No justification for denying obese patients knee replacements

Long term outcome following total knee arthoplasty: A controlled longitudinal study There is no justification for denying obese patients knee replacement surgery: They benefit almost as much as anyone else from the procedure, concludes a small study published ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Around 55,000 knee replacements are performed every year in England to relieve the pain and disability of knee osteoarthritis. But in some parts of the country the surgery is offered only to patients who are not clinically obese (body mass index (BMI) below 30 kg/m2), on the grounds that obesity is itself a risk factor for knee osteoarthritis. The research team monitored the progress of 325 people over the age of 45 for around six years after they had had knee replacement surgery. Their progress was compared with... [read full story]