Total Joint Replacement Specialists

What is a Total Joint Replacement?

A total joint replacement removes a damaged joint and replaces it with an artificial joint to improve mobility and reduce pain. Common joint replacements include:

• Hips
• Shoulders
• Knees

Less common replacements include:

• Ankles
• Elbows
• Wrists

The procedures are proven to be highly safe and effective. Artificial joints generally have 15-30 year lifespans. Their materials include ceramic, plastic, and metal. 

When is a Total Joint Replacement Needed?

Your joints often deteriorate over time due to natural aging, trauma, and specific medical conditions. These medical conditions include, but are not limited to:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Osteoarthritis
• Sports injury
• Congenital deformities
• Infections
• Fracture

Our team at MidJersey Orthopaedics may recommend total joint replacement surgery once less invasive procedures become ineffective in treating and managing your joint pain. 

What are the Benefits and Risks of a Total Joint Replacement?

A total joint replacement surgery aims to provide benefits, such as:

• Increased joint mobility
• Decreased joint pain
• Improved quality of life

Although total joint replacement surgery has multiple benefits, it is important to understand the risks that still exist. Although rare, these risks include:

• Infection
• Adverse anesthesia reaction
• Blood clots
• Stroke or heart attack
• Injury to nearby muscles and nerves
• Dislocation of joint
• Loose joint

The surgeons at MidJersey Orthopaedics ensure you are fully educated on the risks of a total joint replacement prior to deciding to have surgery. When possible, the physicians use minimally invasive techniques to limit risk factors and minimize recovery time.

How Long is the Recovery Period for a Total Joint Replacement?

The physicians at MidJersey Orthopaedics recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to recovery. They work with you to develop an individualized, detailed, and informative recovery plan to adhere to post-surgery. The plan typically includes special exercises through physical therapy and diet recommendations that maximize results. 

It is important to understand that the goal of total joint replacement surgery is to relieve pain and improve your overall quality of life. Total joint replacement surgeries are not necessarily designed for you to return to high impact activities after recovery. The recovery timelines for total joint replacements vary, but for common total joint replacements they are:

• Knee Replacement: Patients return to usual daily activities within three to six weeks after a total knee replacement surgery, but it may take up to a year to fully experience all of the benefits of the surgery.
• Hip Replacement: Patients are usually able to walk the same day of a hip replacement surgery. On average, it takes four to six weeks to make a full recovery and return to a normal routine.
• Shoulder Replacement: Patients are typically instructed to wear a sling for 2-4 weeks after a shoulder replacement. It takes anywhere from two to six weeks to regain motion for daily living and about six months before a full recovery takes place.

PREVENTING AN INFECTION OF YOUR ARTIFICIAL JOINT

An infection of your ].oint replacement is very rare, but is potentially very serious, and should be avoided whenever possible. When you have an artificial I.oint, an infection can occur at any time, but is most common in the first two years after the joint was implanted.

Bacteria can enter your body and spread by the bloodstream, which is called bacteremia. A bacteremia can occur from:

• Normal daily activities
• An infection somewhere else in the body
• A procedure which introduces bacteria into the bloodstream (colonoscopy, cystoscopy, abdominal surgery, dental work)

When bacteria enter the bloodstream, on rare occasions, the bacteria can attach to the artificial of the ].oint replacement a oint prosthesis and can cause an infection d the surrounding joint tissue.

The single most important measure you can take to prevent an infection of your joint replacement is to be aware of and to treat any infection elsewhere in your body. If you have any suspicion of an infection (ingrown toe nail, bronchitis, urine infection, etc.), be sure to see your doctor immediately so that you can get diagnosed and treated with antibiotics promptly if needed.

When should You take DroDhvlactic antibiotics Prior to an invasive Procedure? This question does not have a definitive answer but the following information is based on the most recent data from a 2012 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons-American Dental Association Clinical Practice Guideline and a 2014 International Consensus Meeting of Prosthetic Joint Infection :

1. For urological procedures such as eystoscopy or transurethral prostate surgery, most Urologists feel strongly that antibiotics should be given prior to the procedure.
2. For gastrointestinal endoscopy such as upper endoscopy or colonoscopy, the consensus is that antibiotics should only be given for high-risk patients.
3. For dental procedures, the consensus is that antibiotics should only be given for high-risk patients. We recommend not having any dental cleanings or other procedures within 3 months of surgery.
4. High-risk patients include those with the following conditions:
• Auto-immune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Immune suppression from medications, HIV, or other reasons
• Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
• Tobacco usage
• Malnourishment.
• Hemophilia
• Malignaney (Cancer)
5. The reason that prophylactic antibiotics are not given routinely to healthy patients prior to these procedures is that antibiotic usage can cause side effects, which at times can be serious. So routine over-use of antibiotics is not desirable.

Which antibiotics miaht be Drescribed to Prevent infections?

Some of the common ones that are used include:

• Amoxicillin 2 grams / 1 hour before the procedure
• Azithromycin 500 mg. / 30-60 minutes before
• Cefalexin 2 grams / 30-60 minutes before
• Clindamycin 600 mg. / 1-1.5 hours before
• Erythromycin 1.5 grams / 1-1.5 hours before

To learn more about the total joint replacement program at MidJersey Orthopaedics, please call or use the online booking tool today.