From the Popular Press: What Your Patients are Reading:

A study of male and female osteoarthritis patients found that women delay knee replacement surgery far longer than male patients. Osteoarthritis is caused by the breakdown of cartilage, leaving patients with painful rubbing of bone against bone in their joints. Female osteoarthritis sufferers outnumber males, but they are more reluctant to undergo surgery until the pain becomes intolerable. However, delaying knee replacement surgery is often advisable for younger patients, so they will not outlive the lifespan of their artificial knee. Although doctors give this same advice to all knee osteoarthritis patients, women appear to wait to have a knee replacement until they can barely function in their everyday lives, whereas men opt for surgery much sooner. This may save women from wearing out their titanium knee replacement parts too soon, but it can also negatively impact the outcome of the surgery. If women allow themselves to become too disabled before receiving a knee replacement, they may never regain full knee function. The mobility of patients at the time of surgery impact their mobility after recovery. Doctors should rethink their advice to female patients regarding how long to delay knee replacement surgery, so that they don't put off surgery beyond the appropriate length of time.

Read the full text of this article on nytimes.com