Last fall, the first hip replacement surgery where the patient was released the same day as the procedure was performed at the Westlock Healthcare Centre by Dr. Jan Lategan, who has been at the facility for nearly two decades.
Since then, the hospital has become the site of even more “zero-day” hip arthroplasties for northern Alberta residents who no longer have to travel to Edmonton or Calgary for the procedure.
On April 3, Alberta Health Services (AHS) issued a release detailing how a total of five day-zero hip surgeries and one knee surgery had been performed at the Westlock Healthcare Centre by Lategan as of that date.
In the past, it was common practice for hip and knee replacement patients to have to stay in the hospital for two to three days following a procedure. However, advancements in technology and new procedures have allowed patients to be discharged the following day, or even on the same day.
The Town & Country This Week reported in September about the case of Sherean Needham, a Whitecourt resident who received a zero-day arthroplasty from Lategan.
Needham spoke glowingly of the procedure and the short recovery time. “Westlock is a lucky, lucky town to have a man that performs this type of surgery. He’s absolutely phenomenal,” she said.
The AHS release also quotes area resident Mona Koberstein, who was the second patient to receive the procedure.
“It was a very positive experience. I was tottering around with my walker when I got home. Two months later, I went to Disneyland with my family and had zero issues. I was able to walk around pain-free,” Koberstein said.
Lategan stated that day-zero arthroplasty can be “very successful” for the right patients, particularly those needing less invasive surgeries.
“Patients need to be motivated for rehabilitation and recovery. Having a good support system is another important consideration,” he said.
Day-zero arthroplasties also reduce wait times by eliminating cancellations due to bed shortages. The AHS release noted that the aim is to have one or two day-zero arthroplasties performed at Westlock every week.
In a recent interview, Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken said the province is attempting to have more surgeries done in rural communities, noting that they have been trying to increase orthopedic surgeries performed in Westlock in particular.
He noted that Edmonton-area doctors are having difficulty getting OR (operating room) time, so the province is trying to reduce wait times by utilizing rural facilities.
Though he didn’t specify an exact amount, van Dijken suggested that funds may have been allocated to the Westlock Healthcare Centre to upgrade its Medical Device Reprocessing (MDR) and sterilization unit in an effort to double the amount of surgeries done there.
A comment from health minister Jason Copping within the AHS release seemed to confirm the overall strategy of having more surgeries done in rural settings.
“Reducing surgical wait-times is among our top priorities for the health system, and through strategies like this, we are working toward ensuring all Albertans can get their surgeries faster, and to get them home and back to their lives as quickly as possible,” said Copping.
-with files from Kristine Jean and Barry Kerton
