.”

The Med Center joins TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital Orthopedics in offering same-day joint replacement surgery. Greenview began its program in January.