OPINION - By Dr. Andrew Wickline
New York Daily News May 16, 2022 at 5:00 am
Did you know that your grandma could become addicted to opioids because of a knee replacement? It’s more likely than you might think.
Knee replacements — with more than 1 million performed every year — nearly always require opioids for pain control. It’s no surprise that the proportion of older adults seeking treatment for opioid abuse nearly doubled in recent years, particularly as the number of joint replacements increased drastically.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon issue its 200-page 2022 best practices for prescribing opioids. Its size and complexity means few of us will actually read it. With a record number of people dying from overdose deaths in 2021, the opioid epidemic in this country demands real solutions.
Orthopedic surgeons like me hold the dubious distinction of belonging to the third-highest opioid-prescribing specialty. Our goal remains to someday eliminate opioids after surgery through protocol innovation, colleague collaboration and industry partnership.

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