Knee Replacement Surgery Makes Little Sense

DePuy Knee Lawsuit News

Age and weight should determine who qualifies for knee replacement surgery

Wednesday, May 22, 2019 - As incredible as it sounds, about 90% of the patients that undergo total knee replacement surgery are the same people that knee device manufacturers advise not to have it. Knee replacement surgeons who make their living selling artificial knees will tell you "age and weight matter the most." The knee is the most heavily used joint in the body and must carry the full weight of an individual on each and every step they take. People in their 70s, 80s and beyond do not have the bone density or strength needed to cope with the physical demands that will be placed on the knee nor the ability to withstand the years of physical therapy that is to come. This is in direct conflict to the fact that millions of seniors will have knee replacement surgery in the coming years. DePuy knee replacement lawsuits represented by top national attorneys are helping individuals and families and offer a free consultation before filing a claim.

Knee Replacement surgeons may be the last people on earth that you would want to ask for medical advice when it comes to getting rid of osteoarthritis knee pain. Orthopedic surgeons make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year performing knee replacement operations and not a penny if they tell a patient that they are too old, or that all they really need to do is to lose some weight and eat better. Almost every surgeon's website that I could find dramatically overstated the results that could be expected from knee replacement surgery. One surgeon greets prospective knee replacement patients that visit his website with a most encouraging message. "One recent study on long-term outcomes of a commonly used knee replacement found the implant to still be functioning in 96% of patients 20 years after being implanted." This might be true for a younger patient in excellent physical condition who does not engage in physical activity or participate in rigorous sports. That patient profile, however, represents less than 5% of all knee replacement candidates the majority of whom are overweight senior citizens in the latter stages of life.

Another area where it's hard to reconcile the logic behind knee replacement surgery are people who are overweight or obese. Like being too old, being overweight can cause knee replacements to fail at a much higher rate than for a younger person. Wikipedia has recorded that According to a study in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), in 2008, the obesity rate among adult Americans was estimated at 32.2% for men and 35.5% for women; these rates were roughly confirmed by the CDC again for 2009 -2010. You can be sure those numbers have continued to increase.

Most of the DePuy knee replacement systems have failed due to debonding or coming apart at the point where the device meets the tibia and the femur. Infections are the main cause of debonding as the body's immune system attacks the infection and also degrades the glue used to hold the artificial knee in place. When debonding occurs a person has no choice than to undergo revision surgery that is generally considered less likely to be successful than the original operation. So many DePuy knee replacement patients experience infections that the glue used to bond the device in place now comes loaded with antibiotics.

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