NHS specialist says patients are never ‘too young’ for knee replacement surgery
Joint replacements are based on health need and not age - a specialist has confirmed
Claims that patients can be “too young” for a knee replacement were firmly rejected by a Hampshire NHS specialist.
Councillor Jackie Brocks raised the issue at Hampshire County Council ‘s Health and Adult Social Care Select Committee on October 13, saying she was aware of residents who believed they had been told they were too young or too old for joint replacement surgery, including one patient aged 55.
Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Toby Briant-Evans said that was “absolutely not” the case.
Mr Briant-Evans said: “That’s absolutely not. A joint replacement is an appropriate treatment for anybody of any age who is in need of it.
“I listed somebody for a replacement who was 15 years old.
“If somebody’s life is significantly affected by the disease in that particular joint, and we’ve got a solution – that’s going to improve their life, no matter what age you are.
“Even if you’re in your early 90s but still functioning very well, and that’s the thing that’s affecting your life, we can significantly improve things for our patients as well.”
When asked whether someone could be too old for a hip replacement, he replied: “Again, no.”
The comments came during a review of the first year of the Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre, based at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.
The specialist unit has treated 1,252 patients since opening in September 2025, including 669 knee replacements and 468 hip replacements.
Speaking at the meeting, Frances Woodroffe, chief operating officer at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said patients treated through the centre typically wait up to 16 weeks in total.
That includes around two weeks for an initial appointment and a further two to 14 weeks before surgery. Average waits for hip and knee replacements have been cut by around five weeks.
The unit is protected from emergency pressures that can lead to planned operations being postponed elsewhere in hospitals.
According to the review discussed at the meeting, 41 per cent of patients undergoing joint replacement surgery at the centre go home on the same day, while 87 per cent are discharged after one night in hospital.
The service also treats patients from the Isle of Wight and is working with other NHS trusts across the region.