Quality Reports - Orthopedics
Average Length of Stay by Diagnosis
Why we measure it - We realize the importance of not having a child stay in the hospital any longer than necessary. The average time a child is in the hospital depends on many factors including how serious the illness or injury. Medical therapies can have a significant impact on recovery and length of hospital stay.
What this means - Children's Hospital has a significantly lower average length of stay for hip dysplasia compared to the national average and comparable lengths of stay for scoliosis and spinal fusion while providing the highest quality of care as demonstrated by our survival rates.
About the data - The data reflect the average number of days a child stays at Children's Hospital after surgery, depending on the diagnosis, compared to Pediatric Hospital Information System (PHIS) peers. PHIS hospitals represent other leading free-standing pediatric hospitals.
Related dimensions of care:
  
What we're doing to provide the best care:
- Our goal is to manage scoliosis without surgery, however, when surgery is needed, orthopedic surgeons at Children's Hospital perform the most advanced techniques of scoliosis surgery, including a fairly new procedure that dramatically reduces recovery time from months to days.
- We use the Ponseti casting technique to treat clubfoot, which shows better long-term outcomes while avoiding surgery in most cases.
- We have a pediatric orthopedic nurse clinician who coordinates inpatient stays, discharge planning and follow-up clinic visits.
- Orthopedic staff is involved in basic science and clinical research including:
- Improving ways of mapping the spine to monitor scoliosis without using X-rays.
- Growth modulation devices to correct scoliosis without fusion.
- We hold a surgical support group every other month for children needing scoliosis surgery. A multidisciplinary medical team offers information about the surgery and what to expect while in the hospital, and past surgical patients talk about their experiences. The meeting is followed by a tour of the surgery area and a patient room.
Patients/Families:
- Be an advocate for your child. Participate in daily bedside clinical discussions, and provide any information about your child that may be helpful to staff.
- Follow medical instructions fully and carefully before and after surgery.
- Ask questions if you don't understand the plan of care or if you are not sure how to care for your child at home.
- Attend any and all follow-up appointments.
If you have questions about this data or information, e-mail us or call (414) 266-6556.
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