5 Simple Steps to Lower Your Chance of Knee Replacement Infection
This statement means little however if it is you who ends up dealing with an infection after surgery, one of the most serious and dreaded complications of a knee replacement.
The overall early deep infection rate for patients undergoing a primary knee replacement is 0.39%, while revision knee replacement infection rates are 0.97%.
In the first 2 years after surgery, the chance of developing an infection is estimated at 1.5%. After 2 years, the chance of infection goes down to about 0.5%.
While these numbers are exceedingly small, they are not zero, and they are only generalized statistics. YOUR individual knee replacement infection risk may be much higher so read on to find out how to lower your personal risk for one of the worst possible outcomes of knee replacement surgery.
5 Simple Steps To Lower YOUR Personal Risk of Knee Replacement Infection
The figures above are overall national averages that can be individually influenced for better or worse by the selection of where and who does your surgery.
#1 Select a High Volume Hospital
Hospitals with high volumes of knee replacement surgeries have lower infection rates than small community hospitals, so pick your hospital accordingly.
#2 Select The Best Surgeon
Each surgeon will have his own rates of infection as well as overall complication rates which he’ll, no doubt, be happy to share with you… if they are lower than national averages. 
