An 85 year old woman in our church had both knees replaced last summer.  She
did very well and loves her new knees.  If your mom is in good health
otherwise, she should be fine.

Walt

My mother had hers about that time and the difference was terrific when she
came home.  Before she had an awful time getting out of any chair.
Afterwards, she barely needed any assistance.  There was pain in the
physical therapy afterwards, but the harder she worked, the sooner that went
away.  By all means, tell her to go ahead.  Everyone that I have heard of
that had one says they wished they had had it done much sooner.

Carol,

At any age, there can be the rare complication of infection. Its just part
of the risk/benefit analysis. How active is your mom? What are the typical
lifespans in your family? Does she have other major health issues? If she's
an active senior whose parents lived close to or older than 90 and she is in
reasonably good health, it might be worth doing for her comfort.

My husband's grandmother had a knee replacement when she was in her early
'80's. Medically she was a great candidate. But she really didn't understand
that she was going to have to work at PT to get the knee really working and
that the process would be painful.

No, there was no dementia - just denial. Her doctor told her all that. But
in her head she decided it would be a vacation from her usual life. So when
it was all over and she was in pain and having to do PT, she was upset and
frustrated. In her obstinacy and resentment, she never did the PT the way
she should have, so she never got full range of motion back on the knee.

So the key is - besides being apprehensive, is your mom willing to do the
work she needs to do to have a great result? She really has to go into it
with a 'can do, will do' attitude.

Adelle

I know last September when I had a knee replacement there was a lady of 85
on the ward who had had it done, and she had by far the worst bruising from
hip to ankle I have ever seen.  However, she was an amazing lady, and was
walking extremely well at one week after surgery - so sprightly.  If it
makes any difference she was also tiny and very slim.

Here in the UK our late Queen Mother had hip replacements aged 95 and 97 and
did well.  Mind you, I expect she got just a little extra special
treatment!!

Jayne