Dramatic fall’ in hip replacement deaths

Death rates following hip replacement surgery fell by half in England and Wales between 2003 and 2011, according to research based on the National Joint Registry. Researchers from the universities of Bristol, Oxford, East Anglia and Exeter used data from the UK’s joint-replacement database to also find that death within 90 days of surgery is rare, mortality decreased from 0.56% to 0.29% in an analysis of more than 400,000 patients. They concluded that fitter patients and better physiotherapy were behind the decrease, and that simple treatment options would reduce the risk further. Lower risk of deathStudy lead Ashley Blom, professor of orthopaedic surgery