Diabetes May Not Raise Knee Replacement Risks

Study findings contradict previous research linking the disease with poor surgical outcomes.

Patients with diabetes, controlled or uncontrolled, who undergo total knee replacement are no more likely to experience infections or other post-surgical complications than patients without diabetes, according to researchers at Kaiser Permanente, a large integrated health care organization.

The findings, published in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, contradict earlier studies showing that diabetes can lead to poor outcomes after knee replacement surgery. 

For instance, a 2009 Duke University study found that patients with uncontrolled Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes had a significantly higher risk of postoperative stroke and wound infection than patients who had controlled or no diabetes.

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