Spain's first-ever outpatient hip replacement performed in Barcelona

Already, the Clínic had managed to reduce in-patient stays for hip replacements from seven days in 2013 to three-and-a-half in 2019 by performing gradually less-invasive surgery and by focusing more on a combination of analysis and reorganisation, therapeutic education, and optimising the operating theatre and overall medical process using 'the best scientific evidence available', hospital sources say.

In other words, ongoing testing and getting the patient on his or her feet quicker with physiotherapy and explaining what to do have been key – in fact, in some hospitals in Spain, patients attend group sessions ahead of hip and knee replacements, so they know what to expect and how to deal with pain and stiffness afterwards, and can plan for their future, temporarily-restricted mobility before going under knife.

Hospital Clínic says the 'key' to cutting overnight stays for hip-replacement patients lies in surgical techniques that eliminate the need for blood transfusions and cut down the amount of morphine or morphine-strength painkillers needed to deal with post-operative discomfort.

Also, getting the patient up on their feet and having them moving and, as far as possible, walking within a shorter timescale after the operation means they are less likely to need catheters, as they can get to the toilet themselves, or fluid-draining or drugs to prevent bedsores and circulation problems through being on their backs for too long.

The techniques Hospital Clínic has used in Spain's first hip-replacement operation not requiring an overnight stay have not been revealed publicly, but the person concerned will be closely monitored as an outpatient to ensure the process has been successful, with a view to its being used in the future in more and more hospitals nationwide.