When is the best time to have 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 drag on for a long time, and they do joint replacement when the pain is too painful.
In addition, there are some patients and friends 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 operation time.
In fact, joint replacement surgery has clear surgical indications. 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 in the inner side of the right knee joint.
After the doctor's evaluation of the inspection results and medical history of the elderly, they feel that the elderly are suitable for surgery to improve the quality of life.
The elderly and their family members are also more enlightened and feel 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 was difficult for the old man to walk normally, and he was often tossed and turned in pain at night and couldn't sleep...)
There are two types of surgeries facing the elderly now: unicondylar joint replacement and high tibial osteotomy.
After in-depth communication between doctors and them, the elderly finally chose unicondylar joint replacement. Because relatively speaking, the improvement of quality of life after unicondylar joint replacement is more obvious, and the physical recovery is also easier.
The case of the elderly is a certain reference, and it is completely understandable that many people are afraid of "surgery" and "surgery". However, if conservative treatments are not effective, and the patient has been tortured by the pain into unbearable pain, then they should not be afraid or resist surgery. Because surgery can help patients significantly improve their quality of life, and for the elderly, it is a feasible way to get rid of pain and truly live a happy life in their later years.
So from a medical point of view, when is the right time to have joint replacement surgery?
Joint replacement surgery is not something that can be done casually.
Generally speaking, it is necessary to first observe whether the knee joint is seriously deformed, find the exact cause of the knee joint pain, and then perform the corresponding surgery.
- Patients with severe arthritis and joint deformities may consider joint replacement surgery.
If it is clear that the patient is ineffective after conservative treatment, has severe pain and other problems, or even has stiffness and deformity of the joint, joint replacement surgery can be considered.
- Only if the patient is not too obese, too young, or suffering from serious medical diseases can be considered for surgery.
The timing of specific joint replacement surgery should be evaluated by a professional and experienced doctor.
- How long can I use after joint replacement?
Joint replacement is a relatively mature procedure, with more than 500,000 joint replacements performed annually in the United States alone. From the data point of view, the service life after the artificial knee joint:
Use period of 10 years > 98%
Use period of 20 years > 95%
Use period of 30 years > 90%
From the data, we can see that more than 90% of the patients after receiving the artificial knee joint can still use the artificial joint normally 30 years later. From the average data, as long as there are no infections, falls, etc., most people can use it for more than 15 to 20 years.
- Can I move like a normal person after joint replacement?
Of course, most 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 the stairs, walk, travel, dance, etc., and truly get rid of the pain and suffering of the past.
I am Jin Xunjie, an orthopedic surgeon. I will write some content related to disease recovery, drug use, and traditional Chinese medicine health care for you. Friends are welcome to leave a message and follow me.