Report: Surgeons Should Better Manage Knee-Replacement Expectations

Nearly one-fifth of patients who have had a total knee replacement are unhappy with the results, even though their doctors regard the surgery as a success, according to an article in this month’s Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The reason for the dissatisfaction is often the patient’s unrealistic expectations of post-surgical outcomes, said researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, who conducted a literature review on the subject. Research cited in the article found that 85% of patients who had the surgery, known as total knee arthroplasty, expected ...