*photo courtesy of Nomad_Soul via Shutterstock
Hip and knee surgery is a significant procedure. Understandably, many patients are a little nervous about it, and there’s nothing worse than building up to an operation only to be told it can’t go ahead. So what’s the best way to ensure your procedure happens as planned? And how can you put yourself in the best condition for a speedy recovery once the operation is done?
Preparing for hip or knee surgery
Two of the most common things that prevent patient procedures from going ahead are colds and general illness, and infection around the joint.
Illness, and particularly respiratory illnesses, can increase the risk of complications during an operation. It’s harder to keep airways open. Medication can interact with anaesthesia. And sickness in general weakens the immune system and increases the risk of infection.
Back in Covid days, we would advise patients to isolate ahead of surgery to avoid the risk of getting ill. We don’t require isolation anymore, but it’s still advisable to avoid large gatherings in the couple of weeks leading up to your operation, just to reduce the risk of catching something.
Perhaps less obvious is the risk of infection around the joint, frequently caused by something as innocuous as gardening. If a patient arrives at theatre with cuts and scratches on the leg, there’s a risk of cellulitis infection around them, and there’s a chance that infection could spread to the site of a hip or knee replacement.
It’s important to keep the skin intact, so I’d always advise against doing any gardening, DIY or mechanical work in the days ahead of an operation that could lead to any damage to the skin around the joint.
Preparing for recovery from hip or knee surgery
Once your knee or hip replacement is done, you’ll want to put yourself in the best possible position to recover from it. The most effective ways of doing that are to maintain a healthy diet and healthy weight, and exercise the muscles around the joint.
There’s an obvious problem with exercise (and therefore with weight loss). As many patients will point out, if they could exercise they wouldn’t need a joint replacement.
In fact, I had this exact discussion with a patient only this morning. My advice was as it always is. Keep pushing. Keep trying. Take advantage of whatever painkillers, analgesic creams, ice packs etc work for you to keep as mobile as you can. Any movement is better than no movement, and it can have a real benefit to your rate of recovery.
To explore your joint replacement options, please get in touch or call 01242 246549
> Discover more about knee replacements
> Discover more about hip replacements
> How much will my hip or knee replacement cost?