Risks Of Hip Replacement Surgery In The Elderly
The news an elderly relative has broken a hip tends to sound alarm bells perhaps more than breaking another bone would.
Risks of hip replacement surgery in the elderly. Osteoarthritis oa of the hip joint is a common cause of pain and disability in the elderly. Total hip arthroplasty can dramatically improve quality of life for many older people with hip oa. These are blood clots heart attack confusion and death. Although it is far riskier to forego surgery to repair a broken hip in the elderly there are still quite a few risks attached to having a procedure done.
Of course the normal risks of any surgery are greater in the elderly. This mortality rate has been basically unchanged since the 1980s while the mortality rates for other conditions have dropped substantially. This means four out of five elderly persons will survive the first year after a hip fracture. If a hip fracture is not addressed with surgery the one year mortality is about 70.
Blood clots that may form in the leg veins can break off and travel to the lungs or heart. Examples of these risks include. Hip replacement complications include infection poor healing and reactions to anesthesia. Things like the zimmer hip replacement recall remind us that artificial joints may turn out to be defective and need to be replaced a second time.
Overview risks benefits. Experts estimate 3 0 35 35 in 10 000 patients die within 30 days of hip replacement surgery. That s because a hip fracture dramatically increases an older person s risk. What are the risks of hip replacement surgery.
That rate changes to 1 1 in 100 within 90 days of surgery. Older patients as a group have an increased risk of certain problems right after surgery. Infections can develop at the incision site and need antibiotics.