Listen in or read from the partial transcript as Dr. Christopher Sheu, Orthopedic Surgeon with Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Skagit Regional Health, discusses the benefits of an outpatient surgery center, the types of procedures they perform and more.

Welcome to Be Well with Skagit Regional Health. I'm Amanda Wilde. Dr. Sheu, great to have you here.

Christopher Sheu, MD, FAAOS: Hi, Amanda. Thanks for having me.

Amanda Wilde (Host): So, let's start with the basics. What is an outpatient surgery center exactly?

Christopher Sheu, MD, FAAOS: An outpatient surgery center basically is a healthcare facility where we perform surgical procedures that do not require an overnight hospital stay.

Amanda Wilde (Host): And what does that mean in terms of what types of procedures are performed in an outpatient surgery center?

Christopher Sheu, MD, FAAOS: So typically, surgeries that are less complicated, that are minimally invasive, surgeries that don't require overnight hospitalizations, are the ones that are performed at surgery centers.

Amanda Wilde (Host): Well, what about the safety factor? Is it safe to have surgery outside of a hospital at an outpatient surgery center?

Christopher Sheu, MD, FAAOS: Absolutely. The surgeries that are candidates for the surgery center typically have lower complication rates, lower infection rates and usually, patients spend less time of their day at the medical facilities than their counterparts at the hospital. Typically, these patients are screened, and based on their comorbidities and health issues, only special candidates are included for those who have surgeries at the surgery center.

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