Before patients get a new knee or hip, should they have to go to boot camp? It’s a two-hour training program that teaches them what to expect before, during, and after surgery, and how they can make the process easier. It has reduced hospital stays and improved patient outcomes.
In this slideshow, Yale Medicine orthopedic surgeons share surprising insights about hip surgeries.
Knee replacement surgery is one of the treatment options for a knee joint that osteoarthritis has damaged. Osteoarthritis develops due to a breakdown of joint cartilage and the underlying bone.
If your hip joint is so damaged or worn out that it’s rendering you unable to move your body the way you used to, you may need to undergo hip replacement surgery. First performed in 1969, it is considered a fairly routine procedure nowadays. According to data from 2010, about 2.5 million Americans are living with total hip replacements, most of them fully mobile despite their health problems.
For hockey great Bobby Orr, a torn knee ligament ended his career at age 30. Orr had more than 17 knee operations, at one point having his meniscus removed—the cartilaginous tissue that helps stabilize and lubricate the knee joint. Now scientists can see in real time just how important the meniscus is.
