A study has recently revealed that patients who live alone can be safely discharged and sent home from a hospital to recover from hip or knee replacement surgery. The results question the belief that patients who live alone should routinely be sent to an inpatient rehabilitation facility after total joint replacement surgery before going home. Researchers said ‘Patients living alone had a safe and manageable recovery when discharged directly home after total joint Arthroplasty.’ Andrew N. Fleischman and colleagues from The Rothman Institute Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia conducted the study. The team examined 769 patients who were discharged and sent