The Role of Virtual Clinics in Postoperative Total Knee Replacement Surgery Follow-Up during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of the virtual clinic for outpatient follow-up care after TKR surgery. Methods. A total of 546 TKR surgeries were performed from January 2017 to December 2019. 30 patients were not able to go the hospital for routine follow-up. The data collections were taken for age, gender, year of surgery, functional score (Oxford Knee Score (OKS)), and active range of motion (ROM). The virtual clinic was conducted with the physician assistant and the operating surgeon via WhatsApp video call (WhatsApp Inc., Mountain View, California, USA) or Zoom (Zoom Video Communications, Inc., San Jose, California, USA). Result. The average follow-up period was 39.1 months. The earliest follow-up was 20 months, while the longest follow-up was 97 months. The average OKS score was 45. The average consultation time for the virtual clinic is 9 minutes 21 seconds. Most of the patients were satisfied with the online consultation, with only two patients having a satisfaction score below 80%. Conclusion. The virtual clinic for TKR surgery showed a high satisfaction rate during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has the potential to extend to the postpandemic era.

Advancing orthopaedic trauma care through WhatsApp: An analysis of clinical and non-clinical applications, challenges, and future directions

“…Studies by Pamuk[ 5 ] and Stahl et al [ 8 ] demonstrated the reliability of WhatsApp for teleconsultation and decision-making in orthopaedic trauma, respectively, with findings suggesting near-perfect agreement with traditional diagnostic methods. Further, Kapıcıoğlu et al [ 26 ] affirmed the safety and reliability of using WhatsApp for decision-making regarding paediatric supracondylar fractures, and Sumargono et al [ 27 ] reported high satisfaction rates with virtual clinics using WhatsApp for postoperative follow-up after total knee replacement surgery, emphasizing its potential continuity beyond the pandemic context.…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the value of virtual fracture clinics as a cost-effective strategy. Sumargono et al [ 27 ] and Kauta et al [ 44 ] demonstrated how virtual supervision and co-management by orthopaedic teams through WhatsApp referral groups enabled non-specialist physicians to successfully treat a significant portion of traumatic fractures at community health clinics. This not only facilitated timely and efficient care but also minimized the need for in-person consultations, which was particularly advantageous during the pandemic[ 45 ].…”