Patients who undergo outpatient anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction show no more postoperative discomfort than those who undergo the traditional inpatient procedure, according to a study published in Orthopaedics & Traumatology: Surgery & Research.
The researchers compared rates of postoperative discomfort between 70 patients who received outpatient ACL reconstruction and 63 patients who received inpatient ACL reconstruction. The surgeries were performed by a single physician, who treated patients undergoing primary surgery for an isolated ACL tear. Postoperative discomfort was determined by patients' online assessments.
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1. Postoperative discomfort included experiencing anxiety, nausea, malaise, vertigo or stomach pain within three days of the procedure. Other criteria included difficulty sleeping and episodes of knee pain.
2. During the first night after surgery, outpatient participants experienced significantly less difficulty sleeping and were significantly less often woken by pain. On the first day after surgery, the outpatient participants also walked more frequently.
3. The researchers concluded that, when compared with the inpatient procedure, outpatient ACL reconstruction is not associated with any additional postoperative discomfort.