Written by Isabelle Crépeau MLIS, Scientific Information Officer
Dr. Anthony Albers, Dr. Ron Dimentberg and the Orthopaedic Day Surgery Pilot Program
The Pilot Orthopaedic Day Surgery Program under the lead of Dr. Anthony Albers (hip and knee arthroplasty; arthroscopic knee surgery) and Dr. Ron Dimentberg (knee arthroplasty; reconstructive and joint replacement knee surgery) has met its first milestone – one year mark in June 2021. The overall objective of this program is to improve outcomes for eligible patients by decreasing the length of stay in hospital, speeding up early recovery and improving pain control.
The program is supported by funds from the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation and brings together employees from surgical planning, surgical day centre, recovery, orthopaedic surgeons from SMHC and the outpatient coordinator for patient follow-up. There have been 146 outpatient joint replacements, both hip and knee between June 2020 and June 2021). Patients have been receiving telephone follow-up after their surgeries and pre-operative preparation from the team at SMHC.
The program has showed reduced hospital readmission rates, reduced overall costs and low complication rates while receiving positive feedback from patients. The pilot will soon be transitioned to standard practice and is continuing with day surgeries joint replacements for eligible patients.
Part of the St. Mary’s Orthopaedic team composed of Dr. Ronald Dimentberg, Dr. Anthony Albers, Dr. Jennifer Mutch and Dr. Moreno Morelli is also collaborating with the JGH, Verdun and Sacré-Coeur hospitals:
- Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery, JGH (PI:Dr. Ana Velly, local investigator: Dr. Moreno Morelli)
- Percutaneous distal metatarsal osteotomy, Verdun Hospital (PI: Dr. Marie Gdalevitch, Local investigator, Dr. Jennifer Mutch)
- Personalized Instrument in Total Shoulder Arthroplasty, Sacré-Coeur Hospital (PI: Dr. Dominique M. Rouleau, Local investigator: Dr. Jennifer Mutch
Heritage Project
As the SMRC embark on its next phase of growth, it is important to document the successes and accomplishments of researchers at St. Mary’s Hospital. The goal of the Heritage Project, which was announced by Dr. Ari Meguerditchian in May 2021 is to ensure that this heritage is preserved and celebrated identity of the Research Centre as it continues to grow.
Gina Costanzo, SMRC Manager, is proud to count on strong partnerships, specifically with Cindy Aikman, Manager, Communications and Culture at the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation (SMHF) as well as the priceless support of Pierre Dubois and his team from the CIUSSS Communications and Gayathri Devi-Tirou from the CIUSSS Project’s Office. Interviews of key figures in the history of research at St. Mary’s Hospital Centre (SMHC) are underway.
