Arthritis Sufferers Should Think Twice Before Jumping Into Knee Replacement

Surgeons have an incentive to recommend knee replacement surgery to many patients that do not necessarily need it

Thursday, September 27, 2018 - As much as we would like to believe that doctors are impartial and always recommend treatments that are in the patient's best interest, such is not always the case. Doctors are in business to make money and nine times out of ten will recommend the treatment that they are specializing in, is profitable and is medically justifiable. Seniors should be advised that if their surgeon is pushing for them to have knee replacement surgery chances are the surgeon is receiving side payments from the medical device manufacturer to push their product. Studies now suggest that as many as one in three knee replacement surgeries are totally unnecessary.

Doctors that recommend total knee replacement could easily mislead trusting senior citizens. Osteoarthritis pain could be treated with drugs and physical therapy in the past. Doctors today recommend total knee replacement surgery, a procedure that pays them thousands of dollars more. The average bill for total knee replacement is around $55,000 including hospital charges, and approximately $10000 of that goes to the surgeon. Total knee replacement surgery is a multi-billion dollar market and growing every year due to an aging baby-boomer population increasingly suffering from osteoarthritis. Total knee replacement is major surgery requiring general anesthesia, a hospital stay of a few days, and months if not years of physical therapy. Most seniors that are happy with their knee replacements were physically fit, go to the gym 3-5 times per week, and watch their weight and what they eat. Obesity or becoming overweight is one of the leading causes of total knee replacement failure because of the stress more weight puts on the knee joint. Before agreeing to total knee replacement seniors are advised to explore other treatment options such as taking "over the counter pain relievers Aspirin, Ibuprofen, and Naproxen and topical ointments like Capsaicin, Salycin, and Menthol."

DePuy Synthes markets the DePuy knee to any and all comers. The company website states that it is "never too early to consider knee replacement to treat knee pain," yet over 85% of knee replacement patients are in the 60-80 age range, a time when a person is less physically active and more likely to be unable to undergo the rigors of a physical therapy regimen.

Another reason that knee replacement may not be right for you is if your bones have been weakened by osteoporosis. Bone health is critical at the point where the tibia interfaces with the knee device so that there can be adequate bonding. Debonding at the point where the tibia meets the knee device's tibial baseplate is a leading reason so many DePuy patients have sought to have a second revision surgery to re-cement the device to the tibia. Loosening is dangerous and extremely painful. An unexpected loosening at the tibial baseplate could result in a catastrophic fall down a flight of stairs of falling and hitting one's head on a concrete sidewalk. Attorneys handling DePuy knee lawsuits recommend a free consultation to see if you qualify to proceed with a lawsuit.

Arthritis Sufferers Should Think Twice Before Jumping Into Knee Replacement

Surgeons have an incentive to recommend knee replacement surgery to many patients that do not necessarily need it

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