From the Popular Press: What Your Patients are Reading:

Knee and hip replacements can relieve debilitating pain for patients and enable them to move around normally after their joints fail them. However, after new data showed that 1 in 75 patients that received a knee or hip replacement had to have it replaced within 3 years, researchers are wondering just how much pounding an artificial joint can take if it is to last. First-time joint replacements are on the rise, but so are joint revisions, in which surgery is performed to replace joint implants. An estimated 478,000 knee replacements are performed a year in the US, and 234,000 total hip replacements. With younger and younger patients requesting joint replacements, some surgeons are now recommending that their patients stay away from athletic activities that are taxing on joints. Swimming is easy on joints, while running and playing basketball can quickly lead to the need for joint revision surgery. Gender can also play a role in how long an artificial joint will last, as will the type of device implanted.

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