Newswise — A finding that knee replacement surgery is a cost-effective way to treat severe osteoarthritis in older adults is encouraging news, says Dr. Joseph Benevenia, department chair of the Department of Orthopedics at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. That finding appears in the June 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Benevenia says that practicing orthopedic surgeons have felt for some time that complete knee replacement is a cost-effective procedure compared with other treatments for severe osteoarthritis of the knee, as well as the treatment that delivers the best quality of life for many patients. The results that appear in the study only bolster that belief, he says.
"Sometimes it can be hard to get medical practitioners and cost control experts to agree that the same treatment is best, and this is an instance where it is refreshing that they do," said Dr. Benevenia. "This is a story about healing, both for patients whose severe knee pain can be relieved through this form of surgery, and also for those who pay the bill."
Dr. Benevenia says the results of this study may have two practical effects going forward. Findings of cost-effectiveness may encourage hospitals and other medical facilities to expand their services in the field of knee replacement surgery, and patients in pain from osteoarthritis of the knee might contemplate undergoing this form of surgery earlier in life in order to enjoy the benefits of the surgery for a longer period of time.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with nearly 5,700 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network.
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