What do you do when your doctor says it’s time to think about a hip or knee replacement? You think about it, and as the New York Times advises, the more you think about it, the better your chances for a rewarding surgery. The paper reports that 7 percent of hips implanted in Medicare patients had to be replaced within seven and a half years. Sound high? It is. Sweden has a failure rate one third of that in the United States. Which is not to say you should go to Sweden. What you should do, according to the Times is this:
Choose an experienced surgeon. Ask how many replacements the surgeon has done.
Choose the right implant for your activity level. There are many options, some for more active people, some for less active people. Remember that the latest version is probably the least tested version.
Plan your recovery.
Adjust your expectations.
Read more in the Times, or at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeon’s patient information Web site, orthoinfo.org.
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I find myself a candidate, after years of body building, power lifting, competitive and traditional martial arts, dancing ballet, cycling, football/soccer, etc., to have both knees and at least one hip replaced.
I have every confidence in my surgeon however, finding the right replacement is a bit of a problem as my activity level, despite the on going discomfort, is still very highg.
In less that four months, I have recovered from having my rotator cuff completely rebuilt and I have returned to the study of Aikido to which I well intend to return after my joints have been replaced.
I need to find the right joint so that I can still take part in those aspects of Aikido that are performed while kneeling and therein lies the rub as Western style joints do not well accommodate a japanese life style and customs.
To that end, I am now investigating to see if the Japanese make replacement parts that do allow for a fuller range of motion.
Thank you for the advice, well taken and appreciated.
namaste
I appreciate the article, however it is “too late” for me. In 2007 I kept a young lady from being sexually attacked. Yes, raped. In the scuffle, I injured my right knee to the point hat it required surgery to repair the damage done. I went to the local small town hospital with every confidence that my knee would be repaired. After two surgeries and one year of professional rehabilitation, my knee was NOT improving. I wa advised to seek further treatment by my general MD. I was referred to Duke University Medical Center in my state of NC. “Duke” is ranked sixth in the nation “overall” as a medical care facility. I was accepted by an orthopedic surgeon and I had two more surgeries. The first, to remove ALL of the plates and screws implanted in my knee to stabilize it. The doctor stated at “Duke” that the first surgeries in my home town “were a disaster”. The first surgery removed ALL previous hardware. The second surgery accomplished only scar tissue removal and exploratory surgery. After two years and two surgeries at “Duke”, I have been dismissed as a patient. The physicians at Duke will perform no further surgery on my knee. My hospital charges and physician charges at “Duke” are paid. I have medical insurance. The problem is that the first surgeon has so destroyed my knee, that “plates and screws” will NOT repair the damage incurred by a licensed doctor. I am charged with finding a surgeon “MYSELF” to finish what has been started by NC “medicine”. I am totally disabled, bankrupt, and forced to live with my parents. I am now 30 years old. The point to my story is that an individual MUST consider the facility and surgeon in any type of orthopedic procedure. PLEASE do not assume that ALL physicians are equal. I can testify that they are not. The aricle about deciding whether or not to have a knee replacement or hip replacement surgery is very VALID.
I HAD KNEE REPLACEMENT JULY 7, 2009, TOOK MONTHS FOR RECOUPING……..FIRST PLACE I HAD HAD 3 OPEN HEART SURGERIES AND THE VEINS TAKEN OUT OF MY LEGS ALL THE WAY UP. SO WHEN I HAD THE OPERATION THE BLOOD WENT DOWN BUT COULD NOT GET BACK UP AND THEY FAILED TO ELEVATE MY LEG UNTIL IT WAS TO LATE AND HAD A BACKSET AND BACK IN THE HOSPITAL FOR 10 MORE DASYS WITH HOLE IN MY STOMACH FROM PAIN PILLS AND ETC. SO I HAD ASKED SEVERAL DOCTORS AND THE ONE THAT DID THE OPERATION AND THEY DID NOT FORESEE ANY PROBLEM BUT THERE COULD BE. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WAS THE ANSWERS I GOT. WELL IT WAS POSSIBLE AND BELIEVE YOU ME THERE WILL NOT BE ANOTHER KNEE REPLACEMENT ON MYSELF AS LONG AS I LIVE. SO THAT IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT IF YOU HAVE HAD OPEN HEART SURGERIES AND THEY TOOK VEINS OUT OF YOUR LEGS…
I had an artificial hip replacement after an auto accident. 20 months after the surgery I have absolutely no pain. It works great. I am a 5o year old man, and am still reasonably mobile with the other injuries I sustained I am lucky to be walking. Modern hip replacements in America are amazing
Patricia said, On March 5,2010 I had orthoscoptic surgery on my knee and it is doing fine. I was told by 2 other doctors and with all the exrays and MRi that I probably needed a complete replacement,. than I went to a really good dr. He said you don’t need all that , I can’t see where that is needed. Thanks again for the best news recieved in a while. I hope I,m not bothered down the road I have osteo/I take 1 tablet of glucosamine Chrondroitin a day and I didn’t have to have therapy either. Walking the same day in and out,.
Apparently, the Japanese do not make a joint to fit their lifestyle and traditional sitting. I found it reported that the majority of those who had undergone replacements were very unhappy with the same. Most japanese simply “suffer in silence” as one doctor reported.
The limitations to range of movement, even in the best made joints is a problem and one which I don’t know if I could live with so I might simply keep putting on the “Icy Hot”, tape, knee wraps and braces so as to keep practicing and lifting and then applying ice to the elevated joints afterwards…
The best advice I seem to have received from a physical therapist is to wait until I simply can’t crawl from my bed to the toilet in the monring and then have them replaced. may be by then they will have resolved the problems of limited range of motion.
namaste
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