Knee Replacements Soar Among The Under-60s, Finland
A new study published online on 17 January in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism reports that rates of knee replacement surgery in Finland's 30 to 59-year-olds soared between 1980 and 2006, with women being the more common recipients throughout. Lead author Dr. Jarkko Leskinen, an orthopedic surgeon at Helsinki University Central Hospital, and colleagues also report that the greatest increase was among those aged between 50 and 59. Knee replacement surgery is the common term for partial and total knee arthroplasty, an operation where part or all of the diseased or damaged surfaces of the knee joint are replaced with metal and plastic parts shaped to allow the patient to move the knee normally.
Analysis Examines Rate Of In-Hospital Blood Clots Following Hip Or Knee Replacement
According to a study in the January 18 issue of JAMA reveals, approximately 1 in every 100 patients undergoing knee replacement surgery and 1 in every 200 patients undergoing hip replacement surgery who use current preventive medications for venous thromboembolism (VTE; a blood clot that develops within a vein that might become serious), will develop VTE before being discharged from hospital. In acute care hospitals, a crucial safety issue is postoperative VTE, which includes pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
Knee Replacement Surgery Incidence Soars In Those Over Age 50
Researchers in Finland found that annual cumulative incidences of partial and total knee arthroplasty, commonly known as knee replacement surgery, rose rapidly over a 27-year period among 30 to 59 year-olds in that country, with the greatest increase occurring in patients aged 50 to 59 years. According to the study published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), incidences were higher in women throughout the study period. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly disabling joint disease that according to a 2002 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) is the fourth leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide.