Total Joint Arthoplasty and Being a Good Antibiotic Steward: My Takeaways from AAOS
Overall the 2019 AAOS Annual Meeting was a great success in Las Vegas, Nevada. As an Arthroplasty Surgeon, I focused my time on the hip and knee reconstruction sections and I still was unable to see many of the available offerings. There were a tremendous number of clinical papers, scientific exhibits, instructional course lectures and posters (double the number this year, as posters rotated after two days of the meeting). The exhibitors were out in full force with their latest products, a large emphasis was placed on computer navigation, targeting devices, robotic surgery and imageless guidance systems. While all forms of presentation were different, there did seem to be a few common themes, including: opioid use/protocols to limit over-prescribing for hip and knee arthroplasty, spine-pelvis interaction and implications with component placement, infection detection, and goals/techniques to optimize patient outcomes, particularly in the short-stay arena.