When is the best time to do a joint replacement? How long do artificial joints last? The director of orthopedics tells you the truth
In his work, Dr. Jin has come into contact with many such patients: they obviously meet the indications for surgery, but they will always procrastinate until the pain is so painful that they can't do anything about it before undergoing joint replacement.
In addition, there are some patients who are afraid of surgery, so they have tried all kinds of non-surgical methods - taking domestic and foreign medicines, acupuncture, moxibustion, injection of sodium hyaluronate... just hoping to delay the time of surgery.
In fact, there are clear surgical indications for joint replacement surgery. Too early is unnecessary, and too late may complicate the condition and increase the difficulty of treatment.
There was such a patient in the outpatient clinic. He was brought to the doctor by his son because of severe pain on the medial side of the right knee joint.
After the doctor's evaluation of the old man's examination results and medical history, he felt that the old man was suitable for surgery to improve his quality of life.
The elderly and their family members are also more open-minded, thinking that surgery is a feasible method, because many methods have been tried before, but the effect is not obvious, and the elderly also suffer. (At this time, it is difficult for the old man to walk normally, and he is often tossed and turned in pain at night, unable to sleep...)
There are two types of surgery in front of the elderly: unicondylar joint replacement and high tibial osteotomy.
After in-depth communication between the doctor and them, the old man finally chose unicompartmental joint replacement. Because relatively speaking, the improvement of quality of life after unicompartmental joint replacement is more obvious, and the recovery of the body is easier.
The cases of the elderly are of certain reference, and it is completely understandable that many people are afraid of "surgery" and "operation". However, if conservative treatment methods are ineffective, and the patient is already suffering from unbearable pain, he should not be afraid or resist surgery at this time. Because surgery can help patients significantly improve their quality of life. For the elderly, it is a feasible way to get rid of illness and live a happy life in their later years.
So from a medical point of view, when is the right time to do joint replacement surgery?
Joint replacement surgery is not something that can be done casually.
Generally speaking, it is necessary to observe whether the knee joint is seriously deformed and find out the exact cause of the knee joint pain before performing the corresponding surgery.
*Patients with severe arthritis and joint deformities may consider joint replacement surgery.
If it is clear that the patient fails conservative treatment, suffers from severe pain and other problems, or even has stiffness and deformity in the joint, joint replacement surgery can be considered.
- It is necessary to rule out that the patient is not overweight, too young, or suffering from serious medical diseases before considering whether to perform surgery.
The timing of specific joint replacement surgery should be evaluated by a professional and experienced doctor.
- After joint replacement, how long can it be used?
Joint replacement is a relatively mature operation, with more than 500,000 people undergoing joint replacement every year in the United States alone. From the data point of view, the service life of the artificial knee joint is:
Service life of 10 years > 98%
Service life of 20 years > 95%
Service life of 30 years > 90%
From the data, we can see that more than 90% of patients after receiving artificial knee joints, the artificial joints can still be used normally after 30 years. From the average data, as long as there is no infection, fall, etc., most people can use it for more than 15 to 20 years.
- After the joint replacement, can I move around like a normal person?
Of course, patients can walk around 2 to 3 days after surgery.
As long as the patient's rehabilitation training is done well, after 2 to 3 months, the patient can go up and down stairs, walking, traveling, dancing, etc., and truly get rid of the pain and suffering of the past.
I am Jin Xunjie, an orthopedic surgeon. In the future, I will write some content related to disease recovery, drug use, and traditional Chinese medicine health care. Welcome friends to leave comments and follow me.