The Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Rush is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art, innovative solutions for numerous orthopedic injuries and conditions. Rush is committed to sharing quality data on our orthopedic care and to continuing to add further measures of quality in the future. Below, we’ve included our joint and spine mortality data and volumes (or the number of surgical cases).

Mortality rate

Mortality (or death) rates by service tell us how many patients die relative to what is expected, given a variety of complicating characteristics, including their age, chronic conditions like diabetes or heart failure, or whether the patient was transferred from another hospital or admitted as an emergency. These measures are reported by the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), an alliance of academic medical centers and their affiliated hospitals representing approximately 90 percent of the nation's not-for-profit academic medical centers. Learn more about how these rates are calculated.

Joint and spine mortality (death)

This measurement shows that among orthopedics and spinal surgery patients, 44 percent fewer patients died in the hospital than predicted based on how sick they were.

Because some hospitals, such as academic medical centers like Rush, tend to take care of significantly sicker patients, the observed-to-expected rate of mortality (or death) is adjusted to take into account how sick patients were before being admitted to the hospital. This rate is then referred to as risk adjusted.

The lower the rate on this measure, the better. For this measure, Rush scores better than expected.

Back to top

Volumes

Volumes data for individual procedures or groups of procedures can offer a perspective on the amount of experience a particular doctor or hospital has with a specific illness, condition or procedure. By itself, volume — the number of cases seen or surgeries performed — does not provide you with a full picture of a doctor’s or hospital’s quality; rather, it should be combined with outcomes measures (like mortality) to gain a more complete understanding of quality.

 Adult reconstruction surgery volumes (includes joint replacement)

This measurement shows the number of adult reconstruction surgeries performed at Rush University Medical Center, Rush Oak Park Hospital and the outpatient Rush SurgiCenter from fiscal years (July 1 to June 30) 2008 to 2012.

These numbers include procedures such as total and partial hip and knee replacements; hip and knee replacement revisions; and hip resurfacing.

Back to top

Foot and ankle surgery volumes

This measurement shows the number of foot and ankle surgeries performed at Rush University Medical Center, Rush Oak Park Hospital and the outpatient Rush SurgiCenter from fiscal years (July 1 to June 30) 2008 to 2012

These numbers include procedures to treat conditions such as Achilles tendon injuries, ankle fractures and instability, bunions, hammer toe, lisfranc injuries, osteochondral lesions and plantar fasciitis.

Back to top

Hand, wrist and elbow surgery volumes

This measurement shows the number of hand, wrist and elbow surgeries performed at Rush University Medical Center, Rush Oak Park Hospital and the outpatient Rush SurgiCenter from fiscal years (July 1 to June 30) 2008 to 2012.

These numbers include procedures to treat conditions such as acute fractures of the hand, wrist and elbow; compressive neuropathies; rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis of the hand, wrist and elbow; ruptured biceps and triceps tendons; tennis elbow; stiff elbow; and tendonitis and overuse injuries (e.g., carpal tunnel) of the hand, wrist and elbow.

Back to top

Joint/orthopedic oncology and trauma surgery volumes

This measurement shows the number of joint/orthopedic oncology and trauma surgeries performed at Rush University Medical Center, Rush Oak Park Hospital and the outpatient Rush SurgiCenter from fiscal years (July 1 to June 30) 2008 to 2012.

These numbers include procedures to treat conditions such as those resulting from traumatic injuries; bone cancers, sarcomas and other soft tissue tumors (including growing prosthesis and limb lengthening, preservation and reconstruction procedures); bone and joint fractures and infections; and hip dysplasia and impingement.

For volumes of sarcomas and soft tissue tumor cases, see our cancer quality data.

Back to top

Pediatric orthopedic surgery volumes

This measurement shows the number of pediatric surgeries performed at Rush University Medical Center, Rush Oak Park Hospital and the outpatient Rush SurgiCenter from fiscal years (July 1 to June 30) 2008 to 2012.

These numbers include procedures to treat conditions in children and adolescents such as clubfoot, contractures, hip dislocation and dysplasia, idiopathic toe walking, Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, limb length inequality, associated issues with neuromuscular disorders, and long bone fractures.

Back to top

Spinal surgery volumes

This measurement shows the number of spinal surgeries performed at Rush University Medical Center, Rush Oak Park Hospital and the outpatient Rush SurgiCenter from fiscal years (July 1 to June 30) 2008 to 2012.

These numbers include procedures such as corrective surgeries for scoliosis and other spine abnormalities, discectomies, disc replacements, kyphoplasties, laminectomies, lumbar and cervical spine fusions, and revision surgeries.

Back to top

Sports medicine surgery volumes

This measurement shows the number of sports medicine surgeries performed at Rush University Medical Center, Rush Oak Park Hospital and the outpatient Rush SurgiCenter from fiscal years (July 1 to June 30) 2008 to 2012.

These numbers include procedures to treat conditions such as rotator cuff tears; shoulder/clavical fractures and dislocations, acromioclavicular and sternoclavicular joint instability, snapping scapular syndrome and other injuries of the shoulder; knee cartilage, ligament and meniscus injuries (including anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] reconstructions); hamstring pulls or tears; hip and groin injuries; and stress fractures.

Back to top