Your Complete Guide to What to Expect After a Knee Replacement Surgery

You’ve said goodbye to the activities you love.

Perhaps knee pain has made it impossible for you to go on that daily morning run. Maybe the aches in your joints cause difficulties playing with your grandchildren. Your tennis game? Put on hold.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Return to the activities you love through joint replacement surgery.

We have an experienced, compassionate health care team to help get you back on track through sophisticated, state-of-the-art knee replacement surgery.

Are you considering getting a joint replacement but aren’t sure what to expect after the procedure? We’ve provided this useful and informative guide to help you.

What to Expect After a Knee Replacement

While every case is different, these are some general guidelines that will help you.

Hospital Stay

Not everyone who has a knee replacement has to stay in the hospital, but if you are admitted, you’ll likely just stay overnight.

After surgery, you may be wearing compression boots. This is to help alleviate swelling and reduce your chances of developing a blood clot. This is another reason why we encourage you to move your feet and ankles after surgery—doing so helps increase blood flow to your leg muscles.

Exercise and Therapy

Did you know that you can begin “trying out” your new knee hours after your surgery? One of our physical therapists will work closely with you to craft exercises that target specific areas aimed at allowing you to walk as soon as possible after surgery.

This is important because patients who are able to exercise their knee after surgery have a faster recovery and better outcomes than patients who do not.

Some of the exercises you may be asked to do include:

• Quadriceps exercises
• Leg raises
• Ankle pumps
• Knee bends (bed-supported and sitting-supported)
• Working with resistance bands

Depending upon your individual situation, you may be discharged to your home or you may need to continue physical therapy at an inpatient rehabilitation center.

Recovery at Home

Once you are discharged, a large part of your success depends upon how carefully you follow your doctor’s orders and your physical therapy “homework.” You’ll find that exercise is vital to ensure a complete recovery and to get you back to the activities you once enjoyed.

Again, your individual routine will vary depending upon your individual situation, but some good exercises to consider are:

• Walking—starting with short distances and gradually working up to farther distances
• Practice sitting, standing and climbing stairs
• Stationary biking

Taking Care of Your Wound

Taking care of the surgical site is another vital component of recovery.

Most likely, you’ll have suture underneath your skin that won’t have to be removed. If your surgery requires exposed stitches or staples, those will be removed in the weeks following surgery in your surgeon’s office.

Keep the wound dry until it’s completely sealed. A sterile bandage will be placed after surgery and you will be given instructions when you can take this off.

Keeping in Touch with Your Team

You won’t be alone in your recovery; we’re with you every step of the way. Through frequent updates and visits, we’ll ensure that you’re progressing as you should and make any adjustments that are necessary.

Remember, you have an entire team behind you.

An In-Depth Guide to How We Manage Your Pain

We will work with you to reduce your pain, which will aid in your recovery. We’ll speak to you about which type of pain medication will be the most appropriate for your situation.

Your pain should begin to improve after a few days. If it hasn’t, please be sure to speak with us.

CMC Reducing the Need for Opioids After Joint Replacement Surgery

Orthopedic surgeons wielding their scalpels and laparoscopic tools during life-changing surgeries understand all too well that pain is an unavoidable part of the healing process.  

Yet the current opioid crisis has influenced the orthopedics team at CMC to reevaluate their standard treatments and prescribing practices and implement new best practices for the safety and recovery of their patients.

“We now have a hospital initiative to try and decrease our narcotic usage because of the opioid crisis,” said Dr. Tyler Noble with OrthoSC. “It’s really become one of our initiatives recently, within 2019.”

Hip and knee replacement surgeries are some of the most common orthopedic procedures, and opioids have been a common pain medication used post-surgery. Yet, orthopedic surgery has come a long way, allowing for new innovative methods to deal with post-surgical pain.

“Ten years ago, it was not uncommon for patients to stay in the hospital for two weeks after a joint replacement. They used to be able to self-medicate using a button to deliver an incredibly potent painkiller. Then, after that, we went to just doing the oral medications, like oxycodone and hydrocodone, but then as we found out we can do other things, we now do different injectables of medications and use nerve modifying medications like Lyrica or Gabapentin,” Noble said. “That kind of hits pain from all sorts of different angles, so we’re not relying on these really hard, sometimes behavior-modifying medications.”

There has been a trend where patients expect narcotics following joint replacement surgery, but through education, patients are realizing that there are other options for pain management and prescription narcotics are not always the answer.  

The CMC orthopedic team and surgeons are devoted to reassuring patients, evaluating them on their individual needs, educating them and providing clear expectations prior to surgery.

So, what can patients expect?

“Joint replacement is a major surgery. It’s going to be uncomfortable,” said Dr. Noble. “We use Tramadol or Ultram that are opioid-like, but they don’t have a lot of the same side effects.  What we find is that a lot of patients in the early part of recovery, just taking a couple of those medications from time to time is good.  Honestly, after that, a lot of patients will transition to just over-the-counter Tylenol.  There are also other medications that we use that work more on the nerve pathway that help change the way the body perceives pain, which are helpful.”

Although a lot has changed when it comes to post-operative pain management, narcotic medications are still an option to facilitate a patient’s health recovery.

“You know, we will do what we can to keep you comfortable, and if you need those narcotic medications, it is safe to do so,” said Dr. Noble.  “No patient is going to want to have surgery if they feel like we aren’t going to control their pain.  That is not the message we’re trying to send people.  The message is that we are doing our best job to be good stewards to help with the opioid crisis and to give you a great post-operative experience,  and if that’s able to be done without the use of these hard, sometimes dangerous, narcotic medications, then great.  We don’t want you to be miserable. There are other options and narcotic medications are still one of them.”

Click here to learn more about joint replacement at CMC. Click here to attend a free Joint Pain and Treatment Options seminar presented by Dr. Tyler Noble.

Conway Medical Center: Your Local Experts at Joint Replacement Surgery in the Myrtle Beach Area

Our Joint Replacement Center is the area’s leader in a variety of knee replacement options designed to help you return to the activities you love without pain. We offer:

• Conservative treatment options such as injections
• Total knee replacements
• Partial knee replacements
• Revision total knee replacements

So, if you’re looking for orthopaedic surgeons in the Myrtle Beach area, we have the answers. See why our team are experts at joint replacement surgery utilizing the latest techniques and technology.