Determining priority for joint replacement: comparing the views of orthopaedic surgeons and other professionals.

Objective: To assess which patient characteristics influence the assessments of urgency for surgery by orthopaedic surgeons and non-orthopaedic professionals.

Design, Setting And Participants: Cross-sectional study of 80 patients requiring elective hip or knee replacement attending a public hospital orthopaedic outpatient clinic or orthopaedic surgeon's private rooms. Patients were interviewed after being placed on the surgery waiting list.

A comparison of 2 continuous passive motion protocols after total knee arthroplasty: a controlled and randomized study.

Effect of continuous passive motion (CPM) protocols on outcomes after total knee arthroplasty. In this prospective randomized controlled study, 147 patients were assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: CPM from 0 degrees to 40 degrees and increased by 10 degrees per day, CPM from 90 degrees to 50 degrees (early flexion) and gradually progressed into full extension over a 3-day period, and a no-CPM group. The CPM was administered twice a day for 3 hours over a 5-day period.

Joint replacement surgery.

Joint replacement is the most effective healthcare measure in improving patient quality-of-life outcomes. More than 46000 hip and knee replacements were performed in Australia between July 2000 and July 2001. The need for joint replacements will increase as the population ages.

Osteotomy of the knee: is there a seat at the table?

Osteotomy is an alternative treatment for unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee. In genu varum, a high valgus closing wedge osteotomy is preferred, with overcorrection by 5 degrees. Complications and poor outcomes can be overcome by incomplete osteotomy with careful preoperative planning, precise use of cutting jigs, compression fixation, and early mobilization and weight bearing.