Human joints, like bearings in a machine, have a limited lifespan. Although the human body has the ability to repair itself, it is also limited. As society progresses and human life expectancy increases, the degeneration and aging of human organs is inevitable. Human joint degeneration, aging is a representative. Clinically known as osteoarthritis (osteoarthritis, OA) osteoarthritis is an extremely common clinical disease, the incidence of which increases greatly with age, the incidence of greater than 55 years old age group is up to 80% of the people with symptoms and activity disorders accounted for about 1/8, and artificial joint replacement is most suitable for osteoarthritis due to the joint dysfunction of the people. Artificial joints, especially artificial hip joints and artificial knee joints, are successful surgeries that can immediately relieve and eliminate joint pain, increase limb mobility and improve patients’ quality of life. Especially for elderly patients, it can greatly improve the quality of life. The certainty and predictability of the efficacy of artificial joint surgery, so that more patients are happy to accept artificial joint surgery. 1.What is an artificial joint? Artificial joint replacement surgery is to remove the worn and damaged joint surface and implant an artificial joint as if it were a braces, so as to restore the normal and smooth joint surface. It can be considered as one of the greatest breakthroughs in orthopedic surgery in this century. Currently, it has been applied in the treatment of shoulder, elbow. It has been used to treat shoulder, elbow, wrist, interphalangeal joints, hip, knee and ankle joints, but total artificial hip and knee replacement is the most common. The design and material of artificial joints are the result of the continuous efforts of biomechanics experts, materials engineers and orthopedic surgeons. It is mostly made of metal and high-density plastic materials according to the structure, shape and function of human joints. The types of metal include alloy, cobalt-chromium alloy, ceramics and stainless steel, etc., while the plastic material is high-density and wear-resistant polyethylene. In order to make the joints and bones close together and not easy to loose in the future, bone cement can be used to fix them or use the holes on the artificial joints to let the bones grow in. 2.Which patients are suitable for artificial joint replacement surgery? It is currently believed that in addition to acute infectious diseases, active tuberculosis and blood system diseases, joint pain and serious dysfunction caused by many diseases, can be used for artificial joint replacement surgery (the patient’s age is still an important reference factor), mainly including: (1) Osteoarthritis caused by joint deformity or destruction of the joints; (2) Ankylosing spondylitis; rheumatoid arthritis caused by the loss of joint function; (3) (3) severe comminuted fracture or traumatic osteoarthritis; (4) loss of joint function due to infection, including special infection; (5) advanced aseptic necrosis of the femoral head; (6) non-healing or delayed healing of fracture of the femoral neck in old age; (7) congenital dislocation of the hip joint caused by pain in the joint; (8) bone tumors in the joint site and the surrounding area. 3.How long is the life of artificial joint? Patients often ask physicians this question, in fact, it does not have a certain answer, as in driving, such as normal use without accident, the car can be driven for a long time, if it is not as good as to cherish every day overloaded to go rugged mountains, I believe that soon on the end of life. Generally speaking, if it can be used normally, 90% of the patients can use it for more than ten years. 4.How long can I walk normally after artificial joint replacement? Artificial joint replacement is like eating sugarcane upside down, the more you eat, the sweeter it gets. The first few days after the operation are more difficult, after the drainage tube is removed (about two or three days), the patient is encouraged to get out of the bed, practice walking with a walker or crutches, and start the bedside rehabilitation exercises, and the patient can be discharged from the hospital in about seven to ten days after the operation. If the joint is fixed by porous fixation, it is usually necessary to use a walker or crutches for six weeks to three months after the operation to reduce the weight bearing of the joint, so as to allow the bone to invade the surface of the porous artificial joint and produce a strong bond. If the patient is older (usually over 70 years old), has osteoporosis or neurological disorders such as stroke, and needs to get out of bed as soon as possible, the surgeon will use bone cement to fix the artificial joint so that the limb can bear weight immediately after the surgery and shorten the time of using crutches. Generally speaking, three months after surgery, daily activities can gradually return to normal. Occasionally, patients will still feel a slight swelling or numbness of the limbs, as long as there is no pain aggravation or inflammation, do not have to pay too much attention to, as time goes by, will be gradually into the realm of Tail. 5.After the artificial joint replacement, what do I need to pay attention to? Orthopaedic wards will give patients an educational material after joint replacement surgery. In addition to informing patients to return to the clinic on a regular basis, patients will be reminded how to continue to strengthen muscle exercise and avoid inappropriate postures and movements, and we hope that patients can maintain an ideal body weight, and return to the hospital immediately for examination in case of increased swelling and pain in the wounds, secretion, abnormal sounds in the joints, or difficulty in walking caused by injuries in the joints. Joint replacement should be well protected after surgery. After surgery, you can do sports such as cycling, walking, dancing, swimming, etc., but running, jumping and other strenuous sports, as well as long-distance walking, mountain climbing, etc. are not encouraged. In addition, when you have a dental disease that needs to be treated by a dentist, have any wound on the skin that is inflamed or need to undergo other surgeries, please inform the doctor that you are a patient who has undergone artificial joint replacement when you go to the doctor, and please give you some prophylactic antibiotics to prevent bacteria from entering the joints, which can lead to serious infections. 6.What are the risks and complications of artificial joint replacement? All surgeries have their own risks. Before the surgery, the anesthesiologist will evaluate the patient’s physical condition, and if necessary, consult with other physicians to ensure that everything is in order before the surgery, so that the risks of the surgery can be minimized. The most devastating post-operative complication is infection, which can occur within a few days or years after surgery. It can occur within a few days after surgery or years later. In mild cases, antibiotic treatment is needed, while in severe cases, the artificial joint has to be removed and debrided, and a new one implanted after the infection is under control. Fortunately, it is rare, occurring in about 1% of total artificial knee replacements, for example. Other complications can be categorized as follows: loosening of the artificial joint, dislocation of the artificial joint, wear and tear of the artificial joint, and others: such as damage to blood vessels, nerves, fractures, venous embolism, and joint instability. 7. Rehabilitation after arthroplasty Rehabilitation exercises are crucial to the success of total hip replacement surgery. After 2-3 days of operation, if the position and fixation of the joint are good, the doctor and the rehabilitator can start the rehabilitation exercise, including the straight leg raising exercise for quadriceps muscle and walking training. Even after complete recovery and discharge from the hospital, it is generally required to adhere to regular rehabilitation exercises for 3 months.