I chose this topic due to one of the patient’s surgeries I was a part of had a unilateral hip replacement with the intent of having her other hip replaced in three months, as known as staged bilateral total hip arthroplasty. She was 42 years old with severe osteoarthritis due to developmental hip dysplasia. I chose this article as I thought based on her age, health status that she was a good candidate to for a simultaneous bilateral total hip arthroplasty (simBTHA) but I wanted to see what the difference in the outcomes of simultaneous versus staged bilateral total hip arthroplasty. This article is a systematic review and meta-analysis that included data from 29,551 patients undergoing simBTHA and 74,600 patients. Results showed a significant reduction in deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and systemic, local, and pulmonary complications with simultaneous bilateral total hip arthroplasty (simBTHA). However, there was an increase in pulmonary embolism (PE) and periprosthetic fracture risk in simBTHA. However with the simBTHA,the total blood loss, length of hospital stay, and total cost were lower.

Self-Reflection:

The week before my surgery rotation was the most anxious, I’ve been about a rotation so far in PA school. I was nervous in anticipation of the stressful environment in the OR, the long hours, my lack of experience with technical skills and the anatomy questions that I could get asked in the OR. By the first day, my anxiety had almost entirely dissipated. The Metropolitan surgical department welcomed me with open arms and made this rotation one of my favorites. It’s hard to articulate everything that I learned in one summary but every morning, afternoon and evening I was constantly learning. Every aspect of this rotation has helped me to better understand how a hospital works and the type of management that is needed for patients before, during and after surgeries. I was asked those anatomy questions during surgeries but instead of worrying about if I got them correct, I was more focused on learning. Anatomy is a weak point of mine however being able to see the organs during surgery and their orientation has helped cement so much anatomical knowledge. I was taught and given the opportunity to suture subdermally in the OR. I appreciated the opportunity to become familiar with that suturing technique. I was also taught hand ties, figure of eight suture and saw this suture used to stop an arterial bleed. My weeks spent with general surgery, urology and orthopedic surgery have helped further build and cement medical concepts that before this rotation were elementary.