Dr. Lowry Barnes at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock is as close to a rock star as a physician can get. Barnes resides in the very top echelon of orthopedic surgeons in the country and is a thought leader in the evolving field of joint replacement surgery. When he talks, surgeons and medical institutions around the world listen.
So when Barnes describes the state of his specialty in glowing terms thanks to advancing technology and protocols that provide superior results with minimal discomfort, it is no empty compliment. Joint replacement surgery is not routine, per se — no such medical procedure can claim that 100 percent — but outfitting patients with new knees and hips is as close to that definition as it has ever been.
“By and large, we see much more outpatient surgery, and major technological advances are leading that,” he said. “We have new ways of treating patients and are realizing that many of the things that used to require hospital stays can now be done in one day, same day, and patients can sleep in their own bed that night.
“That extends across orthopedics in general, but total joint replacement of the hip and knee have certainly had the most press around them. We now have a number of patients in their 80s who go home the same day after having their knee replaced. That was unthinkable when I trained, where our patients used to have hospital stays of 12 days.”
These advancements, as well as a growing segment of the U.S. population aging in general, have pushed the field of total joint replacement to dizzying heights with more projected for the future. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global knee replacement market in 2024 hit $9 billion, stepped up about half a billion more in 2025 and is expected to exceed $13 billion by 2032. North America dominates the global market at 51 percent market share, Asia being the fastest growing region…