Joint replacement and orthopedic surgery in China

Knee and hip replacement in China typically costs $8,000–15,000 against $35,000–55,000 in the United States, using the same implant systems. Surgery is generally schedulable within weeks of an accepted case, against Canadian waits that average around eight months from referral to operating room for hip and knee replacement.

Why patients travel for this

Orthopedics is the clearest case of a problem that is not urgent and not trivial. A worn hip will not kill you, which is exactly why it sits at the back of a queue — and why the years spent waiting are years of pain, lost mobility and a life quietly narrowing around the joint.

Canadian patients wait roughly eight months on average for hip and knee replacement, from the referral to the operating room, and considerably longer in some provinces. The Medical Tourism Association estimated around 432,000 Canadians sought treatment abroad in 2025, up 44% in two years. American patients more often arrive because the procedure is not covered, the deductible is unmanageable, or prior authorisation has stalled.

In China, once a hospital has accepted a case, surgery is generally schedulable within weeks. See travelling from Canada or from the United States for the entry side.

What we coordinate

• Knee and hip replacement

  Total and partial joint replacement using the implant systems familiar from North America — the major manufacturers sell into China and the hospitals we work with use them. Most patients stay five to seven nights inpatient and remain in country about three weeks so the surgical team can review before they fly.

• Spine surgery

  Decompression, discectomy and fusion for degenerative disease, stenosis and disc herniation. Recovery is slower than joint replacement and the in-country stay is correspondingly longer, usually around four weeks.

• Sports injury and arthroscopy

  ACL reconstruction, meniscal repair, rotator cuff and shoulder stabilisation. Mostly short-stay or day-case procedures, with the caveat that rehabilitation is the part that determines the result, and most of that happens after you are home.

• Revision and trauma reconstruction

  Revision of a failed or worn prosthesis, and reconstruction after complex fracture. These are the cases where the hospital's volume matters most, and where we are most selective about which department takes a case.

What it costs

Implant choice moves the number, and so does whether one joint or both are done. See all indicative costs and how paying works in China.

Where it is done

Unlike cancer and eye care, China’s national ranking lists no dedicated orthopedic hospitals in its top 100 — orthopedics sits inside the major general and teaching hospitals, which is where we route these cases. Beijing Jishuitan, long the country’s reference centre for orthopedics and trauma, is among the ranked hospitals. Which department suits your case depends on the joint and on whether it is a first operation or a revision.

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Rehabilitation is the part people underestimate

A joint replacement is a good operation followed by months of work. The surgery happens in China; most of the rehabilitation happens at home. Before you travel, arrange who will supervise it — a physiotherapist, and a clinician willing to see you afterwards. We send you home with an operative report and imaging translated into English so they can work from the actual record rather than your account of it.

Tell your own surgeon or GP that you are considering this. Some will disagree with the decision; it is still better to have the conversation before you go than to present them with a new prosthesis afterwards.

All the areas we coordinate

What to send us

Recent imaging of the joint in DICOM format — weight-bearing X-rays for an arthritic knee or hip, MRI for soft tissue and spine — along with the radiology report and any prior operative notes for that joint. Our records guide covers how to request them.