In the world of hip and knee replacements, many advancements have been made to make surgeries more successful for patients. For this, we are internally grateful, however there’s one thing that all orthopaedic surgeons try to avoid that can make a routine procedure a nightmare – INFECTION! In this episode, we have Michael Blankstein, MD, MSc, FRCSC, Antonia F. Chen, MD, MBA and Nicolas S. Piuzzi, MD who all have done extensive research on the prevention and dealing with infection speak openly about how infections can start, the different types of infections patients can develop and how it can drastically impact a patient’s life and their love ones.

Infections are very serious, and prevention is key, but with approximately 800k total knee replacements done each year in the US and 550k hip replacements, the two percent chance of one of those patients developing an infection causes major issues for the patient, their love ones and the surgeon. Although the numbers for patients with infections have decreased over time, surgeons should still be very cautious – only operating on patients who are medically optimized to avoid the possibility of infection.

In this episode, our surgeons discuss the two different types of infections (acute and chronic) and how to differentiate between the two. If you are considering a hip or knee replacement, you don’t want to miss this podcast recording. 

Enjoy, and thanks for listening to AAHKS Amplified!

In This Episode:

Michael Blankstein, MD, MSc, FRCSC
Antonia F. Chen, MD, MBA
Nicolas S. Piuzzi, MD