Rise in hip replacements for under 60s in last decade

Figures from NHS for England reveal that the number of hip replacement operations on people aged under 60 has risen by 76% in the last decade.

This new data suggests that more people under the age of 60 are having hip replacement surgery as a remedy for chronic hip pain.

The Royal College of Surgeons has analysed statistics released by the Health & Social Care Information Centre which has shown that hip replacements are becoming more common among younger patients which, it says, is in part because doctors are now more confident that replacement joints will be more durable that in the past.

In 2004-05 there were 10,415 hip replacements for people aged 59 and below, which had grown to 17,883 in 2015-15.

Although the rise among those under 60 is small in proportion to all hip replacements carried out, this new data is seen as noteworthy and that surgical treatment for hip problems is no longer seen as an option only for older patients.

Hip replacements have risen across all ages, with 89,919 carried out in 2004-05 to 122,154 in 2015-15.

Stephen Cannon, vice-president of the RCS, commenting on these findings said that as hip replacement techniques and prosthetics have improved, so have the number of younger patients undergoing this type of surgery.

“It is no longer seen as a last resort,” he says. “As surgeons, we now have more confidence about the wear rate of these prosthetics which allows us to the less restrictive on an age basis.”

In the past surgeons used to advise patients in hip pain to wait until they were 60 or 65 to have a replacement because the old-fashioned replacements had a shelf-life of about 15 years, meaning the many patients might need another operation when they were about 80 years old. He said the increase was also due to patient demand, with many not wanting to wait for an operation.

Most hip replacements are done if the joint becomes damaged from arthritis or an injury. Mr Cannon says it is not clear if conditions such as osteoarthritis are becoming more common and affecting people at younger ages, but it is worth exploring.

Olivia Belle from Arthritis Research UK says of the findings, “These statistics highlight the unacceptable reality that 10 million people are living with the pain and disability of arthritis in the UK today.

“While it is good news that advances in techniques have made joint replacements more readily available for people living with osteoarthritis, we know the number of people developing this condition is set to rise.”

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