Knee replacement surgery 2026: public or private? Waiting times, fees and packages for public patients compared
Public hospital total joint replacement follows the Hospital Authority's orthopaedics surgery waiting list; from October 2025 to September 2026 the median waiting time by cluster was 7 to 49 months (the figures are for all total joint replacements, with knees not shown separately). Privately, at the 5 hospitals Book a Doctor checked, single-knee packages including the doctor's fee cost about HK$150,000 to HK$191,800; 4 hospitals also have packages for public hospital patients or patients with a Hospital Authority referral letter, with starting prices of about HK$125,000 to HK$129,000.
What are the routes to knee replacement?
Compiled by this site: there are three common routes: waiting at a Hospital Authority public hospital, having the surgery under a private hospital's package for public hospital patients, or paying privately at a private hospital; the conditions, waiting, fees and documents for each route are in the table below.
Whether joint replacement surgery is needed, and which artificial joint to use, is decided by the treating doctor according to the patient's condition.
| Item | Public hospital (Hospital Authority) | Private hospital package for public hospital patients | Private hospital standard package |
|---|---|---|---|
| How to start | Through a Hospital Authority orthopaedics specialist outpatient clinic: a new appointment needs a referral letter issued by a locally registered doctor within the last three months, and a letter from a private doctor is also accepted | Depends on each hospital's conditions, for example showing a public hospital appointment letter or follow-up slip, or holding a referral letter to a Hospital Authority orthopaedics specialist outpatient clinic | Book directly with the hospital or doctor; if using medical insurance, first ask the insurer whether a referral letter or pre-approval is needed |
| Waiting | Median waiting time for total joint replacement by cluster 7 to 49 months (October 2025 to September 2026) | As arranged by the hospital or doctor | As arranged by the hospital or doctor |
| Fees | For Eligible Persons, HK$300 per day in an acute bed (from 1 January 2026) | 4 hospitals, starting prices of about HK$125,000 to HK$129,000 | 5 single-knee packages that include the doctor's fee, about HK$150,000 to HK$191,800 |
| Fee protection | Annual charge cap of HK$10,000 (by application); those in financial difficulty can apply for a medical fee waiver | Depends on medical insurance | Depends on medical insurance |
| Documents to prepare | Hong Kong Identity Card; referral letter | The public hospital appointment letter, follow-up slip or referral letter specified by each hospital | Proof of identity; insurance documents |
How long is the wait for joint replacement in a public hospital?
For patients who had total joint replacement in the Hospital Authority from October 2025 to September 2026, the median waiting time across the seven hospital clusters (on the former boundaries) was 7 to 49 months, and the 90th percentile was 43 to 84 months; as at 30 September 2026 there were 31,681 bookings on the surgery waiting list, and the data are next due to be updated on 29 January 2027 (Hospital Authority figures published through DATA.GOV.HK). The figures are totals for orthopaedic total joint replacement and are not broken down by joint.
New cases at orthopaedics specialist outpatient clinics have a separate wait: from October 2025 to September 2026, the median waiting time for stable new cases in Hospital Authority Orthopaedics across the seven hospital clusters (on the former boundaries) was 22 to 43 weeks (about 5 to 10 months); see Orthopaedics public waiting times.
Public or private? How long each institution takes for joint replacement and what it costs
The table below puts the Hospital Authority's seven hospital clusters (waiting for total joint replacement, October 2025 to September 2026) side by side with the private hospitals that publish knee replacement fees or bill statistics, so you can compare the wait and the cost yourself. This site does not rank them; the order is fixed and has nothing to do with speed or price.
Public: the median waiting time ranges from 7 to 49 months, a difference of 42 months between the shortest and longest cluster; as at 30 September 2026 there were 31,681 bookings waiting. Private: the hospitals' fee schedules do not list waiting times; packages differ in whether the doctor's fee is included, room class and length of stay, and bill statistics are the median and 90th percentile of past actual charges, not quotations.
| Institution | How long the wait is | What it costs (HK$) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public: Hospital Authority Hong Kong East Cluster | Median 12 months; 90th percentile 84 months | HK$300 per day in an acute bed (Eligible Persons, from 1 January 2026) | 1,559 bookings on the waiting list; 520 operations in the year (total joint replacement, knees not shown separately) |
| Public: Hospital Authority Hong Kong West Cluster | Median 31 months; 90th percentile 53 months | HK$300 per day in an acute bed (Eligible Persons, from 1 January 2026) | 2,731 bookings on the waiting list; 682 operations in the year (total joint replacement, knees not shown separately) |
| Public: Hospital Authority Kowloon Central Cluster | Median 44 months; 90th percentile 63 months | HK$300 per day in an acute bed (Eligible Persons, from 1 January 2026) | 5,719 bookings on the waiting list; 886 operations in the year (total joint replacement, knees not shown separately) |
| Public: Hospital Authority Kowloon East Cluster | Median 36 months; 90th percentile 43 months | HK$300 per day in an acute bed (Eligible Persons, from 1 January 2026) | 3,363 bookings on the waiting list; 680 operations in the year (total joint replacement, knees not shown separately) |
| Public: Hospital Authority Kowloon West Cluster | Median 49 months; 90th percentile 75 months | HK$300 per day in an acute bed (Eligible Persons, from 1 January 2026) | 5,562 bookings on the waiting list; 878 operations in the year (total joint replacement, knees not shown separately) |
| Public: Hospital Authority New Territories East Cluster | Median 28 months; 90th percentile 64 months | HK$300 per day in an acute bed (Eligible Persons, from 1 January 2026) | 8,185 bookings on the waiting list; 881 operations in the year (total joint replacement, knees not shown separately) |
| Public: Hospital Authority New Territories West Cluster | Median 7 months; 90th percentile 70 months | HK$300 per day in an acute bed (Eligible Persons, from 1 January 2026) | 4,562 bookings on the waiting list; 583 operations in the year (total joint replacement, knees not shown separately) |
| Private: CUHK Medical Centre | Not listed in the fee schedule | One-knee package from HK$156,900 (Level 1, by prosthesis brand) | Doctor's fee: included; only for Hong Kong residents and day cases or four-bed rooms; the doctor grades the case according to the patient's condition and the fee may be increased; other prosthesis brands HK$158,900 and HK$161,000 |
| Private: Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong | Not listed in the fee schedule | One-knee package from HK$75,100 (normal risk, by prosthesis brand); robotic-assisted HK$97,000 (normal risk) | Doctor's fee: not included (hospital charges only); standard room only; 5 days; patients with a Hospital Authority orthopaedics specialist outpatient referral letter have an all-inclusive package from HK$129,000 (designated doctors, two-bed standard room) |
| Private: Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road | Not listed in the fee schedule | One-knee package HK$150,000 (standard room, 5 days 4 nights); robotic-assisted HK$104,500 to HK$126,000 (doctor's fee not included) | Doctor's fee: the total knee package includes orthopaedic and anaesthetist fees; the robotic package does not; you can choose any orthopaedic surgeon participating in the package; robotic package price depends on the equipment and prosthesis model |
| Private: Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Tsuen Wan | Not listed in the fee schedule | Robotic-assisted HK$104,500 to HK$126,000 (doctor's fee not included) | Doctor's fee: not included; standard room, 5 days; price depends on the equipment and prosthesis model |
| Private: Hong Kong Baptist Hospital | Not listed in the fee schedule | One-knee package HK$168,000; robotic-assisted HK$198,000 | Doctor's fee: includes surgeon's and anaesthetist's fees; general ward, 5 days; package for public hospital patients HK$128,000, valid until 30 June 2027 |
| Private: Canossa Hospital (Caritas) | Not listed in the fee schedule | One-knee package HK$185,000 | Doctor's fee: includes surgeon's and anaesthetist's fees; 8-bed standard ward, 4 or 5 days; designated doctors only; extended stay HK$5,300 per day; self-payment only, letters of guarantee from insurers or employers are not accepted |
| Private: Union Hospital | Not listed in the fee schedule | Robotic-assisted HK$181,000 (standard room, 5 days 4 nights); actual bills (inpatient) median HK$163,380 | Doctor's fee: includes surgeon's and anaesthetist's fees; designated doctors only; total knee replacement package exclusively for public hospital patients HK$129,000 (5 days 4 nights) |
| Private: Matilda International Hospital | Not listed in the fee schedule | One-knee package HK$191,800 (three-bed standard room, 4 nights) | Doctor's fee: includes surgeon's and anaesthetist's fees; designated doctors only; hospital package not including doctor's fees HK$119,970 (standard room) |
| Private: Precious Blood Hospital (Caritas) | Not listed in the fee schedule | One-knee package HK$125,000 | Doctor's fee: includes doctor's and anaesthetist's fees; public hospital patients only (must show a public hospital appointment letter or follow-up slip); standard room, 5 days; the hospital's original price is HK$150,000 |
| Private: Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital | Not listed in the fee schedule | No one-knee package listed in the fee schedule; actual bills (inpatient) median HK$250,774, 90th percentile HK$335,910 | Median for robotic-assisted total knee replacement HK$292,033 |
Roughly how much does private knee replacement cost?
Among the private hospitals this site checked, 5 publish a single-knee total knee replacement package that includes the doctor's fee, at about HK$150,000 to HK$191,800; 4 have separate packages for public hospital patients or patients with a Hospital Authority referral letter, with starting prices of about HK$125,000 to HK$129,000; the median inpatient bills published by 2 hospitals are about HK$163,380 to HK$250,774.
For each hospital's package conditions and bill statistics, see Knee replacement surgery fees compared.
| Item | Compiled by this site: private hospital fees |
|---|---|
| Single-knee package including the doctor's fee | 5 hospitals, from HK$150,000 (Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road, standard room, 5 days 4 nights) to HK$191,800 (Matilda International Hospital, three-bed standard room, 4 nights) |
| Package covering hospital charges only | Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong from HK$75,100 (general risk, depending on the artificial joint brand; doctor's fee charged separately) |
| Package for public hospital patients or Hospital Authority referred patients | Precious Blood Hospital (Caritas) HK$125,000, Hong Kong Baptist Hospital HK$128,000, Union Hospital HK$129,000, Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong from HK$129,000 (with a referral letter to a Hospital Authority orthopaedics specialist outpatient clinic; designated doctors) |
| Median inpatient bill | 2 hospitals, Union Hospital HK$163,380 (January 2026 to June 2026), Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital HK$250,774 (2025) |
How do I compare private quotes?
When comparing, put the same item on the same basis: whether the package includes the doctor's fee and the anaesthetist's fee, the room class and length of stay, and which doctors or referral routes it applies to. Private hospitals must have a fee schedule covering all chargeable items, and patients have the right to know the charges before treatment (Department of Health, Code of Practice for Private Hospitals, July 2026).
Before a non-emergency procedure or admission, you can ask for a budget estimate of the service fees; the Department of Health has recommended 30 common non-emergency treatments and procedures for which private hospitals can provide a budget estimate before admission. For arrangements when using medical insurance, see Using medical insurance for a private specialist.
After a knee replacement, roughly what is recovery like?
A total knee replacement is usually arranged by the family doctor referring you to an orthopaedic surgeon for a full assessment, who then decides whether surgery suits you (Hong Kong College of Orthopaedic Surgeons patient information, accessed October 2026).
Recovery is a physiotherapist-guided exercise programme: knee exercises usually begin about a day after surgery while you are still in hospital, and continue at home or at a physiotherapy centre after discharge; how well the surgery turns out depends a lot on following the doctor's and physiotherapist's instructions (Hong Kong College of Orthopaedic Surgeons patient information, accessed October 2026).
Individual recovery time and arrangements are decided by the treating doctor.
Frequently asked questions
How much does knee replacement cost in a public hospital?
From 1 January 2026, Eligible Persons pay HK$300 per day in a Hospital Authority acute bed; ask the hospital how knee replacement surgery is charged in a public hospital. Hong Kong residents can also apply for the annual charge cap of HK$10,000, which excludes inpatient charges in special wards and self-financed drugs and devices.
What is a package for public hospital patients?
Some private hospitals have separate surgery packages for public hospital patients, for example Precious Blood Hospital (Caritas) single-knee total knee replacement at HK$125,000, which requires a public hospital appointment letter or follow-up slip; conditions differ between hospitals, and what each hospital specifies applies.
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