Not Just For The six Million Dollar Man Anymore Total knee arthroplasty has become almost commonplace in the last quarter century. The Mayo Clinic estimates almost 140,000 Americans undergo the procedure each year and more than 90 percent are totally pain-free six years after surgery. Top of page Nevertheless, Dr. Coates believes knee replacement should always be a final alternative. Knee replacement is an invasive procedure, and you can never go back. Once the decision is made, though, Dr. Coates makes sure patients most between the ages of 65 and 80 understand total knee replacement requires a tremendous amount of therapy.
Motion has to be regained while healing is taking place.
That means you re doing therapy while your knee is still sore. It s not severely painful, but it can be unpleasant. Therapy continues for the duration of the five-day hospital stay and a minimum six months after. Maybe one or two percent of patients require any supervised therapy after a month. Top of page While all knee replacement procedures vary slightly, one thing remains constant.