The day of discharge after total hip arthroplasty and the achievement of rehabilitation functional milestones: 11-year trends.

This is a report on 11 years (1990-2000) of total hip arthroplasty cases and days of discharge from one large city hospital. In 1990, patients stayed an average of 9.7 days after surgery. By 2000, patients stayed only 5.3 days. In general, women stayed longer than men, but this gap had nearly disappeared by 2000. The patients discharged in 2000 achieved fewer functional milestones during their hospital stay than those discharged in 1990.