5 Key Takeaways

• 1

  In a prospective cohort study of 306 licensed drivers, most patients resumed driving within 6 weeks after fast-track hip or knee arthroplasty.

• 2

  Median time to driving resumption was 4 weeks after medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and 6 weeks after total hip or total knee arthroplasty.

• 3

  Median time to driving resumption was 4 weeks after left-sided surgery and 6 weeks after right-sided surgery.

• 4

  Female patients had 2.8 times the odds of delaying driving resumption beyond 6 weeks compared with male patients.

• 5

  Two patients (0.7%) reported postoperative traffic incidents, but driving performance was not objectively assessed and the findings do not establish the safety of earlier driving.