The modern concepts of efficiency and adequacy demanded of medical treatments have led to a gradual disappearance of the traditional division based on gender within hospitalisation sectors (Women and Men sections) and have seen the increase of a grouping system based on the kind of pathologies and their treatment. As for orthopaedics, given the great changes that we have witnessed in the past few years, this new system is considered to be even more important and needed. If, on one hand, in the history of Orthopaedics we have witnessed the disappearance of various pathologies (congenital deformities, bone tuberculosis, osteotomyelitis), on the other we are witnessing now a gradual expansion of the Traumatology branch, which is becoming more and more independent. In the various areas with high traumatological occurrence, it is now possible to organise hospitalisations into two clearly separate sectors (Orthopaedics and Traumatology). Other important changes are linked to the evolution of modern surgical techniques. For the vast majority of pathologies, they now allow much shorter recovery times than in the past; consequently, hospitalisation periods are also shorter and Day hospital surgeries can now increase in number. From October 1st 2000, after a thorough examination and monitoring of the entire activity, the Orthopaedics-Traumatology U.O. of the Lugo Hospital district has been experimenting a new organisation model for hospitalisation procedures. The main features are, first of all, the separation of the Operative Unite into two Hospitalisation Sectors, one of which being the SHORT HOSPITALISATION SECTOR (closed on Friday nights). This sector hosts programmed orthopaedic surgery patients, except prosthetic surgery patients. This sector has 12 beds. The ORDINARY HOSPITALISATION (with 28 beds and open 7 days a week) has a room section for arthroprosthetic surgery patients, for which the Lugo Hospital district is particularly renowned for. Another important feature of the project is the creation of a Pre-hospitalisation Service, which carries out all the necessary ascertainment examinations before surgical treatment; the main goal is to allow all patients to be hospitalised on the very same day of their programmed surgery.