Is a Knee or Hip Replacement Right for You?

Announcer: We're your daily dose of science, conversation, medicine. This is The Scope, University of Utah Health Sciences Radio.

Interviewer: 你一直在考虑做一个全关节置换术，无论是髋关节还是膝关节，你想知道它是否适合你. In this series of podcasts, we're not only going to talk about that, but if you decide to have the procedure, we'll give you some insight as to what you can expect before, during, and after.

In this very first podcast, we want to cover is a total joint replacement right for you? So are you a likely candidate for it? We want to make sure that you understand your condition. 为什么你应该和家人谈谈，这是一个重要的组成部分. Plus, also, 在考虑关节置换术之前，您是否考虑过其他更保守的措施.

Dr. Chris Pelt is a joint replacement expert at University of Utah Health's University Orthopedic Center. First of all, what types of joint problems can a joint replacement improve, because it doesn't fix everything.

What Does a Joint Replacement Do?

Dr. Pelt: 关节置换术是为了减轻与关节炎相关的疼痛 hip or knee. 这种手术通常是在人们尝试了其他保守的减轻疼痛的方法之后进行的, 在疼痛干扰了他们完成需要做的事情的能力之后, enjoy doing, and actually their quality of life.

Who Is Not a Good Candidate For Joint Replacement?

Interviewer: Now who are some people that might not be good candidates?

Dr. Pelt: Well, anybody may be a candidate, 但肯定有一些人可能有更高的并发症风险或者在他们生命的那个阶段可能不是接受手术的理想人选. 某些高风险人群可能是病态肥胖或体重增加的人. That increases their risk for decreased lifespan of the joint. 它还增加了感染等并发症的风险. 

同样，糖尿病患者需要有良好的糖尿病控制. 吸烟者需要戒烟，才能成为关节置换术的候选人, because it increases their risk of infections, poor wound healing, and even pain afterwards. 所以这是大发娱乐之前可以在医学上优化的一些领域.

What Qualities Do I Need for Joint Replacement?

大发娱乐也要确保病人是关节置换术的合适人选, because their arthritis is advanced enough on an X-ray. That means bone on bone type of arthritis. 这是你可以从关节置换专家或者你的初级保健医生那里看到的甚至可以通过x光检查. 还有那些之前接受过保守疗法的病人也在试图避免手术. 大发娱乐不喜欢给每个人做关节置换手术仅仅因为它可能不会永远持续下去.

So if you're really young, 大发娱乐很有可能会尽量延长你原有关节的寿命，这样你就能活得更久，希望在需要关节置换之前能维持你自己的关节. 当你最终做了关节置换术的时候，减少了你未来对关节置换术的修改需求.

Interviewer: Yeah, so this sounds like some good common guidelines, 但我认为联系像你这样的专业人士来大发娱乐别人做决定是很重要的.

Dr. Pelt: Absolutely. 大发娱乐的大多数患者通常会通过他们的初级保健医生甚至非手术骨科专家, psychiatrist, 运动医学医生通过一些保守的方法才能达到关节成形术的手术. 这样做的目的是让他们在手术前对保守治疗进行优化.

When Should I Talk to my Doctor About Joint Replacement?

Dr. Pelt: 是的，有些人会去看他们的初级保健医生和其他非手术医生. 有些人只是知道他们有关节炎，和他们的家人谈过. I think it's really important to realize this is a big decision. It's a very big surgery. You want to take the time to talk to your families, talk to your care providers, 如果最终觉得关节置换术适合你，就和你的外科医生见面.

In the end, when we've tried all those conservative treatments, avoiding the surgery, the time to consider doing a joint replacement is, 当疼痛无法被其他事物控制时现在疼痛主要是干扰你生活的三个组成部分. 这是你需要做的事情，就像去上班一样, caring for yourself, caring for your family, caring for your home. Those day to day activities of daily living.

生活中受痛苦干扰的第二个方面是休闲和享乐活动. 那些你喜欢做的事情，无论是园艺、滑雪、远足、散步还是骑自行车. 任何一种你想多做的活动, but pain is prohibiting you from doing that.

And the third component is the quality of life. It's your ability to be happy. One of my patients told me it's their ability to smile everyday. 当痛苦开始影响你的生活，以至于你脾气暴躁，不笑的时候, 这是一个很好的迹象，表明是时候和别人谈谈了.

Interviewer: 在接下来的几期播客中，大发娱乐将特别讨论如果你正在考虑膝关节或髋关节置换术, the similarities and the differences. Then also in the series of podcasts, 如果你决定要这样做大发娱乐会给你一些信息告诉你如何准备手术以及手术后会发生什么

Announcer: TheScopeRadio.com is University of Utah Health Sciences Radio. If you like what you heard, 一定要在Twitter和Facebook上关注大发娱乐获取最新内容. Just click on the Facebook icon at TheScopeRadio.com.