Health & Medicine
One Hip or Knee Replacement is Often Not Enough, Both Sides Needed For Many Patients
Mark Hoffman
First Posted: Apr 04, 2013 11:49 PM EDT
A Canadian study found that only half of the people with arthritis who had a hip or knee replacement reported a significant improvement in pain and mobility after surgery. according to a new study.
"Many patients with hip and knee arthritis have the condition in more than one of their hip or knee joints," said the study's lead author Dr. Gillian Hawker. "So it's not surprising that replacing a single joint doesn't alleviate all their pain and disability - patients may need subsequent surgeries to maximize the benefits of joint replacement."
According to the study authors, nearly 83 per cent of study participants had at least two troublesome hips and or knees. In general, an estimated 25 per cent of patients who undergo a single joint replacement will have another joint replacement - usually the other hip or knee - within two years.
"While demand for joint replacement surgery has increased as our population ages, physicians lack a set of established criteria to help determine what patients will benefit from surgery and at what point during the course of the disease," said Dr. Hawker, physician-in-chief at Women's College Hospital and a senior scientist at ICES. "As physicians, we need to do a better job of targeting treatments to the right patient at the right time by the right provider."
Arthritis is a leading cause of disability in men and women in Canada. According to the Arthritis Society, joint damage from osteoarthritis is responsible for more than 80 per cent and 90 per cent of hip replacement and knee surgeries in Canada, respectively.
See Now:
NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
TagsMedical Implant ©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
More on SCIENCEwr
First Posted: Apr 04, 2013 11:49 PM EDT
A Canadian study found that only half of the people with arthritis who had a hip or knee replacement reported a significant improvement in pain and mobility after surgery. according to a new study.
"Many patients with hip and knee arthritis have the condition in more than one of their hip or knee joints," said the study's lead author Dr. Gillian Hawker. "So it's not surprising that replacing a single joint doesn't alleviate all their pain and disability - patients may need subsequent surgeries to maximize the benefits of joint replacement."
According to the study authors, nearly 83 per cent of study participants had at least two troublesome hips and or knees. In general, an estimated 25 per cent of patients who undergo a single joint replacement will have another joint replacement - usually the other hip or knee - within two years.
"While demand for joint replacement surgery has increased as our population ages, physicians lack a set of established criteria to help determine what patients will benefit from surgery and at what point during the course of the disease," said Dr. Hawker, physician-in-chief at Women's College Hospital and a senior scientist at ICES. "As physicians, we need to do a better job of targeting treatments to the right patient at the right time by the right provider."
Arthritis is a leading cause of disability in men and women in Canada. According to the Arthritis Society, joint damage from osteoarthritis is responsible for more than 80 per cent and 90 per cent of hip replacement and knee surgeries in Canada, respectively.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone