A study published in the July 14, 2008 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine contends that hip and knee arthroplasty surgeries may be more beneficial to elderly patients than once believed. The study reports that surgery is not only more effective in alleviating pain than alternative treatments, but it also does not pose a significantly higher level of risk for elderly patients.
A total of 174 men and women age 65 and older participated in the study, which monitored osteoarthritis symptoms and functional status of patients over the course of one year. During that period, 29% of the subjects underwent hip or knee arthroplasty surgeries. While full recovery took up to several weeks, the authors noted that patients who had undergone the joint replacement surgery "experienced excellent long-term outcomes." Most importantly, the study reveals that recovery times for patients between the ages of 65 and 74 compared to those 75 or older were in fact very similar.
This study uncovers some of the driving factors behind a recent trend in modern medicine: an increase in surgical procedures, for everything from hip and knee replacements and revisions to cardiac implants, being performed on the very elderly.
With 70% of Americans over the age of 70 exhibiting evidence of osteoarthritis on x-rays and the elderly population increasing, this study foreshadows what could be a considerable increase in the number of hip and knee arthoplasties performed in the U.S. in the coming years.
