Hip Replacement OK in Patients Over 80
May 22, 2001
Researchers have discovered that those over 80 do not, as a group, have a more difficult time recovering from hip or knee replacement surgery than younger patients. The study found that age alone should not be the deciding factor in determining who should undergo hip or knee replacement surgery. Researchers examined over 450 people who received total or partial artificial hips or knees. The results were surprising, showing recovery rates to be comparable between those over 80 and those between the ages of 55 and 79. Additionally, the younger patients were just as likely to suffer surgery related complications such as blood clots and infection as the older group.
Over 400,000 hip and knee replacement surgeries are performed annually in the United States alone, with the average patient's age being 68. The study, conducted by Dr. C. Allyson Jones of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, debunks the myth that doctors should be wary of performing hip or knee replacements in elderly patients. According to Dr. Jones, "with increasing life expectancy and elective surgery improving the quality of life, age alone is not a factor that affects the outcome of total joint arthroplasty (hip or knee replacement) and should not be a limiting factor when deciding who should receive this surgery." Dr. Jones concedes that such surgery in the oldest and frailest of patients may remain unwarranted. However, "for the healthy person who is 80 years or older, joint arthroplasty provides pain relief and functional improvement" similar to younger patients. The details of the study are published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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