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A 36-year-old member asked:

How probable is it that you can die from a total knee replacement?

2 doctor answers4 doctors weighed in
Dr. Christopher Ferguson
Orthopedic Surgery 21 years experience
Unlikely: Death from total joint replacement surgery is very uncommon but possible. It depends primarily on the general health of the patient before surgery.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. John Dearborn
Orthopedic Reconstructive Surgery 32 years experience
Very rare: Less than 1 out of 3000 die in the first 90 days after knee replacement surgery.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.

Similar questions

A 46-year-old member asked:

Can knees lock up after total knee replacement?

1 doctor answer3 doctors weighed in
Dr. Gwo-Chin Lee
Orthopedic Surgery 25 years experience
Yes, but not often: Knee replacements can feel like "seizing" or "locking up" on rare occasions and they are usually not due to the device. The most likely phenomena you are experiencing is either "crepitus" or "clunk" which is when scar tissue surrounding the front of the knee gets trapped within the device creating a sensation of locking up. When severe enough, it can be alleviated by removing that scar tissue.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
CA
A 36-year-old member asked:

How useful is a total knee replacement?

4 doctor answers11 doctors weighed in
Dr. Joel McClurg
Specializes in Orthopedic Surgery
Life changing: In the right expert hands and in the right patient knee replacement surgery can be life changing. When patients have exhausted conservative treatments and are medically health there are fewer patients that are more pleased after surgery than total knee patients.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 47-year-old member asked:

How difficult is a total knee replacement?

3 doctor answers7 doctors weighed in
Dr. Chittur Ananthakrishnan
Orthopedic Reconstructive Surgery 56 years experience
Depend : Difficulty of doing a knee replacement depends on the surgeon; anyone who does about a hundred replacements every year should have no problems doing a virgin replacement.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
CA
A 25-year-old member asked:

What can be expected after having a total knee replacement?

2 doctor answers5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Howard Luks
Dr. Howard Luksanswered
Orthopedic Surgery 32 years experience
Pain...and work!: Assuming the knee was placed correctly, now it is up to you and the other health care providers to assure the best chance of you being satisfied with the results. You and your md are a team... As is your pt. You need to religiously perform your stretching exercises, attend your pt sessions and let your doc know of any issues quickly since the first few months are critical.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 40-year-old member asked:

When am I too young for a total knee replacement?

2 doctor answers3 doctors weighed in
Dr. Andrew DeGruccio
Orthopedic Surgery 31 years experience
Never too young: When all conservative options have been exhausted, and symptoms have become disabling, then it is time for knee replacement, regardless of age. Current knee replacement techniques result in 20-30 years of pain free function 95% of the time. If you are young, then you might anticipate that revision knee replacement might be necessary in your future.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Last updated Dec 21, 2014
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