Hello Dr. Romanowski A family member needs to have a total knee replacement on one side and now just learned that he needs to have a total hip replacement on the opposite side as this is more important according to his doctor. Do hips fail so fast?

It's not so much that the hip deteriorates faster than the knee it's just that they seen something that in the hip that was worse then in his knee so they need to take care of it but Dr romanoski is a great doctor he's performed my hip surgery and my knee surgery

The speed with which joints wear out varies from person to person. The treating MD should review the xrays of both joints with your family member and perform an examination to help best determine which joint needs to be done first. Most typically whichever joint is most worn and most symptomatic is addressed first.