"Body weight is an issue and a problem. The increased load definitely accelerates the deterioration of the joint." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, reviews some good ways for delaying or even avoiding arthritis altogether.
"It's very obvious from an x-ray if arthritis is evolving." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, explains the ways in which arthritis is commonly diagnosed, including x-rays and MRIs.
"For the vast majority of people we don't have a good explanation why it occurs." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, explains several common causes for arthritis, while noting that it's still a relatively mysterious condition.
"Once the arthritis is established within the joint there's not a lot you can do short of replacing it." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, reviews some common non-surgical treatment options for hip arthritis but notes that surgery is usually required for established arthritis.
"Surgery is always the failure really of all other forms of treatment." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, explains the treatment options available to arthritis patients but admits that surgery is often necessary is the joint is mechanically affected.
"Osteoarthritis affects almost 40 million Americans." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, explains just what osteoarthritis is physically as well as reviewing some symptoms that give it away.
"As the baby boomers now reach the stage where their joints are wearing out the numbers are exponentially increasing." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, notes how many hip replacements surgeons are performing today and how that number is only going up.
"Fusion is an option very rarely done at this point." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, comments on the old practice of hip fusion as a form of hip surgery and notes it is rarely done today.
"I tell the patients that they're usually 85 to 90% recovered at six weeks." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, speaks about the recovery timetable for most patients. Doctor Sculco also notes how patients usually have a nearly complete recovery.
"At any one time, we're doing 30 to 40 hip replacements in a week." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, explains how important it is to select a hospital with good experience in hip replacement surgery.
"Hopefully that information can be used to improve the quality of what happens to patients who come later on." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, explains how hospitals keep track of their patients for the benefit of that patient, and those in the future.
"About 90% of patients are going to be doing well with that implant at 20 years." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, notes how hip replacements last much longer than patients expect them to.
"We will get the patients out of bed sometimes the same day of the operation." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, reports on the usual duration of a hospital stay for a patient who has just undergone hip replacement.
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