LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) -
Just as our cars run down and need replacement parts, so do hip and knee replacement parts.

Although some may last 20 or 30 years, many need to be replaced because of injury, infection, or just time.

And Dr. Jordan Simpson, an Orthopedic Surgeon and Texas Tech Physician, says the obesity epidemic is taking a lot of blame for hips and knees that need to be replaced... again.

He says, "With any man made device, increased weight increases the rate at which it will Wear out. So as our patients have gotten younger and heavier, we've seen an increased need to do re-do procedures."

Dr. Jordan adds that there are amazing new advances in technologies that provide better metals and plastics when a revision is necessary.

Bottom line, even if you don’t feel pain after a knee or hip replacement, it is wise to go in for check-ups to make sure your replacement parts are working as they should.

Dr. Jordan says doctors will want a close follow-up for the first year after surgery, then in two weeks, then six weeks after surgery, then three months, then at a year after surgery.

If all goes well the first year, he recommends coming back every election year for an x-ray to make sure all is well… to prevent or anticipate any problems that may come later.