Orthopedic Associates of Hartford’s Same-Day Joint Replacement Model Goes International
Orthopedic Associates of Hartford and Orthopedic Associates Surgery Center (OASC) are gaining international recognition for a care model 15 years in the making.
Dr. Memmo recently returned from Liguria, Italy, where he collaborated with leaders at Genoa’s San Martino Hospital and the Metropolitan Hospital Authority to help launch a new outpatient hip and knee replacement program — one modeled directly on the comprehensive, same-day total joint replacement protocols developed and refined here in Connecticut.
The focus of the visit wasn’t a new surgical technique. It was something broader: an entire care philosophy, built around the full patient journey — from preoperative preparation through same-day surgery, early mobilization, and safe discharge — with an emphasis on reducing complications and infections while maintaining the highest standards of safety and quality.
This fall, that collaboration continues here at home. A multidisciplinary team from Italy — including orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and rehabilitation specialists — will visit OASC for an immersive training experience, observing our outpatient total joint program firsthand and learning the protocols and workflows that have made it successful.
It’s a recognition of the dedication, clinical excellence, and innovation our entire team brings to patient care every day — and proof that the work being done here in Connecticut is shaping the future of outpatient joint replacement, not just locally, but internationally.
Watch Dr. Memmo’s interview below, and read more from the Italian press covering this exciting collaboration.
The prosthetics project arrives in Genoa: surgery and discharge within 24 hours
Original article published on IL SECOLO XIX
August 5, 2026
Genoa – Hip and knee replacements with express discharge within 24 hours, assuming there are no complications. In the United States, it’s a model that’s been working—often supported by insurance companies—for at least ten years. Now, it’s scheduled to arrive at San Martino Hospital by December, followed by Villa Scassi, San Carlo di Voltri, and Galliera, thanks to an agreement with a US group and, most importantly, with Pietro Memmo, an Interventional Physiatrist and president of the Hartford Orthopedic Association in Connecticut.
Memmo manages three outpatient surgery centers that perform approximately 10,000 procedures a year: a virtual assembly line that provides for the “installation” of hip and knee replacements on a continuous basis. And same-day discharges are also important because hospitalizations are expensive, so it’s better for patients, usually older, to leave the hospital and go home, resulting in quicker recovery times. Furthermore, fewer beds are occupied, fewer staff are needed, and fewer medications are consumed.
The goal of San Martino and the other hospitals involved is to reduce waiting lists, which in some cases exceed 12 months, and outflows to Lombardy, Piedmont, and Tuscany, which cost at least 15 million euros. Currently, nearly 3,600 people undergo arthroplasty operations in Genoa (1,900 hip and 1,600 knee), but demand continues to increase.
To begin with, a group of Genoese professionals, not only doctors but also nurses who will play a central role, will go to the US to learn the American model. The training will then continue at San Martino, where a multidisciplinary team will be formed, including orthopedic surgeons from the other three hospitals who will pilot the project in a second phase.
“We don’t plan to bring a new surgical technique to Italy,” explains Professor Memmo, “as the professionals at San Martino already have excellent clinical skills. We will provide a model consolidated in the United States. It’s about rethinking, for a defined patient population, the entire care process, from pre-surgery to discharge. For us, who have been experimenting with these protocols for fifteen years now, safety and quality of care, starting with reducing complications and infections, are the priority. And the results are on our side.”
The project was spearheaded by Monica Calamai, who has been director of the Metropolitan Hospital Authority (AOM) since early January. “We are ready for a transformation in the organization and care of patients. Discharge within 24 hours does not mean reducing care; rather, it offers a modern, safe pathway thanks to the integration of orthopedists, anesthetists, nurses, and rehabilitation specialists. Recovery times are improved for patients, while for the healthcare system, it is clear that resources are being better utilized, while maintaining high standards of quality of care.”
The “prosthesis project” and the agreement with Professor Memmo immediately received the green light from the Region, as emphasized by Health Councilor Massimo Nicolò: “We are ready to launch this new program for hip and knee replacements: it is an organizational innovation that combines quality care and patient safety. We want an ever-increasing number of Genoese residents to benefit from these treatment programs.”
Six departments are involved, two of which are at San Martino: the Orthopedic and Traumatology clinic directed by Matteo Formica, the Emergency Orthopedics and Traumatology clinic led by Federico Santorini, the Galliera center with Marco Stella and the consultancy of Claudio Mazzola, the Villa Scassi in Sampierdarena with the team coordinated by Luca Pandolfo, and the San Carlo in Voltri with Alessandro Zaino and his team.
At the end of the summer, a group of specialists from San Martino is ready to begin their first full-immersion training at one of Connecticut’s outpatient centers, which specializes in prosthetic surgery and same-day discharges. But when will they start at San Martino? By December, assures manager Calamai.
Knee and hip replacements: Liguria launches a program that allows patients to return home within 24 hours
Original article published on Primocanale.it
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
This is a new organizational and care model designed to innovate orthopedic surgery and improve the patient experience.
Discharge within 24 hours of hip or knee replacement surgery. This is the goal of the new “Same Day Discharge” (SDD) program that will be implemented at the IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino by 2026, once the specialists involved have completed training.
The project involves carefully selected patients and aims to ensure a faster recovery without sacrificing clinical safety. After an initial pilot phase at San Martino, the model will be gradually extended to all hospitals in the Metropolitan Hospital Authority: Villa Scassi, San Carlo di Voltri, and Galliera.
This development comes amid a growing trend in prosthetic surgery. In the province of Genoa alone, 3,549 arthroplasty procedures are performed annually, including 1,913 hip replacements and 1,636 knee replacements. These numbers are expected to increase with the aging population and the increasing prevalence of degenerative joint diseases.
“Liguria boasts nationally and internationally recognized orthopedic excellence, and we want to introduce a protected discharge process that is both faster and more efficient,” explains Regional Health Councilor Massimo Nicolò. “Discharging patients within 24 hours, in carefully selected cases, promotes a faster recovery and reduces the risks associated with prolonged hospitalization. The goal is to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations, enable early mobilization, and accelerate the start of the rehabilitation process. We believe this is the right direction to offer citizens increasingly modern, safe, and appropriate care, and that is why we are presenting this project today.”
Monica Calamai, general manager of AOM Liguria, agrees: “The heart of the project is the collaboration with an American center of excellence, which will guide Ligurian professionals in adopting the new organizational model. After the initial phase at San Martino, the program will be extended to the other hospitals of the Metropolitan Hospital Authority.” To carry out the project, the Ligurian professionals will undergo training with the Orthopedic Associates Surgical Center in Connecticut, USA, a center that has been applying this organizational model for years. “It’s not about introducing a new surgical technique, but about rethinking the entire patient journey before, during, and after surgery,” emphasizes Pietro Memmo, President of Orthopedic Associates of Hartford.
The program is the evolution of ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) protocols and integrates minimally invasive surgical techniques, optimal pain management, early mobilization, and postoperative monitoring. The goal is to enable patients to return home quickly while maintaining high standards of safety and quality of care.
Hip or knee replacement surgery, then home within 24 hours: the turning point that started at San Martino
Original article published on GenovaToday
Thursday, August 6, 2026
The US model for hip and knee replacements is underway at San Martino: selected patients can be sent home within 24 hours. The project will then expand to Galliera, Villa Scassi, and Voltri.
San Martino Hospital is introducing “Same Day Discharge (SDD),” a new dedicated pathway for hip and knee replacement surgeries, which will be operational by 2026—once specialist training is complete. This will allow carefully selected patients to be discharged within 24 hours of surgery in conditions of complete clinical safety.
At the end of the pilot phase, the project will then be gradually extended to all hospitals in the Liguria Metropolitan Hospital Authority, including Villa Scassi, San Carlo di Voltri, and Galliera Hospital.
Hip and knee replacements: numbers have doubled in the last twenty years
Prosthetic surgery is one of the fastest-growing fields in modern orthopedics. With the aging population and the rise in degenerative joint diseases, the demand for procedures is constantly increasing. Data from the Italian Arthroprosthetic Registry (RIAP) show that, over the past twenty years, the number of hip and knee replacements has doubled compared to the early 2000s.
The average age of patients undergoing these procedures is generally over 65, with a female predominance, particularly for interventions related to primary osteoarthritis.
Every year in Genoa more than 3,500 interventions
The province of Genoa also confirms this trend: 3,549 arthroplasty procedures are performed each year, including 1,913 hip replacements and 1,636 knee replacements. These numbers demonstrate the strategic importance of this surgery for the healthcare system and the need to adopt increasingly innovative and efficient organizational models.
“The goal,” says Massimo Nicolò, Liguria Region Health Councilor, “is to bring this model, after the initial phase at San Martino, to all hospitals in the Metropolitan Hospital Authority, so that an ever-increasing number of citizens can benefit from innovative, appropriate, and high-quality care pathways.”
The Hartford Center Experience in the USA
“This project,” explains Monica Calamai, general director of AOM Liguria, “marks a turning point in the organizational and clinical innovation of our hospitals. Discharge within 24 hours doesn’t mean reducing care, but rather offering a more modern, personalized, and safer pathway. Several centers worldwide, including one in the United States and one in Ireland, have already been implementing this protocol for some time.”
And it is precisely one of these centers of excellence that will be the focus for the intensive training of AOM experts. The Orthopedic Associates Surgical Center (OASC), part of the Orthopedic Associates of Hartford (OAH) group, based in Connecticut, will manage the specialist training program.
“We don’t plan to bring a new surgical technique to Italy,” explains Pietro Memmo, President of Orthopedic Associates of Hartford. “AOM professionals already possess excellent clinical skills. We can provide a consolidated organizational model in the United States, backed by fifteen years of experience, to enable outpatient orthopedic hip and knee replacement surgery within a single hospital day.”
How the route works
The new program is the result of the evolution of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) programs and integrates the most advanced surgical, anesthesiological, and rehabilitation techniques. The goal is not simply to reduce hospital stays, but to rethink the entire care pathway, from patient selection to preoperative preparation, from optimal pain management to early mobilization, and even post-discharge monitoring.
The patient is thus accompanied along a tailor-made multidisciplinary path, which allows for faster functional recovery, a reduction in the risks associated with prolonged hospitalization, and an early return to their normal living environment, while maintaining high standards of quality and safety.
“To ensure the project’s success,” Calamai concludes, “a specific training program is planned for the professionals involved, with the creation of a dedicated multidisciplinary team that will support all phases of the new organizational model.”
The structures involved in Liguria:
- Irccs Policlinico San Martino: Orthopedic and Traumatology Clinic Unit headed by Prof. Matteo Formica.
- Emergency Orthopedics and Traumatology Unit directed by Dr. Federico Santolini.
- Villa Scassi Hospital, Orthopedics and Traumatology Department, directed by Dr. Luca Pandolfo.
- San Carlo Hospital in Voltri Sc Orthopedics directed by Dr. Alessandro Zaino.
- For the EO Galliera Hospital Sc Orthopedics and Traumatology directed by Dr. Marco Stella and SSC Joint Orthopedics, head Dr. Lucio Romano.