Overview
If you need a knee replacement, chances are you only want to have the procedure once. But some people need to have knee replacements done over again, sometimes due to prosthetic damage or infection from a first surgery. Not only is there pain, inconvenience, additional cost, and recovery time associated with a second surgery, but studies have also shown that the rate of complications after a revision of a knee replacement surgery is greater than for a primary knee replacement.
While only your doctor can advise whether or not you need a knee replacement, before you choose your surgeon you may want to look at how likely it is that a knee replacement performed by the surgeon will result in a repeat knee replacement later.
To help you understand how your doctor’s rate of repeat knee replacement compares to a typical doctor’s:
- We first measure how many of your doctor’s primary knee replacements resulted in a second knee replacement within 90 days of the first one. We call this their repeat knee replacement rate.
- We then analyze the typical practices of all other doctors in the United States who perform primary knee replacements, using a statistical model to predict the repeat knee replacement rate for patients who see your doctor.
By comparing these two numbers, you can see whether your doctor’s rate of repeat knee replacement is lower than, similar to, or higher than the predicted rate.
This prediction is adjusted based on the types of patients the doctor sees, so a doctor who treats sicker patients will have a different predicted rate than one who treats healthier patients.
For more information about any of our methodologies, email insights@amino.com.