Are We Doing Too Many TKRs?

摘要

Two recent reports raise concerns regarding total knee replacement (TKR), one of most successful advances in orthopedic surgery in the last 30 years. An article in JAMA by Cram and colleagues,1 cites a 161% and 106% increase in primary and revision TKRs, respectively, in Medicare patients during this 20-year period. "The growth in [total knee arthroplasty] should prompt consideration of whether too many (or too few) of these procedures are being performed," the authors stated.