Recovery at Home For Total Knee Replacement - Dr. Sachin Karkamkar

Post-operative Recovery 

All above-mentioned time spans are in general and may vary with each patient. Post-surgery evaluation is needed for each patient @Dr Sachin Karkamkar 

Your Hospital Stay
You will most likely stay in the hospital for 5 to 7 days.

Pain Management:
After surgery, you will feel some pain, but your surgeon and nurses will provide medication to make you feel as comfortable as possible. Pain management is an important part of your recovery. 
Walking and knee movement will begin soon after surgery, and when you feel less pain, you can start moving sooner and get your strength back more quickly. 
Talk with your surgeon if postoperative pain becomes a problem.

Blood Clot Prevention:

Your orthopaedic surgeon may prescribe one or more measures to prevent blood clots and decrease leg swelling. 

These may include special support hose, inflatable leg coverings (compression boots), and blood thinners.

Foot and ankle movement also is encouraged immediately following surgery to increase blood flow in your leg muscles to help prevent leg swelling and blood clots.

Physical Therapy

A continuous passive motion machine can help prevent postoperative knee stiffness in the early postoperative period. 

Most patients begin exercising their knee the day after surgery. 

A physical therapist will teach you specific exercises to strengthen your leg and restore knee movement to allow walking and other normal daily activities soon after your surgery.    

Your Recovery at Home
Wound Care: 

You will have stitches or staples running along your wound or a suture beneath your skin on the front of your knee. The stitches or staples over skin will be removed several weeks after surgery. A sutures in deeper muscles dissolve on its own and don’t need removal.

Avoid soaking the wound in water until it has thoroughly sealed and dried.

You may continue to bandage the wound to prevent irritation from clothing or support stockings.

Diet:

Some loss of appetite is common for several weeks after surgery.

Take light, small and frequent meals.  High protein diet help in faster wound and muscle strength   recovery      

Activity:

Exercise is a critical component of home care, particularly during the first few weeks after surgery. 

You should be able to resume most normal activities of daily living within 3 to 6 weeks following surgery. 

Some pain with activity and at night is common for several weeks after surgery.

Your activity program should include:

• A graduated walking program to slowly increase your mobility, initially in your home and later outside
• Resuming other normal household activities, such as sitting, standing, and climbing stairs
• Specific exercises several times a day to restore movement and strengthen your knee. You probably will be able to perform the exercises without help, but you may have a physical therapist help you at home or in a therapy center the first few weeks after surgery.

 Outcomes  
How Your New Knee Is Different:

Improvement of knee motion is a goal of total knee replacement, but restoration of full motion is uncommon. The motion of your knee replacement after surgery can be predicted by the range of motion you have in your knee before surgery. 

Most patients can expect to be able to almost fully straighten the replaced knee and to bend the knee sufficiently to climb stairs and get in and out of a car, and sit comfortably on chair or stool.

This is a normal:

Most people feel some numbness in the skin around your incision.

You also may feel some stiffness, particularly with excessive bending activities.

Most people also feel or hear some clicking of the metal and plastic with knee bending or walking. 

These differences often diminish with time and most patients find them to be tolerable when compared with the pain and limited function they experienced prior to surgery.

Your new knee may activate metal detectors required for security in airports and some buildings. Tell the security agent about your knee replacement if the alarm is activated.

Protecting Your Knee Replacement
After surgery, make sure you also do the following:

• Participate in regular light exercise programs to maintain proper strength and mobility of your new knee
• Take special precautions to avoid falls and injuries. If you break a bone in your leg, you may require more surgery
• Make sure your dentist knows that you have a knee replacement. You should be given antibiotics before all dental surgery for the rest of your life
• See your orthopedic surgeon periodically for a routine follow-up examination and x-rays, usually once a year

Extending the Life of Your Knee Implant
Currently, more than 90% of modern total knee replacements are still functioning well 15 years after the surgery. 

Following your orthopedic surgeon's instructions after surgery and taking care to protect your knee replacement and your general health are important ways you can contribute to the final success of your surgery.