Perioperative Outcomes in Orthopedic Surgery

With millions of surgical procedures being performed worldwide annually, clinicians, researchers, patients, and administrators increasingly pursue understanding factors, which affect and determine perioperative outcomes. The last decades have been associated with extensive research and subsequent increased number of publications in the field of perioperative outcomes in orthopaedic surgery. The population is progressively involved in recreational and athletic activities increasing thus the prevalence of sport-related soft-tissue and bone injuries. Furthermore, the population is aging and the demand for joint replacement and spine surgery is increasing annually, raising inevitably the absolute numbers of surgery related complications such as infection, mechanical failure, and delayed union. Finally, the adoption of new technology and the introduction of minimally invasive surgical techniques still remain a controversial topic on whether evidence-based medicine has justified the risk of their use. Hence, it is important to critically evaluate the perioperative outcomes of modern orthopaedic surgery and further investigate whether a change in the perioperative management of the orthopaedic patient is warranted. Although the selected papers for this special issue are not an exhaustive representation of the area of perioperative outcomes in orthopaedic surgery, they represent an excellent panel for approaching and addressing this challenge. Without doubt they will provide significant knowledge to the readers, simulating further investigation and research and possible improvement of the current surgical technique and overall perioperative management of the orthopaedic patient.