How Long Do Hip & Knee Replacements Really Last? | AAHKS President Dr. Antonia Chen

Añadido: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]So the studies vary. I would say the newest studies have been pretty encouraging. They show that joint replacements can last 20 to 30 years, which is pretty pretty cool. So I tell patients it depends on a bunch of different factors. So one, how much they use it, right? So if you're out running marathons or ultramarathons every day, you're going to wear out your plastic, right? We put metal, plastic, metal.

[00:00:22]When it comes to knee replacements, we typically do ceramic and plastic for hip replacements. And so those are the type of surfaces that will wear with time.

[00:00:31]Now it takes a while to wear them, but it depends how much you use them. So on average, and if you don't walk at all, then it's barely going to wear. So they'll last even longer. There are complications that can happen. Infection can happen, dislocation can happen when you have to undergo redo surgery, but that's typically 0.5% risk. It's very low. But if it's you, it's obviously not ideal. So what I tell patients on average, they last 20 to 30 years. Some studies was 20 to 25. Some studies say 25 to 30. So I just say 20 to 30 to encompass it all.