AHN Orthopaedic Institute Starts Region’s First Shoulder Replacement Surgery Program in a Stand-alone Outpatient Surgery Center

MONROEVILLE, Pa.  –  Allegheny Health Network’s (AHN) Monroeville Surgery Center has become the first stand-alone community ambulatory surgery facility in the Pittsburgh region to offer outpatient shoulder replacement surgery to eligible patients.

The new program provides patients with access to AHN’s leading joint reconstruction specialists in the convenience and comfort of a community-based surgery center, enabling them to be discharged the same day as their procedure and recover at home.

In March, AHN orthopaedic surgeon R. Colin Brabender, MD, began performing same-day total shoulder replacement surgeries at the AHN Monroeville Surgery Center.

“This innovative program expansion aims to enhance patient care quality, access and satisfaction with their orthopedic care,” said Dr. Brabender. “Providing joint replacement surgeries in a conveniently located, patient-friendly, outpatient facility is another great example of our Living Health model in action.”  

As a result of this expansion, the Monroeville center now performs three major joint replacement procedures – knees, hips and now shoulders – on an outpatient basis.

Dr.  Brabender’s first total shoulder patient was a 62-year-old man from Sewickley, PA. Non-surgical therapies and injections failed to remedy the patient’s shoulder arthritis and associated pain, which meant the patient had difficulty sleeping or lifting his arm to perform daily tasks, such as putting a gallon of milk in the refrigerator.

“The goal of the shoulder replacement surgery is to drastically decrease, if not eliminate, the patient’s shoulder pain and give him function back,” Dr. Brabender said.

The outpatient surgery – typically lasting 60 to 90 minutes – allows for a quicker recovery process, with patients out of a sling completely in four weeks and often regaining full motion within three months, Dr. Brabender said. As with same-day outpatient hip and knee replacements, outpatient shoulder replacements also carry a lower risk of infection and other complications.

Patients must be in good overall health, and have an optimal home recovery environment, to be eligible for the outpatient joint replacement procedures. After patients are discharged, AHN’s physical and occupational therapy team meets them at their homes to ensure they are set up for recovery. Therapists then return to the patient’s home every few days for the first few weeks to help manage the patient’s initial rehabilitation process.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, approximately 53,000 Americans undergo shoulder joint replacement surgery each year. Joint replacement surgery involves removing and replacing parts of the joint with a metal, plastic, or ceramic prosthesis. In some cases, total joint replacement is necessary to restore natural function and movement.

Several conditions can cause joint pain and disability, the most common being damage to cartilage from conditions such as arthritis or a fracture.

“The decision to introduce total shoulder replacements at the surgery center stems from the growing demand for timely and accessible orthopedic surgeries,” said Jesse Hixson, Director of Nursing for the AHN Monroeville Ambulatory Surgery Center.

The new service is also in keeping with AHN’s value-based philosophy of moving surgeries to lower-cost settings, when clinically appropriate. Because procedures that take place at standalone, outpatient surgical centers cost less than the same surgeries performed in a hospital setting, moving joint replacements to an outpatient center reduces the cost of care for patients, insurers and other stakeholders that might foot the medical bill, such as employers.   

AHN Monroeville Surgery Center was ranked first in Western Pennsylvania and second in the state on Newsweek’s 2024 list of America’s Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers.

AHN’s Monroeville Surgery Center opened its doors in 2013 and, since then, has significantly expanded the services it provides to patients. The Center offers a full complement of surgical specialties, including urology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, and gynecological surgeries, as well as a variety of orthopedic surgeries, including same-day total shoulder, hip, and knee replacements. AHN was the first health system in the western Pennsylvania region to begin performing joint replacement procedures in a stand-alone, ambulatory surgery center setting.

For more information on the AHN Orthopaedic Institute, visit https://www.ahn.org/services/orthopaedic.