The number of total hip and total knee arthroplasties performed in the United States in 2006 was nearly 800,000 procedures.
Procedures to replace the shoulder, elbow, wrist, ankle, temporomandibular metacarpophalangeal, interphalangeal joints are less commonly performed.
Causes of failure of prosthetic joints include aseptic loosening, infection, dislocation and fracture of the prosthesis or bone.
Infection is the most common serious complication occurring in 0.8 to 1.9% of knee arthroplasties and 0.3 to 1.7% of hip arthroplasties.
The frequency of infection of prosthetic joints is increasing as the number of primary arthroplasties increases.
Increased risks for infection includes previous revision of the arthroplasty, or previous infection of the prosthetic joint at the same site, tobacco use, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, the presence of a malignancy, immunosuppressive treatment, and diabetes mellitus.