Long-Term Complications With Knee Replacements - A Worthwhile Risk?

Knee replacement surgery is becoming one of the most common major surgeries performed in the United States today. Whether the cause is the increase in people suffering from obesity or just more awareness about the difference that complete knee replacement can make in the quality of life for those suffering from debilitating joint failure, the fact is that more and more people are walking around through the miracle of knee replacements like the Sigma (DePuy Knee) by Johnson & Johnson. As the number of people getting new knees has increased so too has awareness about the possible long term complications of knee replacements.

Knee replacement surgery used to be considered a last resort solution for joint pain. Doctors and patients would exhaust every other possible therapy before finally considering this highly invasive surgery. People understood that the recovery time was very extended and that the results did not always include a return to full knee mobility. What is now understood though is that undergoing a partial knee replacement earlier on may reduce the possibility of the patient suffering some of the long term complications that come from having a total knee replacement. By not waiting until more of the knee is destroyed there is a better chance of restoring nearly full movement to a patient's knees.

Regardless of whether a patient is undergoing partial or complete knee replacement surgery there is always a risk of complications. In the short term, you have the pain associated with the operation, the risk of infection, blood clots and the possibility that the replacement may fail. The rehabilitation process is also lengthy, painful and includes many hours spent conditioning and stretching the knee joints for flexibility and mobility. Many patients require the use of a flex or CPM -- Continuous Passive Motion -- machine to help restore movement.

The more years that go by with knee surgeries being performed, the more information we have about the long term complications of knee replacements. Most data available today only deals with problems that arise in the first three years following the surgery. As there are patients living with artificial knees for longer and longer periods of time, more and more information is being collected.