The New York Times ran an article last week on knee and hip replacement surgery. The main point of the article was how important it is to get it right the first time. Find a surgeon who has lots of experience doing the replacement. Ask about the type of hip or knee you'll be getting. Find out how successful such joints are in the long run. Find out how many patients of a particular surgeon have to get the operation done over again with a new joint. You don't want to have your new joint fail and be forced to have surgery all over again.
According to the article, you can actually look up online registries that have information about doctors, hospitals and joints. Such registries about the success of certain brands or types of joints have a long track record overseas, so it pays to look internationally. (That's how other countries keep health care costs under control, in my opinion.)
The article is loaded with other great advice about preparing for the surgery and recovering after it. It also provides links to the registries.
Take a look:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/health/03patient.html
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