In the year 2009, the 14th most common inpatient procedure done was the Knee Replacement.It is said that the leading cause which leads to knee replacement is osteoarthritis. It is also the main diagnosis of 96% of the Total Knee Replacement (TKR) recipients. It is expected that by 2030 almost 67 million Americans will be suffering from osteoarthritis.
Currently, 4.5 million Americans are living with at least 1 TKR. In 2010, 650,000 knee replacements occurred; out of which more than 90% were TKR, as against partial knee replacement. Out the total procedures done in 2010, 63% were done on women and 37% on men.
Although the procedure seems scary, the success rate of knee replacement is 9 out of 10 which is quite high in comparison. And also, 80% of the knee replacements last for 20 years.