There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
<p class="first" id="d1598709e152">Knee replacement surgery is one of the most commonly
done and cost-effective musculoskeletal
surgical procedures. The numbers of cases done continue to grow worldwide, with substantial
variation in utilisation rates across regions and countries. The main indication for
surgery remains painful knee osteoarthritis with reduced function and quality of life.
The threshold for intervention is not well defined, and is influenced by many factors
including patient and surgeon preference. Most patients have a very good clinical
outcome after knee replacement, but multiple studies have reported that 20% or more
of patients do not. So despite excellent long-term survivorship, more work is required
to enhance this procedure and development is rightly focused on increasing the proportion
of patients who have successful pain relief after surgery. Changing implant design
has historically been a target for improving outcome, but there is greater recognition
that improvements can be achieved by better implantation methods, avoiding complications,
and improving perioperative care for patients, such as enhanced recovery programmes.
New technologies are likely to advance future knee replacement care further, but their
introduction must be regulated and monitored with greater rigour to ensure patient
safety.
</p>