What is the recommended age for a total joint replacement?
The average age of patients undergoing total joint replacement is 65, and, most often, the need for this surgery is to relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis. However, other conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, death within the bone (avascular necrosis), fractures, post-traumatic arthritis, or juvenile arthritis, may necessitate a joint replacement in a patient, sometimes in their teens or twenties. These cases are rare, but they do occur.
