Last updated: 11/24/2009

The demographics of knee revision surgery are somewhat difficult to evaluate because the procedure is performed much less frequently than total knee replacement (TKR). TKR itself is a relatively new operation; the first total knee replacement was performed in the United Kingdom in 1968 and the first TKR in the United States in 1970. As of 2003, it is estimated that 98% of knee prostheses are still functioning well 10 years after surgery, with 94% still working after 20 years. Because of this high success rate, the number of patients who have had knee revision surgery yields a much smaller database than those who have had TKR. It is estimated that about 22,000 knee revision operations are performed in the United States each year; over half of them are done within two years of the patient's TKR.

Another difficulty in evaluating the demographics of knee revision surgery is the growing trend toward TKR in younger patients. A Canadian survey released in January 2003 stated that the number of knee replacements performed in patients below the age of 55 rose 90% between 1994 and 2001. As the number of knee replacement procedures done in younger patients continues to rise, the number of revision surgeries will increase as well. A study done in the United States in 1996 reported that women were almost twice as likely as men to have knee revision surgery, and that Caucasians were 1.5 times as likely as African Americans to have the procedure. This study, however, was limited to patients over the age of 65, so that its findings are not likely to be an accurate picture of younger patient populations.