Joint Replacement in Your Seventies and Eighties: How Surgeons Assess Fitness for Surgery

Margaret is 81 and has started counting steps between her armchair and the kettle. Fourteen, each one negotiated with the worn-out right knee she has nursed for a decade. Her daughter thinks she should ask about surgery. Margaret suspects a surgeon will take one look at her birth year and say no.

That suspicion is common, and it is mostly out of date. Joint replacement in older adults is now routine in many orthopedic units, and the question a surgeon actually asks is not “how old are you?” but “how well does your body cope with stress, and how much would a new joint give back?”

This explainer walks through how that assessment works: the tests, the conversations, the reasons someone might be asked to wait, and what the weeks and years afterwards usually look like. It is written so that Margaret, and anyone standing where she stands, can walk into the clinic knowing what to expect.

Is there an age limit for joint replacement in older adults?

There is no number on a chart that closes the door. Guideline bodies in the United States and United Kingdom do not set an upper age for hip or knee replacement, and Johns Hopkins notes that most people who have the operation are between 50 and 80, with surgery performed well beyond that range when health allows.

What surgeons weigh instead is sometimes called physiological age: how the heart, lungs, kidneys, muscles and brain are functioning right now, regardless of the calendar. A fit 84-year-old who gardens, climbs stairs and takes two medicines may be a more straightforward candidate than a 68-year-old with poorly controlled diabetes, heart failure and a recent fall.

Osteoarthritis, the wear-and-tear breakdown of joint cartilage, is the reason behind most replacements. It does not pause because someone has reached 80. Pain that wakes a person at night, a knee that gives way on the stairs, or a hip that makes putting on socks impossible can shrink a life quickly at this age, and that shrinkage carries its own risks: less walking, weaker muscles, more falls, more isolation.

So the honest framing is a balance. On one side sits the risk window around surgery, which is real and concentrated in the first weeks. On the other sits years of potential mobility. For many people in their seventies and eighties the second side is heavier, which is why the assessment focuses on making the first side as light as possible rather than on the age printed on the referral letter.

What actually happens during a hip or knee replacement

Arthroplasty is the clinical word for joint replacement: the damaged joint surfaces are removed and replaced with artificial parts. Picture a knee as two bone ends that have lost their smooth cartilage lining. The surgeon trims a thin layer from each end, then caps them with metal components separated by a tough plastic spacer. The result is less a new knee than a resurfaced one, which is why the operation is sometimes called knee resurfacing.

A hip replacement works on a ball-and-socket joint. The worn ball at the top of the thigh bone is removed and replaced with a stem and a new ball; the socket in the pelvis is lined with a cup. Components may be fixed with bone cement or designed so that bone grows into them, a choice the surgeon makes based on bone quality.

The operation itself typically takes between one and two hours, according to the NHS. Many older patients receive a spinal anesthetic, an injection into the lower back that numbs the legs while the person stays drowsy or sedated, often combined with a nerve block that keeps the joint comfortable for the first day. A general anesthetic is an alternative when the spinal route is unsuitable.

Where arthritis affects only one compartment of the knee, a partial replacement that preserves healthy bone and ligaments may be discussed. Whether it suits an individual depends on the pattern of wear seen on imaging and examination, and that judgment belongs to the surgeon.

Who is usually offered surgery, and who is usually asked to wait

Surgeons tend to offer joint replacement when three things line up. Pain or stiffness is limiting ordinary life: walking, sleeping, washing, stairs. Imaging confirms advanced joint damage that matches the symptoms. Simpler measures, such as exercise programs, walking aids and medicines, have been tried properly and have stopped helping. Mayo Clinic describes severe pain that limits daily activities as the most common reason for knee replacement.

Being asked to wait is different from being refused. Common reasons for a pause include:

• An active infection anywhere in the body, including a dental abscess, a urinary infection or a leg ulcer, because bacteria can travel to a new implant.
• Diabetes with high recent sugar readings, which slows wound healing and raises infection risk until control improves.
• A heart attack, stroke or new heart rhythm problem in the recent past; cardiology usually sets a recovery interval before elective surgery.
• Unexplained weight loss, severe anemia or very poor nutrition that needs investigating first.
• Fragile or broken skin over the joint, or very recent steroid injections into it.
• Memory or capacity concerns that need a fuller assessment so that consent is genuinely informed.

A smaller group is advised against surgery altogether, usually because a serious heart, lung or kidney condition makes the anesthetic risk high and other options exist. Even then, the conversation is rarely final; a change in health can reopen it.

The person asked to wait is often sent away with a plan: a dental review, a diabetes clinic appointment, a prehabilitation program. The waiting period is working time, not lost time.

How surgeons assess fitness for surgery: the preoperative workup

The assessment usually happens in a preoperative clinic a few weeks before the planned date, run by nurses and anesthetists alongside the surgical team. It is thorough because it is cheaper, in every sense, to find a problem now than on the operating table.

The appointment starts with a conversation. Which medicines, including over-the-counter and herbal products. Previous anesthetics and any reactions. Breathlessness on stairs, chest pain, fainting, snoring, falls in the last year. Who is at home and whether there are stairs to the bedroom.

Then the measurements. Blood tests check hemoglobin (anemia), kidney function, electrolytes and, for people with diabetes, HbA1c, a blood marker that reflects average sugar levels over roughly the previous three months. An ECG records the heart’s rhythm. A chest X-ray is reserved for people with lung disease or new symptoms. Skin and nose swabs screen for bacteria such as MRSA that would change the antibiotic plan. Blood pressure, weight, oxygen saturation and a urine test round out the basics.

Finally, the anesthetist assigns an ASA grade, a one-to-six scale developed by the American Society of Anesthesiologists that summarizes overall health, from a fit person with no illness at grade one to someone critically unwell at higher grades. Most older adults having elective joint surgery sit at grade two or three, meaning a stable long-term condition such as treated hypertension or well-managed diabetes.

The grade is a shorthand, not a verdict. What matters more is the detail underneath it, which is where the next four sections go.

Heart, lungs and the anesthesia conversation

The single most useful question an anesthetist asks is deceptively simple: can you climb two flights of stairs without stopping? Functional capacity, the body’s ability to raise its effort when demanded, predicts how well someone will tolerate the stress of surgery better than many tests. Two flights without pause is a reassuring sign at any age.

When the answer is no, or when there is a known heart condition, the workup deepens. An echocardiogram, an ultrasound of the heart, checks valve function and pumping strength. A stress test may follow if there are symptoms suggesting narrowed coronary arteries. Known heart failure, significant valve disease or an irregular rhythm such as atrial fibrillation do not automatically block surgery, but they do mean the plan is built jointly with a cardiologist and the timing may shift.

Lungs get similar attention. Long-standing smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or suspected sleep apnea, where breathing repeatedly pauses during sleep, change the choice of anesthetic and the monitoring afterwards. A spinal anesthetic is often favored in older adults precisely because it avoids the airway and tends to cause less post-operative confusion and nausea, though the anesthetist decides case by case.

Patients sometimes arrive braced for a pass-or-fail exam. The reality is closer to planning a journey with a weather forecast: the team is deciding which route, which support, and whether to leave now or in a month. Blood pressure that is too high, a chest infection that has not cleared, or a new heart murmur are reasons to adjust the route, not to cancel the trip.

Frailty, muscle and nutrition: why prehab matters more at 78 than at 58

Frailty is a clinical term, not an insult. It describes a reduced reserve across several body systems, so that a small stress, such as an infection or an operation, causes a disproportionately large setback. Surgeons and geriatricians screen for it because it predicts complications and length of stay more reliably than age does.

The screening tools are humble. How quickly can you stand up from a chair five times without using your arms? How far can you walk in six minutes? How firm is your grip when you squeeze a handheld meter? Have you lost weight without trying? Have you fallen in the past year? Each answer feeds into a frailty score, and a higher score prompts a plan rather than a refusal.

That plan is often called prehabilitation, or prehab: structured exercise, nutrition and medical optimization in the weeks before surgery. The logic is that the muscles around a hip or knee carry the recovery, and sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass, is reversible to a useful degree even in the eighties. Typical prehab includes:

• Strength work for the thigh, hip and calf muscles, usually two or three sessions a week, taught by a physiotherapist.
• Balance practice to lower fall risk before and after surgery.
• A dietary review focusing on adequate protein and calories; a dietitian may be involved if weight has been dropping.
• Checking vitamin D and iron status, with any supplementation decided by the clinician.
• Stopping smoking and limiting alcohol, both of which measurably improve wound healing and reduce chest and heart complications.

Patients who complete prehab often tell physiotherapists they feel the benefit before the operation, because stronger muscles ease the arthritic joint too.

Medicines, blood counts and bleeding risk before surgery

Most people in their seventies and eighties take several regular medicines, and the preoperative clinic reviews every one. Three groups need particular attention.

Anticoagulants, medicines that thin the blood to prevent clots, and antiplatelet medicines such as those used after a stent are the first. They lower stroke and heart attack risk but raise bleeding during surgery, so the surgical team and the prescriber agree a plan for the days around the operation. That plan is individual: some people pause briefly, some are bridged with a different medicine, some continue. The important point for the patient is never to stop or change these medicines on their own initiative; the risks of an unplanned pause can be serious.

Diabetes medicines are the second. Fasting before surgery changes how they behave, and the team will give specific instructions for the morning of the operation.

The third group is the quieter one: steroid tablets, certain blood-pressure medicines, water tablets and herbal supplements, several of which affect bleeding or blood pressure under anesthesia. Bringing the actual packets to the clinic avoids guesswork.

Anemia, a low red blood cell count, is checked on everyone because joint replacement involves blood loss and older adults tolerate it less well. Iron deficiency found weeks beforehand can usually be corrected, which lowers the chance of needing a transfusion. MedlinePlus lists bleeding and blood clots among the recognized risks of the surgery, and much of this preparation exists to shrink both.

After surgery, clot prevention typically combines early walking, compression stockings or calf pumps and, for many patients, a short course of a blood-thinning medicine chosen and timed by the team.

Memory, delirium and the mind after surgery

Delirium is an acute state of confusion that comes on over hours or days, fluctuates, and usually resolves. It is one of the most common complications of major surgery in people over 70, and families are often more frightened by it than by the wound. Knowing it exists, and that it is largely preventable and temporary, takes away much of the fear.

The preoperative clinic screens memory and attention with brief tests, not to exclude anyone but to plan. People with existing cognitive impairment, poor hearing or vision, dehydration, several sedating medicines, or a history of confusion during a previous illness are at higher risk. Knowing that in advance changes the choice of anesthetic, the pain-relief strategy and the ward environment.

Prevention is mostly practical. Glasses and hearing aids go to the bedside, not into a locker. Familiar faces visit early and often. Lights follow the day, the ward stays quiet at night, and the patient is up and walking within a day. Pain is controlled, because untreated pain triggers delirium as surely as over-sedation does. Fluids and bowels are watched. Anesthetists increasingly favor regional techniques for older adults partly for this reason.

Capacity is a separate question. To consent, a person must understand what the operation involves, weigh the benefits and risks, and communicate a decision. A diagnosis of mild dementia does not remove that ability, but it may mean the conversation is slower, repeated, and includes family. Where capacity is genuinely absent, decisions follow a best-interests process involving relatives and the clinical team, and surgery proceeds only if it serves the person rather than a schedule.

Knee replacement at 80: what the first days and weeks usually look like

The first surprise for many older patients is how early they stand. Mayo Clinic describes physiotherapy beginning on the day of surgery or the next morning, with a physiotherapist helping the person to the edge of the bed and then to a walker. The nerve block and spinal anesthetic are still fading, so those first steps are less painful than most people fear.

Hospital stays have shortened. MedlinePlus gives a typical range of one to three days for knee replacement, and a similar range applies to hips. Discharge depends on function rather than the calendar: walking a corridor safely with an aid, managing a few stairs if the home has them, pain controlled with tablets, and a safe plan for the front door. Some older adults go to a short-stay rehabilitation unit first, particularly those who live alone or have a frailty score that suggests they need more supervised practice.

Weeks one to three at home are about three things: swelling, exercises and sleep. The knee is warm and puffy; ice and elevation help, and the swelling can persist for months. The exercises from the physiotherapist are done several times a day, and the honest truth is that the people who do them recover range of motion faster. Night pain and poor sleep are common early and ease gradually.

Mayo Clinic notes that most people can resume most daily activities three to six weeks after knee replacement. The NHS adds that full recovery, including the last of the swelling and strength, can take up to a year. For an 80-year-old who was already deconditioned by arthritis, the curve is often a little slower at the start and just as satisfying in the end.

How long do you need a walker, and when can you drive or work from home?

These three questions come up at nearly every follow-up appointment, and the answers depend on the person more than the joint. The ranges below are typical, taken from NHS and Mayo Clinic patient guidance, and the surgeon or physiotherapist adjusts them to the individual.

Milestone	Typical range after hip or knee replacement	What usually decides it
Walking with a frame or walker	First days to a few weeks	Balance, confidence, strength of the operated leg
Moving to a stick or no aid	Around 6 weeks (NHS)	Walking without a limp, steady on uneven ground
Most daily activities	3–6 weeks (Mayo Clinic)	Pain control, range of motion, swelling
Driving	Around 6 weeks (NHS)	Able to brake sharply; no sedating pain medicines
Returning to work	About 6–12 weeks depending on the job (NHS)	Sitting tolerance for desk work; standing and lifting for physical jobs
Full recovery	Up to a year (NHS)	Residual swelling, strength, stair confidence

A walker is a tool, not a verdict. Many older adults keep one in the house for weeks after they have stopped using it outside, simply for the 3 a.m. trip to the bathroom when they are stiff and half-asleep. That is sensible, not a sign of slow progress.

Working from home is often possible earlier than the formal return-to-work range suggests, because the limiting factor is sitting tolerance rather than mobility. A knee that has been bent at a desk for an hour will swell; standing and walking for five minutes each hour, and keeping the leg elevated between tasks, usually makes short working sessions manageable within a few weeks. It is worth agreeing a gradual pattern with the physiotherapist rather than attempting a full day on week two.

What to expect 5, 10 and 15 years after a joint replacement

By five years, a replaced joint has usually settled into something the owner stops thinking about. Pain from arthritis is gone, strength has plateaued, and the main reminders are a scar, a slight difference in how the knee bends, and perhaps some clicking. Kneeling on a replaced knee is often uncomfortable, as the NHS notes, which matters for gardeners and churchgoers and is worth raising before surgery rather than after.

Around ten years, surgeons start looking for wear. The plastic spacer in a knee or the liner of a hip socket gradually loses microscopic particles, and in some joints those particles provoke the surrounding bone to thin, a process called aseptic loosening, loosening without infection. Most people notice nothing. Periodic X-rays, often every few years, pick up early changes.

At fifteen years and beyond, the conversation is about implant lifespan. The NHS states that most modern knee replacements last at least 15 to 20 years, and Mayo Clinic describes a similar expectation. When an implant does wear out, a revision operation replaces the worn components; it is a bigger procedure than the first, which is one reason surgeons once hesitated with younger patients. For someone having a first replacement at 78, the arithmetic usually favors the implant outlasting the need.

Signs that a joint deserves a check rather than a shrug include new pain that was not there last year, a feeling of instability, swelling without injury, or a leg that seems to have changed length. None of these means failure; all of them mean an X-ray and a conversation.

Low-impact activity, walking, cycling, swimming and golf, keeps muscles strong without hastening wear. Running and heavy jumping are generally discouraged, though the surgeon will give individual advice.

Risks and alternatives in plain language

Every honest preoperative conversation covers what can go wrong. The recognized complications listed by MedlinePlus and the NHS include infection of the wound or the implant, blood clots in the leg or lung, stiffness, injury to nearby nerves or blood vessels, fracture of the bone around the implant, dislocation after hip replacement, persistent pain, and eventual wear of the implant. In older adults the list extends to delirium, heart or chest complications around the time of surgery, and pressure sores from immobility. Most are uncommon; several are reduced by the preparation described earlier.

Alternatives deserve equal airtime, because a person asked to wait, or who decides against surgery, needs a plan rather than a shrug. The evidence-supported options include:

• A supervised exercise and strengthening program, which guideline bodies place first for osteoarthritis at every age.
• Weight management where it applies, since each step loads the knee at several times body weight.
• Walking aids, supportive footwear and, for some knees, a brace that offloads the worn side.
• Pain-relief medicines, used as topical anti-inflammatory gels, oral anti-inflammatories where kidneys and stomach allow, or other classes chosen by the prescriber for the individual.
• Corticosteroid injections into the joint, which can ease pain for weeks to a few months but are not a long-term answer and are limited in frequency.

Hyaluronic acid injections are offered in some settings; the evidence for meaningful benefit is mixed and NICE does not recommend them for osteoarthritis. Platelet-rich plasma and so-called stem cell injections lack reliable evidence of benefit and should be regarded as unproven. Osteotomy, realigning the bone to shift load off the worn area, is mainly a procedure for younger patients.

Which route suits a given person is a judgment made with the treating team, with the patient’s priorities in the center of it.

What people often get wrong about joint replacement in older adults

Myths cluster around this subject, and several of them keep people in pain for years longer than necessary. A few corrections, grounded in what the evidence actually shows.

“I’m too old.” Covered above, but worth repeating: there is no upper age limit, and fitness is assessed on function, not birth year.

“Wait as long as you possibly can.” Waiting until a person can barely walk means arriving at surgery with weak muscles, poor balance and often a lower mood, all of which slow recovery. Guidance from the NHS describes surgery as appropriate when symptoms are seriously affecting life and other measures have stopped working, not as a last resort when all else has collapsed.

“A rehab facility is always safer than home.” For some, yes. For many older adults with a capable companion and a ground-floor bed, home recovery with outpatient physiotherapy works well and avoids an unfamiliar environment that can trigger delirium. The choice is individual.

“The new joint will feel like my own knee did at 40.” It feels like a very good replacement: pain-free for most, slightly different in bend, sometimes clicky, often awkward for kneeling.

“You can never have an MRI scan again.” Modern hip and knee implants are generally safe in MRI scanners; the radiographer needs to know about the implant beforehand.

“You need antibiotics before every dental visit for life.” Routine antibiotic cover for dental work is not generally recommended for people with joint replacements; the dentist and surgeon decide in rare specific cases.

“Pain at six weeks means something went wrong.” Discomfort, swelling and stiffness at six weeks are expected. Sudden new pain, fever or redness are different and belong in the section below.

Questions to ask your care team

A good consultation is a two-way exchange, and surgeons generally welcome patients who arrive with questions written down. The list below is a starting point; cross out what does not apply and add what keeps you awake.

• Based on my examination and X-rays, what would you expect this operation to change for me, and what would it not change?
• What is my ASA grade or frailty score, and what does that mean for my particular risks?
• Which of my medicines will need adjusting around surgery, and who will give me those instructions in writing?
• Do you recommend a spinal or a general anesthetic for me, and why?
• Is there anything you would like me to improve before the date: blood sugar, blood count, teeth, smoking, strength?
• How long do you expect me to stay in hospital, and what are the conditions for going home?
• Would you recommend home recovery or a rehabilitation unit for someone in my situation, and what support would I need at home?
• Who do I call if I have a concern in the first two weeks, including at night and on weekends?
• What would make you advise against surgery, or advise waiting, in my case?
• If I decide not to have surgery now, what is the plan for managing the joint, and when should we revisit the decision?
• How often will my new joint be checked in the years ahead, and what symptoms should prompt an earlier visit?

Bringing a relative or friend to the appointment helps, not because the patient cannot manage alone but because two sets of ears catch more. Ask whether the clinic provides a written summary. Most do, and it becomes the reference point when questions surface at home days later.

Above all, say what matters most. A surgeon who knows that kneeling to garden is the priority, or that caring for a spouse means a quick return to driving, can shape both the advice and the plan around it.

When to call your doctor

Recovery after joint replacement has an expected texture: aching, swelling, stiffness, tiredness, a few poor nights. Certain signs fall outside that texture and need a same-day call to the surgical team or, where stated, emergency services. The NHS and MedlinePlus list the following as warning signs after hip or knee replacement.

Call emergency services immediately if you have:

• Sudden chest pain, breathlessness or coughing up blood, which can signal a clot that has traveled to the lung.
• Sudden weakness, facial drooping or difficulty speaking.
• Collapse or fainting.

Contact your surgical team the same day if you notice:

• Pain, swelling, warmth or tenderness in the calf or thigh, especially on one side, which may indicate a deep vein thrombosis, a clot in a leg vein.
• A temperature above 100.4°F (38°C), chills or feeling generally unwell.
• Increasing redness around the wound, fluid or pus leaking from it, or an unpleasant smell.
• Sudden severe pain in the operated joint, or a sudden inability to bear weight after a period of improvement.
• After a hip replacement, a leg that suddenly looks shorter or turned outward, or a feeling that the hip has “popped” out; this can mean a dislocation.
• New confusion, drowsiness or agitation, particularly in the first week; delirium is treatable and the earlier it is recognized the better.
• A fall onto the operated leg, even if it seems minor.
• Numbness or tingling in the foot that was not present before, or a foot that cannot be lifted.

Beyond the early weeks, new pain in a previously comfortable joint, persistent swelling, instability or a change in leg length warrant an appointment and an X-ray rather than a wait-and-see. None of these signs means the operation has failed; they mean the team needs to look. Every decision about what happens next sits with the clinicians who know the joint and the person it belongs to.

Frequently asked questions

Am I too old for knee replacement at 80?

Not on the basis of age alone. Surgeons assess heart and lung function, frailty, muscle strength, blood counts, memory, medicines and home support, and offer surgery when the expected benefit outweighs the risk. Many people in their eighties have the operation. A well-managed long-term condition does not exclude you, though it may change the anesthetic choice and the preparation. The decision is made jointly with your treating team.

What to expect 5 years after total knee replacement surgery?

Most people are living without arthritic pain and rarely think about the joint. Common long-term features include a scar, a bend that stops slightly short of the original knee, some clicking, and difficulty kneeling, which the NHS notes is frequent. Periodic X-rays check for early wear. New pain, swelling without injury or instability at any point should prompt a review rather than a wait.

Can I work from home after knee replacement surgery?

Often yes, in short sessions, within a few weeks, provided sitting tolerance allows and you are not taking sedating pain medicines. The NHS gives about six to twelve weeks for returning to work depending on the job, with desk-based work at the earlier end. Stand and walk for a few minutes each hour and elevate the leg between tasks. Agree a gradual pattern with your physiotherapist.

How long do you need a walker after knee replacement?

A walker or frame is typically used for the first days to a few weeks, with most people moving to a stick or no aid at around six weeks according to NHS guidance. The transition depends on balance, strength and confidence rather than a fixed date. Many older adults keep the walker for night-time trips long after they stop using it outdoors, which is sensible rather than a sign of slow progress.

What happens after 15 years of knee replacement?

The implant may still be working well; the NHS states most modern knee replacements last at least 15 to 20 years. Over time the plastic spacer wears microscopically and in some joints the surrounding bone loosens, a process called aseptic loosening. Surgeons watch for this with periodic X-rays. If components wear out, a revision operation replaces them. For someone who had surgery in their late seventies, the implant usually outlasts the need.

Is hip replacement in elderly patients riskier than knee replacement?

The two operations carry similar overall risk profiles, with some differences. Hip replacement adds a small risk of dislocation and a leg-length difference, while knee replacement more often involves prolonged stiffness and swelling. Both share infection, blood clot and anesthetic risks that rise with frailty rather than age. Hip recovery is often slightly faster in the early weeks. Your surgeon will discuss which risks apply to your situation.

Is recovery after knee replacement slower for elderly patients?

It is often a little slower at the start, particularly for people who arrived at surgery deconditioned by years of arthritis, but the end point is frequently similar. Mayo Clinic describes most daily activities resuming three to six weeks after surgery and the NHS gives up to a year for full recovery. Prehabilitation before the operation and consistent exercises afterwards are the two factors patients can most influence.

Does a heart condition rule out joint replacement?

Rarely on its own. Treated hypertension, stable angina, a controlled irregular rhythm or mild heart failure usually mean extra assessment, such as an echocardiogram, and a plan built with a cardiologist, not a refusal. A recent heart attack or stroke typically delays elective surgery for an interval set by the cardiology team. Severe, unstable heart disease may lead the team to advise against surgery and manage the joint another way.

Can someone with mild dementia have a joint replacement?

Often yes, if they can understand the operation, weigh its benefits and risks, and communicate a decision; a dementia diagnosis does not remove that ability. The team will screen memory in advance, plan a regional anesthetic where suitable, and take steps to prevent delirium, such as keeping glasses and hearing aids at the bedside and involving family early. Where capacity is absent, a best-interests process with relatives applies.

What is an ASA grade and why does it matter before surgery?

The ASA grade is a one-to-six scale from the American Society of Anesthesiologists that summarizes general health before an anesthetic, from a fit person with no illness at grade one to someone critically unwell at higher grades. Most older adults having elective joint surgery sit at grade two or three, meaning a stable long-term condition. It guides planning and monitoring; it is a shorthand, not a decision in itself.

References

• MedlinePlus: Knee joint replacement
• NHS: Knee replacement
• NHS: Hip replacement
• Cleveland Clinic: Knee replacement

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.