Replacements are booming, but BrightStar Care Serving Skokie discovers not all surgeons are as pro-procedure as patients
"I'm getting my knee replaced"--that's the tune Boomers and others are singing these days as they join the chorus of those having total knee replacements. It's putting the procedure at the top of the charts along with the best-selling book, "Bury my inactivity at Wounded Knee." For lifestyle reasons and others, Boomers are lauding the virtues of replacements... but surgeons are not so eager to sing along. Many believe caution is being pushed aside like so much sinew and cartilage and the operation is not being given the respect this serious surgery deserves. The numbers of replacements being performed each year is impressive and the stats are growing. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) indicates that about 500,000 knee replacements are being performed annually and more than 175,000 hip replacements. And, like knees themselves, the numbers are swelling. In the next 20 years, Knee replacements will increase by 673% and hip replacements are expected to rise 174%. Here's a fact trifecta: 1 ) Bum knees are being replaced in huge numbers, 2) They're being replaced at a faster pace than a few years ago and; 3) operations are being performed at a younger age. In 2000 the average age of a knee replacement candidate was around 69, but by 2010, the average age had dropped to 66--a drop of three years--so the question of the day is:
What's raising the popularity of knee replacement surgery?
"The driving force of this is the lifestyle of the baby boom generation," says Mathias Bostrom, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery--the hospital where total knee replacements were first performed. "Boomers are not willing to be sedentary or settle for less than a full-out life," Bostrom explained. "Lifespan has increased and this generation wants re-generation--knee joints, body parts and even hearts that allow them to keep doing what they always done and want to do. These days, that can include a 10k race or Iron Man Triathalon." Just a BrightStar side note,
Sister Madonna Buder is (a Roman Catholic nun) is the oldest person ever (man or woman) to finish an Ironman triathlon, which consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run (aka, a marathon). She accomplished this feat with great knees on Apr 28, 2014. Clearly, a bad knee would not fit into the big picture of Sister Madonna's active lifestyle. As a further example, we're using this blog to present another person's perspective of the procedure . This up close and personal view is from a Boomer in the North Shore area who is only days removed from total knee replacement as of the writing of this post. James Ardito of Wilmette, Il had a total replacement of his right knee on March 29 2016. Ardito first began experiencing knee problems around six months prior to his actual surgery . "The pain just kind of appeared one day," James (Jim) explained. "I thought it could be dealt with by my chiropractor, but that wasn't the case. I was finally examined by an orthopedic surgeon at Illinois Bone & Joint, who got to the heart of the knee issue when he diagnosed my condition as osteoarthritis." Jim sat down with BrightStar Care Evanston ("go Wildcats!") and explained that his knee pain was intermittently intense, but not dire. Jim wasn't restricted from climbing stairs in his three-story home on Park Avenue in Wilmette, and he was still able to exercise a lot, swimming up to 2/3rds of a mile three times a week. Not too bad. So with all that mobility and the lack of excruciating pain, why would Jim still be compelled to have his knee replaced at 69 when he could have safely limped along for an indefinite amount of time--perhaps a year of two. "I was not about to go through the rest of my life limping along," states Ardito. "I elected to have the surgery done, but because it was a really elected procedure, the journey to my eventual replacement was not quick at all. My orthopaedist tried every possible relief route first: cortisone shots, a synvisc shot, pain medications, physical therapy, etc. These treatments all had short term positive effects--especially the synvisc shot--and made my life bearable, but not optimal by a long shot. I talked openly and honestly with the "knee master," Dr. Robert McMillan of Illinois Bone & Joint. I asked him two questions that made all the difference to me: 1)Was the osteoarthritis going to get worse over time? ("Yes") Was my knee eventually going to have to be replaced? ("Yes".) That's when I decided I really wanted to have it done. McMillan was kind enough to take time to talk to BrightStar Care serving Skokie about Ardito's experience and what he has learned after performing hundreds of knee replacements. The respected surgeon unquestionably notes a recent rise in knee replacements among Boomers and seniors, but he also notes an increase in replacements in other age groups too. McMillan attributes this increase to a generation that wants to "live life to the lees --not the least," but he makes a point of acknowledging positive press and even the word on the street that gives knee replacement a thumbs up for methodologies and technologies that have made the procedure easier and safer than ever. "While this is all true," states McMillan, it still does not mean knee replacement is without risk or actually "easy" for the patient. "'Easy' is not one of the words patients going through rehab use," says McMillan. "A lot of those words aren't printable." McMillan feels strongly about this. "Replacement is not a little deal; it's a big deal and should not be trivialized. I still feel it's a last resort and that's what I communicate to my patients who are thinking about having the procedure done" Now that he's been through the surgery is Ardito going to be a big knee replacement advocate? "It's only been 10 days since the surgery he says, so it's too soon to tell. The jury is still out. However, my predominant thought at the moment is a big, fat, 'OUCH!'" PS: If you feel you benefited from and/or enjoyed this blog, BrightStar Care serving Skokie has a lot more to share with you on a wide range of interesting, important and topical subjects like
"Tough truths and good news about women and heart disease"and that's just the start the useful information and helpful services BrightStar Care makes available. Remember, we're here whenever you kneed, er, need us 24/7. Feel free to c
ontact us online or call
(847) 510-5750 now. Resources: "Joint replacements on the rise" http://bit.ly/1qlkXHl "Baby boomers flock to get knee replacements" http://nws.mx/1O1ZjzZ
