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I saw a report on TV showing the high demand for joint replacements in Korea and other countries outside the United States. Are we the only ones making joint implants?

Korea doesn't have any home-based supplier of joint implants. For this reason, they rely on five United States-based firms. There are other suppliers in Europe, but the United
States supplies about 70 percent of the market for hips and 90 percent for the knee.

Korea is only one country that relies completely on an imported supply of artificial joints. However this may be changing as these countries are preparing for their own production of joint implants.

The demand for joint replacements is expected to go up even more. In Korea knee replacements are at an all time high. This may be because Koreans squat, which puts increased pressure on the knees. Korean women over age 60 with arthritis are a growing group in need of joint replacement.

Reference: 

Jon Antoniou, MD, PhD, et al. In-Hospital Cost of Total Hip Arthroplasty in Canada and the United States. In The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. November 2004. Vol. 86-A. No. 11. Pp. 2435-2439.

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