Age is not a problem, if you are in reasonable health and have the desire to continue living a productive, active life. You may be asked to see your personal physician for his/her opinion about your general health and readiness for surgery.
Most surgeries go well, without any complications. Infection and blood clots are two serious complications that concern us the most. To avoid these complications, we use antibiotics and blood thinners. We also take special precautions in the operating room to reduce risk of infection and blood clots. Complications can also occur to your skin, arteries, veins, nerves, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Overall, the complications rates are historically between 10-15%. Dr. Riddhivardhan will discuss these with you during your visit, but if you have any further questions or concerns, please call him anytime.
Most patients do not require blood transfusions after knee replacement surgery. We use many techniques to reduce blood loss and the need for transfusion. You will have several tests, including blood work, done prior to surgery. The doctor will use these results to anticipate your need for blood products. All patients will be asked to take Vitamin C and Iron starting six weeks prior to surgery. The Vitamin C helps your body absorb the Iron, which assists in maintaining your haemoglobin before and after the surgery. You can purchase a low-cost package of both of these in our office. If you do need blood following surgery, we recommend the blood from the blood bank. This blood is screened thoroughly for infectious disease.
We reserve approximately two to two-and-a half hours for surgery. Some of this time is taken by the operating room staff to prepare for the surgery. However, it is not uncommon for some surgeries to take over 3 hours.
You may have a general anaesthetic, which most people call “being put to sleep.” However, an overwhelming majority of patients prefer to have a spinal anaesthetic. Spinal anaesthetic numbs your legs, providing you with prolonged pain relief, protecting you from blood clots and allowing for “twilight” sedation. The choice is between you and the anaesthesiologist.
You may have discomfort following the surgery, but we will keep you comfortable with appropriate medication and relaxation techniques. Generally most patients are able to stop very strong medication within one day. We continually improve and refine our pain control methods to assure a good recovery and fit the best method of pain relief to your specific needs.
The scar will be approximately six inches long. It will be straight down the centre of your knee, unless you have previous scars, in which case we may use the prior scar. Afterwards, there may be some numbness around the scar. This will not cause any functional problems. We use skill and care to make the scar as cosmetically appealing as possible.
You will probably stay in bed the day of your surgery. However, the next morning you will get up, sit in a chair or recliner and should be walking with a walker or crutches later that day. Most patients receiving a uni-compartmental (1/2 knee) will be able to walk in the hallways the first day.
Most knee patients will be hospitalized for three days after a total knee arthroplasty. Patients receiving a uni-compartmental (1/2 knee) will leave the next day. There are several goals that you must achieve before you can be discharged. These include availability of family or friends to assist with daily activities, home environment, safety considerations, post-operative functional status as evaluated by a physical therapist in the hospital, and overall evaluation by Dr. Riddhivardhan.
Yes. For about six weeks, we do recommend that you use a walker, a cane or crutches. Arrangements for a walker or crutches will be made at orientation or during your hospital stay. However, you may bring your own or a borrowed one if you have one available to you.
Yes. The first several days or weeks, depending on your progress, you may need someone to assist you with meal preparation, ambulating, and normal daily activities. If you go directly home from the hospital, the Dr. Riddhivardhan’s staff will arrange for a home health care nurse to come to your house, as needed. Family or friends need to be available to help, if possible. Preparing ahead of time can minimize the amount of help needed.
Yes. You will either have outpatient or in-home physical therapy. Patients are encouraged to utilize outpatient physical therapy. If you need in-home physical therapy, Dr. Riddhivardhan’s staff can recommend a physical therapist to provide therapy at your home. Following this, you may go to an outpatient facility three times a week to assist in your rehabilitation.