Can a diabetic patient have a knee replacement? What range of blood sugar control is required? One third to one half of patients who need joint replacement have diabetes. For diabetic patients, there are two major problems after joint replacement. The first problem is that the incidence of post-operative infection is three to four times higher than in the general population. After surgery, if a diabetic patient has higher blood sugar and inflammation elsewhere in the body, such as pneumonia and urinary tract infections, bacteria are more likely to multiply in the bloodstream at this time, and these bacteria, if left unchecked, can spread through the bloodstream to the joint replacement, which in turn can cause joint infections. And the most dreaded complication after artificial joint replacement is infection. The second problem is that post-operative wounds do not heal easily in diabetic patients, which also increases the chances of infection. Therefore, diabetic patients who want to have a knee replacement must have their blood sugar under control before surgery. It is recommended that fasting blood glucose be controlled at 6-8 mmol/L and not more than 8 mmol/L, and that blood glucose not exceed 10 mmol/L two hours after a meal, and that surgery be considered when blood glucose is stable. Can patients with high blood pressure and heart disease have knee replacement surgery? Many elderly people have the three highs, high blood sugar, high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure. Patients who need joint replacement surgery basically have problems such as high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. The main risk for these patients is a sudden increase in blood pressure stimulated by the blow of the surgery during or 1 to 2 weeks before and after the surgery, which in turn promotes the occurrence of cardiovascular accidents, i.e. heart attack, brain infarction or cerebral thrombosis. Although the risk of surgery is higher in this type of patients, it is not absolutely impossible to operate. Patients need to go to the cardiology department to ask the doctor to help control the blood pressure. Moreover, patients with high blood pressure cannot eat or drink before surgery (it is okay to drink a small sip of water while taking antihypertensive medication) to ensure that the blood pressure will not be too high during surgery, and only then can the surgery begin. Because of the high risk of surgery for patients with high blood pressure and heart disease, it is recommended that such patients go to a large general hospital, especially one with a strong internal medicine department, for their artificial joint replacement.