Significant increases in surgical capacity or diverting patients to other jurisdictions are the best ways to deal with excessive wait times for hip and knee replacement surgery – a leading symbol of underfunding in Canada's healthcare system.

Hip and knee replacement surgery patients – who are often elderly – are at increased risk of developing potentially life-threatening thrombosis, or blood clots.

With the graying of America’s Baby Boomer generation, arthritis is a growing health concern. Traditionally associated with the elderly, this common joint disease currently afflicts over 20 million men and women in the United States. To aggravate matters, arthritis is also prevalent among the overweight—which describes nearly 65 percent of our nation’s adult population.

Unconscious prejudices among doctors may explain why women complaining of knee pain are less likely than men to be recommended for total knee replacement surgery, a study in today's issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests.

Is getting new knees on your list of New Year's resolutions?
Research at the University of Delaware indicates that women wait longer to pursue knee-replacement surgery than men do.