I am a 33 year old male with bad knees. I have continuous pain in both of them. LEFT: Ruptured AC and a graft placed that is loose. A lot of cartlidge lost with 4 ARTH. RIGHT: Smashed in accident and removal of a large portion of meniscus with on ARTH.

My query is; When is a replacement worthwhile and how long would you expect it to last in a 200lb male ?

-- Robert John Manson (rmanson@hob.pittsh.com.au), October 11, 2000

Answers

Although it is difficult to generalize, and specific answers for specific patients requires the physician patient encounter, in general, a total knee replacement is considered when there are no lesser procedures that are likely to work and when the symptoms are sufficient to justify the risk of surgery. Current toatl knee replacements are expected to last in excess of 20 years and then they can be redone with predictable success.

There is lots of additional information on this site about total knee replacement. Look around.

-- David Hungerford (Dhunger@jhmi.edu), October 14, 2000.