Knee Replacement

Volume > Procedure > Knee Replacement

Definition

Knee replacement is a surgical procedure in which the diseased or damaged parts of a patient’s knee joint are removed and replaced with artificial parts. Replacement of the painful joint(s) enables the patient to walk more easily.

Occasionally, both knees need to be replaced. Bilateral knee replacement surgery can be performed during one operation or two, depending on the amount of knee damage and the health of the patient. When the right knee and left knee are replaced during the same surgical event, there is one anesthesia and one hospital stay, followed by a single, slightly longer, rehabilitation period.

See information on: How to interpret Volume

Surgeons who performed fewer than ten procedures at acute care Massachusetts hospitals in 2004 (according to administrative data) are not listed by name in the reports. Their volume is included in the total number of procedures performed at each hospital.

The volume by individual surgeon listed on this website will, in some cases, understate a surgeon’s actual volume for that procedure. Surgeons sometimes perform surgery in neighboring states or in VA hospitals and the data shown on this website do not include these hospitals.

In addition, patients sometimes need several surgical procedures during a hospitalization. The volume data showed on this website only report on the first procedure listed on the patient record; therefore if a surgeon performed a procedure that was listed second, third or later on the medical record, the surgeon would not have been credited with performing it. The surgical volumes listed by hospital are complete.

Additional Information

There is no concensus about minimum procedure volume for knee replacement. However, some research suggests that hospitals or surgeons that have a higher volume of these procedures have better patient outcomes and fewer complications post-operatively. Results from one study suggest that hospitals performing 25 procedures or more per year are associated with good patient outcomes; hospitals performing 200 procedures or more are associated with even better patient outcomes. Also, surgeons who perform 13 procedures or more per year are associated with good patient outcomes; and surgeons who perform 50 procedures or more per year are associated with even better patient outcomes.

Research Studies

Surgeon Volume Indicators  (ICD-9 Codes)