Individuals considering joint replacement should be aware that they might be exposing themselves to a dangerous infection such as staph. Staph infection is a serious problem today. A new resistant version is MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). This form of bacteria can result in a debilitating condition, amputation or in worse case scenario, death! Lately there have been many published reports of people dying from this infection inside and outside the hospital. Click here to find out how bad this problem is. Some experts believe staph inside and outside the hospital is now an epidemic on the level of AIDS!

Many states are passing laws forcing hospitals to report their infection rate. This is forcing hospitals to take steps to minimize infections. These steps should be taken to assure patient safety and from a business viewpoint minimize hospital business costs.

I personally have come across many people who have developed staph infections after a knee or hip replacement. This is shocking because I am not a doctor! Recently while visiting a restaurant, I notice a young man under the age of 30 using crutches and I asked him what happened to him. He explained that years ago he was in a car accident that destroyed his left hip. He had just undergone his third hip replacement, because the first two replacements had to be removed because he had developed staph. In my travels I have heard similar stories.

Staph problems can be minimized by thoroughly investigating the hospital. Again many states now require hospitals to report their infection rate. However, if you live in a state that doesn’t require hospitals to report infections rates, consider having your procedure done out of state. It is recommended that you research this issue and discuss it with your surgeon to make sure that your surgical procedure is performed with certain safe guards to minimize infections.

Immunology advancements have not kept paced with joint replacement advancements and are losing the war against infections like staph. Eventually the threat of infection may persuade people not to get a badly needed joint replacement. To assure its growth, the joint replacement industry (if they are not already) should contribute or encourage research be done on this issue to encourage patients to use their products.

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