Retirement today looks a lot different than it did a generation ago. Older adults are staying active longer—traveling, golfing, hiking, playing pickleball, and keeping up with busy lifestyles well into their 70s and beyond. And as aging joints struggle to keep pace, knee replacement surgery has become increasingly common. What does a typical knee-replacement journey look like? And is there even such a thing as a typical journey? More important: what should patients know beforehand?
DISC’s own Dr. David William Fabi, an internationally recognized joint replacement specialist and pioneer in robotic surgery, recently sat down with the Senior Living Guide podcast to share his insights on today’s knee replacement journey and the innovations getting people back to their active lives far more quickly.
“It used to be, ‘wait until you’re 65 or 70 before you get a joint replacement,’” Dr. Fabi explained to host Darleen Mahoney. But today’s patients care more about quality of life than simply enduring pain: missing out on golf games, vacations, or even just walking the dog is often a bigger concern than holding off surgery.
“We’re seeing people want to get back to sports, regular activities, or travel,” he said. “It’s about getting your life back—not just getting by.”
That said, Dr. Fabi did stress that not every bad knee requires surgery. For some, conservative treatments (PT, anti-inflammatories, injections, regenerative medication, etc.) may be enough to bring relief.
“You’ll know when you’re ready for surgery,” he said during the podcast.
When asked why knee replacement journeys can vary from patient to patient, Dr. Fabi explained, "Ninety-five percent of recovery is mental, especially with knee replacements." Dr. Fabi insists. “If you tell a patient they need to be in a nursing home for weeks, they’ll believe it. Tell them they can get up and go home the same day? That sets a totally different bar for recovery.”
But what should reassure patients even more is how far the procedure has come thanks to advancements (like robotics, for one) reshaping the landscape. “If you do a thousand surgeries a year, and your tools are only 90% accurate, that’s a hundred people who don’t get the optimal outcome,” Dr. Fabi told Darleen. “Now with these technologies, we’re hitting 98–99% accuracy.”
He then delved into the importance of relationship and trust between patient and doctor, as well as an even brighter future for knee replacement, thanks to AI, augmented reality, and regenerative medicine.
Dr. Fabi’s biggest message for patients, however, is simple: “Modern joint replacement is about restoring quality of life and getting people back to doing what they love.”
Read more in the Senior Living Guide blog, and watch the podcast interview HERE.
Schedule an appointment with Dr. Fabi HERE.