Search for tag: "knee replacement"

Interviewer: As technology and practices have improved, more people than ever are receiving joint implants. In fact, "The Journal of Rheumatology" projects as many as 600,000 joint replacements in the U.S. by the year 2030.

With more folks receiving an implant, how do you take care of it and ensure that it lasts as long as possible? To answer those questions, today, we are joined by Dr. Mike Archibeck. He is an associate professor with the Division of Adult Reconstruction at University of Utah Health.

Now, Dr. Archibeck, for someone who has just barely received a replacement joint, whether it be a knee or a hip or something like that, what do they need to know about taking care of it for, say, the first year after surgery?

Dr. Archibeck: Yeah. So I think I'm primarily going to talk about total knees and total hip replacements. That's kind of the purview of the Adult Reconstruction Division in the Department of Orthopedics. So we do total knees and total hips as well as revision total knees and total hips.

And so there are a few things that are generic in regards to how to maximize your recovery early after surgery. Most would consider the first year as kind of the recovery period. It's been shown that both hips and knees generally do improve over that year, even though the vast majority of the improvement is in the first few months.

And during that first year, there are a few things you can do to kind of maximize the outcome and protect it from the dangers. Early after surgery, one of the most common complications is a blood clot in the leg or something that we call a deep venous thrombosis. So, usually, patients are prescribed some form of blood thinner. It could be aspirin. It could be something stronger. So being sure to do bed exercise during the day, get up about every hour or so, and go for a short walk.

You also want to be sure that the wound heals. So one of the concerns early after surgery is infection. Try not to overdo it such that the knee or hip area becomes too swollen, that can slow or compromise wound healing, and being sure to avoid any other types of infections that you might get early after surgery, like a urinary tract infection or a skin infection.

So if any of those things develop, or dental issues, you want to touch base with your surgeon and be sure those are treated so they don't potentially get into the bloodstream and make it to the hip or knee replacement.

And then recovery-wise, some patients participate in formal physical therapy. And more commonly now, more and more patients are doing kind of directed physical therapy, but working on whatever the tasks might be that the therapists direct you to do.

So with a knee, early after surgery, one of the high priorities is working on range of motion. A hip, less of a concern range of motion, but with both, starting to work on gait training initially with a walker, and then subsequently, weaning to a cane, and gradually off. Usually, that process is coached by the therapist or the surgeon and his team.

And trying to avoid overdoing it. Like I mentioned, you can really set yourself back if you do too much too soon. You can get swollen, wound healing can be slower, and it can just be more painful and kind of slow the recovery process.

So, again, the main things to be careful about are watch for the signs of blood clot, which would be significant swelling in that leg that does not respond to elevation, protecting the wound from infection, and just being an active participant in your recovery and physical therapy.

Interviewer: For someone who has received a joint replacement or is about to have joint replacement surgery, the recovery takes anywhere from 10 months to a year. So when will they see the most improvement? I mean, when will they start walking again?

Dr. Archibeck: Yeah. So, with both, you'll really be walking the day of surgery, obviously to a limited degree, and you'll be using a walker typically. But with both, you're generally able to place as much weight on that implant or that extremity as you want.

But like you mentioned, the first few months, the improvement is very rapid. So week to week, you see a significant improvement.

The improvement after those first few months is a little more subtle. So you may not notice dramatic changes like you do early after surgery, but it will continue to improve, and you gain more confidence in it, and you think about it less as time goes by.

But most people kind of describe the first six weeks as the majority of the recovery, so that's really the time frame when the focus is on avoidance of complications. So blood clot, infection, things like that.

Interviewer: Wow. So after the first year, the body is healed up, we've made sure that the wounds are not getting infected, we're not getting clots, etc., but now we have a piece of hardware in our body. What do we have to do to make sure that we're taking care of the implant and make sure that we get as long of a use out of that implant as possible?

Dr. Archibeck: There are several things that are important to know. So one is how do these things fail? And there's a little bit of a difference with knee replacement and hip replacement, but in general, they can still fail by infection. So, obviously, that's a life-altering event if it occurs.

And generally, it's felt that that is caused by a remote infection that then enters the bloodstream and finds its way to the joint replacement. So, unfortunately, a chunk of metal like a hip and knee replacement is always more susceptible to infection than a native healthy joint.

So you just want to take generally good care of yourself. Keep your dental work up to date. That can be a potential source of infection.

Interviewer: Really? Dental work?

Dr. Archibeck: Yeah. In the past, they used to recommend antibiotics prior to any dental work, and that still is a bit of a controversial topic, but that's not felt to be absolutely necessary unless you're high risk or have multiple joint replacements. But again, that's a topic you'll get different opinions about.

Any other bacterial infections, so common ones would include urinary tract infection, skin infections on that leg or other areas, obviously sinusitis, pneumonia. As you typically would if those things develop, you just want to be diligent about getting them looked at and treated, and more so if you have prosthetic joints.

I mean, obviously, we're talking about hip and knee, but there are elbow replacements, ankle replacements, and others. So any bacterial infection can potentially go to those areas. So just kind of taking good care of yourself like you generally would.

Implants can wear out. So, luckily, hip and knee replacements, the materials that we use have significantly improved over time over the last couple of decades. And so, even at 20 years, most are still functioning well, but they do wear and tear.

So a few things you can do in that regard. It's generally recommended that you avoid repetitive, high-impact activities, such as running, for exercise or aggressive cutting and pivoting sports. Things like walking, hiking, biking, swimming, golfing, dancing, most people feel like skiing is fine, are all activities that are absolutely fine to do and don't need to be limited at all. You can do as much as you want.

Then there are those in-betweeners, like tennis, pickleball, skiing, where some of those the risk is more the risk of a fall. But generally speaking, those activities are felt to be okay too, just avoiding the really high-intensity cutting and pivoting type things.

The other thing that can help add to the longevity of an implant is maintaining a good body weight. So it's been shown that the risk of wear and tear . . . and by that, I mean the plastic can wear or parts can loosen. The risk of those issues arising increase a bit as your BMI, or body mass index, increases. So trying to maintain a good body weight is helpful. Avoiding high-impact activities.

And then another rare cause of failure would be an injury of some type. So the implants themselves are very durable. But obviously, the bone adjacent to the implant can be susceptible to fracture or injury.

Especially as you get into your advanced years, being careful to avoid situations that might put you at risk for a fall or an injury, making sure your home is safe in regards to no obstacles on the floor or edges of rugs, and just kind of doing your best to minimize the risk of a fall. A fracture around an implant obviously is considered a failure and typically requires surgery to correct.

With that being said, though, like I mentioned, when patients ask, "How long do these things last?" we give a relatively simple answer, like, "Hopefully 15 to 20 years." But to be honest, even at those intervals of time, the vast majority are still functioning well. Yeah, they're pretty durable implants.

Interviewer: What I'm hearing is after you get your joint replacement, if you take care of your body, your health, your weight, and so on, that your implant can last as long as 15 to 20 years?

Dr. Archibeck: Yeah, I think that's fair to say. The other thing that I should mention is that even if a joint replacement is functioning well, it's wise to see your physician. And recommendations vary, but I would say probably about every five years.

So the first year, there's a regimen of post-op visits. Usually two weeks, six weeks, maybe three months, a year. After that, though, we usually let patients go for a while. And it's wise, though, to return and get an X-ray and be evaluated, I would say, anywhere from every five to ten years.

The reason being is that there are things that can occur with the hip replacement or knee replacement that aren't always painful. So if you get a little bit of plastic wear, that might be something that we would be able to see on X-ray, but may not be a painful problem.

And sometimes, if caught early enough, the solution to that issue is relatively simple. If caught late, when it's maybe resulted in loosening of an implant, it can be a much more problematic issue to correct.

So routine follow-up, even after that first year, is wise. Especially as you get to the 15- to 20-year interval of time since surgery, then it becomes even more important because that's about when our concern kind of increases a little bit in regards to the risk of some of these wear-and-tear type mechanisms of failure.

The other thing that's worth mentioning is beyond just having it last a long time, obviously all patients want it to be as comfortable and functional as possible. And it's true that a hip replacement and a knee replacement probably will never feel like a totally normal joint, but the closer we can get it to that, the better.

And typically, hip replacements, for whatever reason, seem to approximate a normal hip more closely than a knee replacement. In other words, it's much more common to have some residual symptoms with a knee replacement.

But the most common reasons we see patients back who maybe had a knee replacement or a hip replacement five years ago, 10 years ago, and just somehow, again, feel concerned that it's not as comfortable as possible, or as they were hoping it would be, include weakness.

So that early post-op time frame, like we mentioned, it's important to work on strengthening. Maintaining that strength is equally as important to allow that hip or knee to function as good as it possibly can.

Again, maintaining a good body weight. It's been shown that if your BMI kind of creeps up a little bit, sometimes the patient's satisfaction level with their replacement decreases. So even though it's not intuitive that that would be the case, maintain a good body weight, maintain good strength.

And obviously, if it really seems like something is wrong, if it's painful and it seems to be not resolving or worsening, then you definitely want to see your physician to kind of rule out any concerning findings.

But again, continuing with those strengthening exercises, maintaining a good body weight, those things can help the joint replacement function most effectively for a long period of time.

Interviewer: Now, going back to that idea of satisfaction, if a patient gets a replacement and is able to take care of it for those 15, 20, or more years, what kind of improvements in quality of life can they expect after receiving a joint replacement?

Dr. Archibeck: That's a good question. The good news is that the vast majority of patients, even though they may have some residual symptoms, feel as though they're dramatically improved when compared to their status preoperatively.

So like I mentioned, it's often the younger patients that maybe notice the limitations or the shortcomings of joint replacement because of maybe their demands of it or their expectations of it.

Because they're just by nature more active, they may notice those limitations a little more than a very elderly patient that maybe isn't as active. Those patients often feel like, "Hey, this does feel pretty normal to me," whereas, maybe the younger, more active patient feels that they're still a little limited by it.

But like I mentioned, most patients, younger or older, generally feel significantly improved after surgery.

And as I mentioned earlier, they should expect to be able to participate in those activities that I mentioned without significant pain: walking, hiking, biking, swimming, things like that. The more demanding activity is, so things like stairs, squatting, walking up or downhill, long hikes, it's not uncommon to still maybe develop a little fatigue or a little ache in the joint. And those things, unfortunately, may persist.

So, with knee replacement, it's been estimated that about 15% to 20% of patients continue to have some degree of what they describe as pain, even though most patients are still very satisfied. Hip replacements, it's a little less. So maybe 5% to 10% of patients still have occasional pain. So, yeah, unfortunately, not a totally normal joint, but definitely typically a significant improvement.

Although the things that I mentioned, like infection or injury, are extremely scary and worrisome, they are very, very rare. And most people do very well after hip or knee replacement in regards to a significant improvement in their quality of life, both in regards to the level of pain that they have as well as their level of function and the activities that they're able to participate in.

Announcer: Need reliable health and wellness information? Don't listen to the guy in the cube next to you. Get it from a trusted source, straight from the doctor's mouth. Here's this week's listener question on The Scope.

Interviewer: Today's listener question is what should somebody look for in an orthopedic surgeon when they're having a knee or hip replacement done. We're talking with Dr. Chris Pelt. He's an orthopedic surgeon and an expert in these types of replacements at University of Utah Health Care. What do you tell somebody if they were to come up to you at a party and say, "What should I look for in a doctor when I'm considering this kind of surgery?"

Dr. Pelt: I tell them to find a surgeon that they feel personally comfortable with, someone that they connect with.

Interviewer: Even if they're really, really good at it, if you're not making that connection you say go find somebody else.

Dr. Pelt: Yeah, exactly. I think that's an important thing because this will become a lifelong relationship with a surgeon. We will follow it for the rest of your life, so you want to be able to connect with that surgeon. But the other thing is you want to find someone who's technically very, very skillful. That's often with experience. Surgeons that perform over 100 hip or knee replacements a year tend to have a better outcome than surgeons that perform fewer surgeries per year, and so often is an important question to find out how many of these types of surgeries your surgeon performs.

Interviewer: And that's something you could just ask. You can just ask, "How many do you do a year?"

Dr. Pelt: Absolutely. And if a surgeon is offended by that question, the patient may want to take pause. Most surgeons that are experienced and comfortable with their own skill set will have no problem answering a question like that.

Interviewer: Beyond the surgeon, where you go, does that make a difference, kind of like the philosophy of the surgical center you do go to?

Dr. Pelt: Just like the surgeon, the facilities are very important both in their quality and cleanliness, their infection rates. A surgical center that does more of the same types of procedures will be better at what they do, so high volume centers that perform high numbers of hip and knee replacements annually will have better outcomes than places that do it more uncommonly.

Announcer: Have a question? Ask it. Send your listener question to hello@thescoperadio.com.

Dr. Miller: You've had a hip or knee replacement and need a revision, we're going to talk about that next on Scope Radio.

Announcer: Access to our experts with in-depth information about the biggest health issues facing you today. "The Specialists," with Dr. Tom Miller, is on The Scope.

Dr. Miller: Hi, I'm here today with Dr. Chris Pelt. He's an orthopedic surgeon here at the University of Utah in the Department of Orthopedics. Chris, talk a little bit about how long a hip or knee replacement lasts. Obviously, that's pretty variable. But when that begins to wear out, and I'm sure in a certain percent of people it does, what's the next step?

Dr. Pelt: Historically, a hip replacement would last 10-15 years. Newer technologies have been developed, which allows the hip replacements to be lasting closer to the 30-year time point, when we look at these on wear simulators, we haven't had the technology 30 years now, but when we look at the available information and literature it looks like it could last much longer than historically.

Dr. Miller: So when they wear out, does the actual prosthetic device wear out or do they come loose? What actually happens? What's more common?

Dr. Pelt: There are three main wear mechanisms or failure mechanisms. One is that the bearing will wear out so the plastic liners can get worn and you can replace the plastic liners. More commonly, however, what we find is that the implants can get loose from the bones or the worst of all of the complications would be infections of the implants. And a lot of the referrals that we do see come from outside in the community hospitals, they refer to us for complications related to infections.

It's one of the more common failures in early time points when a joint replacement fails, but it can happen later in life as well, it can happen when bacteria get into our bloodstream and they find their way to the artificial joints. Metal and plastic do not have an immune system so when bacteria are in our bloodstream, whether it's from an infection in our mouth, dental work, an infection of a toe or any other type of infection in our body, a bacterial infection, it can find its way to our hip replacements. We want to be careful about that when patients are undergoing treatments for other medical issues.

Dr. Miller: Well, based on how patients present with either one of those three things, I guess you craft the repair or surgery to meet that problem. I would imagine a revision surgery is probably a delicate or complex surgery compared to an initial hip replacement or knee replacement.

Dr. Pelt: It's quite a bit more complex. It takes a little bit more expertise and skill because it can be very easy to have a revision surgery and have things go wrong.

Dr. Miller: How long, then, does that revise tip last? Does it last as long as the initial implant or are people looking at a little less lifespan on the hip or knee?

Dr. Pelt: It depends. It depends on what the problem is that we're treating and what implants we have to use to deal with that reconstruction. But, on average, they should last similar time frames to the initial index operation. Some of these will be, hopefully, the last surgery the patient needs to have in their lifetime.

Dr. Miller: Now, patients who present with the infected hips, I think you probably take the old device out and then either put in a new device or wait until the infection has been treated. But I imagine that treatment goes on for several weeks with antibiotics. Is that right?

Dr. Pelt: That's right, yeah. We've taken a lot of pride and created a significant team around the treatment of joint replacement infections here at the University of Utah. We have infection disease specialists, our internal medicine colleagues, ourselves as orthopedic surgeons, our nurses, physical therapists, physician assistants and a bunch of other people that help us take care of our patients. But yeah, the surgery is required initially to take the device out and get rid of all the bacteria out of the joint.

We place a temporary antibiotic-laden or antibiotic-containing spacer with some temporary parts that'll allow the hip or knee to still move the way it typically would and after about three months of treatment with antibiotic and a drug holiday, we often will be able to take the temporary device out and replace it with a permanent device again.

The typical revision joint replacement surgery we may not allow to bear weight on the limb that was just operated on right away. Often, after a primary hip or knee replacement, we have the patients up and walking, with full weight bearing, the day of the surgery. With revision surgery, depending on what it is we are doing, but with most revision surgery, that often is delayed. So we won't let them . . .

Dr. Miller: Both knees and hips?

Dr. Pelt: Both knees and hips. Typically for about six weeks. And the reason is as we mentioned when we are dealing with bone loss and having to accommodate or account for that with bigger and larger implants, sometimes, we need biology to be on our side.

Dr. Miller: It's almost like a fracture that needs treatment so you can put weight on it.

Dr. Pelt: It's almost like treating a fracture. Exactly. So we're waiting for bone in-growth to happen to the implants before we start putting too much weight and start making micro-motion or something that could compromise the stability or fixation. So typically, they're going to be at least six weeks behind where they might have been after their index or primary joint replacement surgery.

After which time, we start ramping up some more of their physical therapy, start getting walking on it, start getting them to strengthen their muscles with some weight and resistance modalities finally, where they probably have not been doing those in the first six weeks. And so they can just expect a little bit long time point until they get back to their maximum improvement point.

Dr. Miller: Initial replacements, they are out of the hospital pretty quickly these days. How long would they expect, on average, to be in the hospital after a revision?

Dr. Pelt: Our typical primary joint replacements will go home the next day, sometimes the latest two days after surgery. A revision surgery has an average length of stay of around three days. Some patients will go home around day two, others around day three, sometimes even day four, but about a day or two longer in the hospital. That's mostly because they're trying to account for the weight bearing restrictions, the mobility needs that they have to get used to after having the revision surgery. So our physical therapists are going to be working with them in the hospital, trying to get them to do the things that they'll need to be able to do when they get out of the hospital

Dr. Miller: Now, you have patients coming from cities distant to Salt Lake. So, interestingly, once they leave the hospital, how do you make sure that the therapy they are getting in their hometown is going to be adequate?

Dr. Pelt: So we have patients that fly in from northern Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico all to have their surgeries done here with us. And it is difficult. We do have, like I said earlier, we do have a big team, including some of our care coordinators and our nurse coordinators that help kind of reach out and make sure our patients are doing well after surgery. We call our patients pretty frequently.

We write pretty strict and standardized protocols and instructions to send home with our patients when they leave the hospital so the physical therapists are able to follow those directions pretty closely. And that way, we don't compromise anything that may be a difference in how they treat things in one place vs how we do here. We try to give them those instructions so it is very clear on what our expectations are when they leave the hospital. And then our team of care coordinators and nurses are going to be calling and ensuring that everything is going right as the weeks progress.

Dr. Miller: So their therapist, no matter where they would be, would be able to contact your care team to figure out if there we any things that they need to modify or revise in terms of the treatment?

Dr. Pelt: Absolutely.

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