Make the most
of your recovery
When you get home from the hos-
pital after having a joint replaced,
there’s still work to be done—
and you’re in charge of it. How
much function, range of motion
and strength you gain depends a
lot on how you manage the frst
months of your recovery.
To make the most of that
recovery, follow these sugges-
tions from the American Acad-
emy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
and the American College of
Rheumatology:
Take medications as di-
rected. These may include
blood thinners to prevent life-
threatening blood clots and pain
medication to keep you moti-
vated to move and stretch.
Follow medical instructions.
Keep stitches and wounds clean
and dry, avoid bending and reach-
ing as you mend, and follow other
advice from your doctor, such as
wearing compression stockings
to prevent blood clots.
Don’t rush recovery. Doing
too much too soon can jeopardize
healing.
Watch your weight. Too
many extra pounds put stress on
new joints.
Be careful of infections.
This is a priority for the rest of
your life, because infections
can enter the blood stream and
infect the artifcial joint. Because
some infections start after dental
work, your dentist may prescribe
an antibiotic before dental
procedures.
Stay active. Continue doing
joint-specifc, post-surgery exer-
cises for at least two months.
Working with a physical therapist
helps with motivation. A lifelong
commitment to exercise is best
to help protect joint health.
Know (and follow) specifc
limitations after surgery. Most
orthopedic surgeons recommend
that patients with artifcial joints
avoid high-impact activities (ten-
nis, football, running, basket-
ball, heavy lifting). Swimming,
walking, biking, playing golf or
doubles tennis, and doing other
low-impact activities are typically
OK—even encouraged.
D
Knees are the most commonly replaced joints in the
United States—doctors do more than 500,000 of the
surgeries a year, according to the American Academy of
Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). In the No. 2 spot: hips,
with nearly 200,000 replaced every year.
Other joints can be replaced, too, including those in
the ankle, foot, shoulder, elbow and fngers.
WHY JOINTS FAIL
Healthy joints are cushioned by a
smooth layer of cartilage that allows the joint bones to
move without much friction or pain. Bones themselves
are living tissue and need a constant supply of blood to
grow, remain healthy and make repairs.
When joints are damaged—by injury, arthritis, or
simple wear and tear, for example—cartilage can dis-
appear. Bones can lose some of their blood supply, and
infammation can trigger fuid that overflls the joint.
Te result? Pain, stifness and swelling that can afect
walking, standing, sitting and sleeping. Muscles around
the joint start to decline as using the joint becomes in-
creasingly painful.
WHAT’S INVOLVED?
Replacement joints are designed
to mimic how a normal joint moves. Tey generally have
two or more parts that ft together, and the parts are made
of various materials—including stainless steel, chrome,
titanium, ceramic and wear-resistant plastics.
Surgery to replace a hip or knee usually takes two
hours or less. Te surgery team removes the damaged
joint and replaces it with an artifcial one, called a pros-
thesis. Artifcial joints come in many forms and sizes.
Surgeons decide which one to use based on a number of
factors, including a patient’s size, health and lifestyle and
the amount of damage to the joint.
Rehabilitation begins right afer surgery. Patients
usually are walking, standing and using their new joint
within a day—sometimes the same day as their surgery.
Tey may need to use a walker, crutches or a cane until
their muscles grow stronger.
Total joint replacement for hips and knees typically
involves a three- to fve-day stay in the hospital. Afer
that, patients are released to go home or to a temporary
rehabilitation center.
Most people are back to work and driving again afer
six to eight weeks, but recovery times can vary depending
on the joint replaced, according to the AAOS.
RISKS OF SURGERY
More than 90 percent of people
who have a joint replaced consider the surgery a success.
Although complications from the surgery are rare, they
can include:
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Blood clots.
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Infection in the wound or deep around the prosthesis.
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Loosening of the prosthesis within the bone.
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Dislocation of the ball from the socket afer total hip
replacement.
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Nerve and blood vessel damage near the replaced joint.
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Breakage of the new joint.
Sometimes another surgery—called a revision—must
be done to correct problems.
IS IT TIME?
Having a joint replaced is a big decision,
says Joseph Zubak, MD, orthopedic surgeon at Shannon
Clinic. Doctors can tell a lot about the mechanics of a
joint by looking at x-rays and studying the results of other
tests. But these don’t measure how a patient feels or how
willing he or she is to go through surgery and the hard
work involved in recuperating.
“As a surgeon, I evaluate a patient’s level of pain, when
he or she has pain, the characteristics of the pain, and
how it interrupts activities of daily living—such as get-
ting up from a chair, walking, going up and down stairs,
or fulflling work duties,” Dr. Zubak says. “Usually they
decide to have a joint replaced when the pain interferes
with day-to-day functioning.
“Tese surgeries have been around a long time,” he
says. “Most people know they’re available and that they
are successful. As we are aging now, patients are main-
taining active lifestyles. Tey don’t want to give them up,
and they don’t want to live with pain.”
TODAY VS. TOMORROW
If you’re considering joint
replacement surgery, check with your primary care
doctor to make sure you’re healthy enough to undergo
anesthesia and the operation, advises the American Col-
lege of Rheumatology. An orthopedic surgeon can then
help you sort through the maze of options available for
replacing your joint.
Joint surgery is always improving, Dr. Zubak says. Te
next decade should bring longer-lasting materials, more
smart tools—such as robotics—into the operating room
and more implants tailored to ft a patient’s anatomy, he
says.
“We’re already seeing and utilizing much of this
now,” Dr. Zubak says. “Joint replacement designs are
already sophisticated and precise, and they continue
to improve.”
You can learn more about joint replacement surgery—
including information about replacing specifc
joints—at www.orthoinfo.aaos.org.
ave Gufey’s pain started a decade ago. It began in one knee but soon afected
both. He’d always been active—football in college, racquetball and basketball for
recreation—and he had a job that required hiking across university stadiums and
climbing arena stairs to see athletes and coaches.
✦
He knew his knees were
wearing out; cortisone shots, braces and pain pills no longer helped ease the pain.
“Both knees were bone-to-bone,” he recalls. “I couldn’t walk 10 minutes without
feeling pain.”
✦
At 59, Gufey decided to trade in his old knees for new ones.
W I N T E R 2 0 1 2
5
H E A L T H B E A T
Are you considering joint
replacement surgery?
Talk to one of our
orthopedic surgeons at
the Shannon Orthopedics
Center. Call us at
325-481-2292.