text_1: Same-day hip replacements get patients back on their feet
text_2: This is a story about “same-day” hip replacement surgery. The story gives readers the impression that a few pioneering institutions are offering patients a superior procedure, when the reality is that hospital stays after hip replacement have been steadily shortening for many years, to the point that it is not unusual for some otherwise healthy patients to go home without spending a night in the hospital. The story includes important cautions from a skeptical surgeon, but the prominence of the surgeon and institution that are actively marketing this procedure results in a story that implies greater benefits and fewer risks than there is evidence to support. The same surgeon and hospital were featured in a Wall Street Journal story that we reviewed in February. There are more than 300,000 hip replacement procedures performed in the United States each year. The many hundreds of thousands of people who have hip pain and are considering hip replacement need news stories that clearly and precisely state the benefits and harms of the various procedures.