Joint pain?
Let’s work it out, calmly
Knee or hip, state-funded or paid, before surgery or after — start from where you are now.
Cartilage wears away, bone rubs on bone
Cartilage has no blood supply and barely repairs itself. As it wears, the bone beneath hardens, spurs grow at the edges, the joint space narrows, and every step hurts.
Understand what is going on
Two joints
Knee
- Surgery 1–2 h [3]3Total Knee Replacement — AAOS OrthoInfo, 2024To the list of sources →
- Home usually on day 4–10 [8]8Эндопротезирование сустава в России: сроки госпитализации и стоимость — russianhospitals.ru, 2026To the list of sources →
- About 82% of implants last 25 years [4]4How long does a knee replacement last? A systematic review and meta-analysis of case series and national registry reports with more than 15 years of follow-up — The Lancet, 393(10172):655–663, 2019To the list of sources →
Hip
- Surgery 1–2 h [3]3Total Knee Replacement — AAOS OrthoInfo, 2024To the list of sources →
- Home usually on day 4–10 [8]8Эндопротезирование сустава в России: сроки госпитализации и стоимость — russianhospitals.ru, 2026To the list of sources →
- About 58% of implants last 25 years, about 89% — 15 years [5]5How long does a hip replacement last? A systematic review and meta-analysis of case series and national registry reports with more than 15 years of follow-up — The Lancet, 393(10172):647–654, 2019To the list of sources →
Work it out on your own
- My routeThree questions about your situation — and a plan: what to read and what to do in the coming weeks.
- How the operation worksFour short scenes: what wears out in the knee, what is replaced, what the implant is made of and how the day of surgery goes.
- Memo for your doctor visitQuestions for the doctor and documents on one sheet. Print it or send it to a family member.
No sign-up. Your answers stay in your browser.
The operation can be state-funded
- The state pays for the operation, the implant and the hospital stay
- Waiting from weeks to months
- A 6-step route on the “State funding” page
- Paid: from $4,000 according to clinics [9, 10]9For foreign patients — Ilizarov Center — НМИЦ ТО им. Г. А. Илизарова, 202610Russia Med Travel — official portal for international patients — ЦНИИОИЗ Минздрава России, 2026To the list of sources →
- Timing by agreement
- What the package includes is on the clinic page
Three numbers
about 82%
of knee implants still work after 25 years [4]4How long does a knee replacement last? A systematic review and meta-analysis of case series and national registry reports with more than 15 years of follow-up — The Lancet, 393(10172):655–663, 2019To the list of sources →
about 1.2%
infection in the first year after a primary operation [6]6Periprosthetic joint infection after 1.66 million primary and revision arthroplasties (2015–2023) — PMC, 2025To the list of sources →
6 weeks
until driving after a total replacement [7]7Return to driving after hip and knee arthroplasty: systematic review — PMC, 2020To the list of sources →
When to seek urgent care
103 / 112
- Temperature above 38 °C, chills, spreading redness, swelling or discharge from the wound.
- Pain, swelling and redness in the calf or the whole lower leg — possible deep vein thrombosis.
- Sudden shortness of breath, chest pain or coughing up blood — call an ambulance: possible pulmonary embolism.
- Sharp joint pain, a click and inability to put weight on the leg — possible dislocation or fracture.
- The leg has become noticeably shorter or the foot has turned outwards after a fall or an awkward movement.
- Growing numbness, foot weakness or loss of sensation in the leg.
Data verified
Not yet reviewed by a physician · Sources: Russian Ministry of Health guidelines 2024, NHS, AAOS[1, 2, 3]1Клинические рекомендации «Коксартроз» (ID 870_1) — Минздрав России, 20242Knee replacement — NHS, 20243Total Knee Replacement — AAOS OrthoInfo, 2024To the list of sources →
Sources (10)
Sources (10)
Data verified
- Клинические рекомендации «Коксартроз» (ID 870_1)
- Knee replacement
- Total Knee Replacement
- How long does a knee replacement last? A systematic review and meta-analysis of case series and national registry reports with more than 15 years of follow-up
- How long does a hip replacement last? A systematic review and meta-analysis of case series and national registry reports with more than 15 years of follow-up
- Periprosthetic joint infection after 1.66 million primary and revision arthroplasties (2015–2023)
- Return to driving after hip and knee arthroplasty: systematic review
- Эндопротезирование сустава в России: сроки госпитализации и стоимость
- For foreign patients — Ilizarov Center
- Russia Med Travel — official portal for international patients