New medical research targets best time for joint replacement surgery (UMass Med)
UMMS data shows fixed improvement score across typical patient population
New data from a joint replacement monitoring program and database at UMass Medical School shows there is an ideal time for typical patients to get the most out of a hip or knee replacement and that waiting too long will reduce the benefits of surgery.
“Don’t wait until you can’t walk or take the pain any longer,” said David Ayers, MD, the Arthur M. Pappas, MD, Chair in Orthopedics, chair and professor of orthopedics & physical rehabilitation and director of the Musculoskeletal Center of Excellence. “That’s what we hear a lot from patients and doctors—to wait until you can’t take it anymore. But the data is telling us that for typical patients, there’s only a fixed amount of improvement you can get from surgery. So if you wait too long, you don’t get the full value.”
“This isn’t about having surgery too early, either,” Dr. Ayers continued. “This is about the best time for surgery for the average patient. We now have objective, data-driven tools that can help patients decide together with their surgeons where they are with pain...
