No electric scooter! Electric scooters are good for patients with a bad heart or bad lungs or if they cannot walk.
If the patient is well enough to have total joint surgery, then replacing the hip or knee joint is much-much better than an electric scooter.
Not walking means your knees and hips get stiffer and hurt more. Sitting on a scooter lets your lungs and heart get weaker, and may get painful blood clots and ankle swelling. Also, constipation gets worse.
Surgery anesthetic is very gentle nowadays. Total knee or hip replacement is a very helpful surgery and even a healthy 97-year-old can recover with proper physical therapy.
Walker Wynkoop MD lives in Los Banos and is a Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon with 30 years experience. He works at Surgical Affiliates of California. Please email questions to: Doc@Wynmd.com.
