Total Joint Replacement: Optimizing Patient Expectations

Rehabilitation of the patient who has undergone total hip or knee replacement embraces many facets of care, including prevention of complications, patient education, and a program of gradual resumption of normal functions. This program may be divided into three phases. In the perioperative phase, elimination of factors that contribute to morbidity will facilitate resumption of physical activities. In the interim phase (the first year following surgery), the patient's desire to return to full activities must be tempered by the goal of preserving for the longest possible time the mechanical-biologic construct of the joint replacement. Although a final functional result is usually achieved in the first 2 to 3 years following surgery, the patient must be followed up indefinitely. During this third phase of long-term assessment, the question of whether total joint arthroplasty was a success must be answered by the surgeon, by the patient, and by society.