Carole Mikita joins growing number of baby boomers in joint replacement surgery

Carole Mikita joins growing number of baby boomers in joint replacement surgery

By Carole Mikita

May 18th, 2012 @ 10:26pm

SALT LAKE CITY In the last 10 years, hip and knee replacement surgeries have more than tripled in the 45- to 64-year-old age group. In fact, there were more than 288-thousand hip replacements in 2009 with more than half of the patients under age 65.

Surprisingly, the rise in these types of surgeries is not all because of obesity. Baby boomers are now known as the "fix it" generation, and I recently had the experience.

In my pursuit of a good news story over the years, photographers and I have hiked through the mountains of Guatemala; waded through fields of mud following a rainstorm in Tonga; and made our way, not very gracefully, to the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama.

That can take a toll on the joints, particularly on someone whose family has a history of arthritis. As a baby boomer, allow me to represent so many in our generation.

This year, I finally came out of denial and into the realization that I actually had to have hip replacement surgery. I was limping severely, and it was obviously time.

A week before the operation, specialists at LDS Hospital take patients through the steps of what will happen before surgery and what they need to do after.

The 7th Floor West at LDS is a joint center, complete with a physical therapy area and private rooms and bathrooms. But for most, the stays are short, usually lasting a day or two.

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Carole Mikita joins growing number of baby boomers in joint replacement surgery