The first total hip prostheses were implanted more than 40 years ago. Over the past 10 years, so-called "mini-invasive" surgeries have emerged, enabling patient's muscle mass to be preserved. This type of surgery is associated with a faster functional recovery and shorter hospital stay. Five years ago, we implemented a clinical course on arthroplasty, titled "Optimal Recovery", at the Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc. This protocol seeks to optimize the care of patients throughout their care journey, ensuring that standardized procedures be applied as much as possible. Patients benefit from two information sessions, one individual and one group session, and receive an information leaflet, in order to be actively included in the care process, which reduces their stress. Minimally-invasive surgical techniques, along with the adaptation of pre-, intra- and postoperative protocols, including postoperative analgesia and rehabilitation techniques, have likewise been developed in this setting. Implementing this type of care strategy has been associated with a reduction in both hospital stay and postoperative transfusion rates. The good results thereby observed enable bilateral arthroplasty to be performed at the same time, without any significant impact on either duration of the operation or functional recovery.
Key words
Optimal Recovery, bilateral total hip prosthesis