admin
“There’s no hip or knee replacement guarantee”
New Delhi, July 22, 2018:
There are risks associated with the operation (as is true for any major surgery), there is a long road to recovery even when all goes well.
If the first joint replacement is unsuccessful for some reason (such as infection or loosening), a second (or even third) operation may be necessary. Revision surgery is technically more difficult, recovery can take longer, and success rates may be lower than first operations.
There’s no hip or knee replacement guarantee
Unfortunately, no one can be sure that a hip or knee replacement will be the last operation needed on that joint. No operation is 100% successful, and nothing lasts forever. In addition, a number of factors, including surgical technique and surgeon experience, how many operations a particular hospital or surgeon performs each year, and patient factors (including age, weight and activity level) can all have powerful effects on how long a replaced joint lasts.
But based on present data up to 90% or more of hip or knee replacements would last at least 10 to 15 years.
With better preparation prior to surgery (including “prehab” exercise and loss of excess weight), improved materials in the replacement, better surgical techniques and anesthesia, and better physical rehabilitation after surgery, the joint replacement of the knee or hip is more likely to be successful and last the rest of your life than ever before.
In recent years, there’s been a tendency to operate on younger people. A person with a life expectancy of 15 years has a much better chance of avoiding a future operation than a person with a life expectancy of 30 years. In addition, younger patients tend to be more active and put more stress on their new joint. For these reasons, some surgeons advise younger patients to put off surgery as long as possible, even if that means suffering with pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility.
Published in the April 2017 edition of the medical journal The Lancet, researchers found that:
Among more than 60,000 people who had a hip replacement, only 4.4% required revision surgery in the first 10 years after surgery, but by the 20-year mark, 15% required revision.
Among nearly 55,000 people who had a knee replacement, only 3.9% required revision surgery within 10 years of surgery; by 20 years, 10.3% required revision.
Of those over 70 having hip or knee replacement, the lifetime risk of having a second operation on the replaced joint was about 5%. But up to 35% of men in their early 50s required a second operation.
( Harvard News Letter Excerpts)
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
Vice President CMAAO
President HCFI
