DETROIT – More than 1.3 million Americans undergo a knee or hip replacement each year, but is there a better season for the surgery?
According to Dr. Robb Weir, an orthopedic surgeon at Henry Ford Health, there are several factors patients should consider.
“As we all know getting around in the sleet and snow and cold weather is always makes it a little bit harder,” Weir said.
Bad weather aside, planning ahead can allow you to recover before the season you enjoy most.
“This is elective surgery so you can really think about when is best and talk to your surgeon about timing and planning,” Weir said. “If you really like being outdoors and spending time being active in the summer months, and it makes more sense to have your surgery in the winter when it’s colder and you can recover. However, some patients go down south and really have an active winter life and so recovering when it’s nice in the summer might be best for them.”
Weir said a major mistake he sees patients make is waiting too long to see a doctor about their pain.
“The patients that are really challenging are those patients who get into a really deep hole with pain and immobility and weakness and fatigue,” Weir said. “And they don’t address these early on when potentially there are some nonsurgical options that they could try.”
If surgery is necessary, advance planning also allows patients to make healthy changes, like increasing exercise, stopping smoking, and losing weight.
“The benefit of preparing your body and your mind for surgery that you’re helping yourself recover in the best way possible and in secondary benefit is going to be lowering your risk of complications from that surgery,” Weir said.
Most surgeons will be able to schedule your surgery within four to six weeks, Weir said, but it can sometimes take up to three months, so that’s another reason it’s a good idea to plan ahead as much as possible.
The recovery time will vary depending on the procedure and your health and activity level before the surgery.