Before Your Knee Surgery

Once you and Dr Parker decide that surgery will help you, you'll need to learn what to expect from the surgery and create a treatment plan for the best results afterward.

MAJOR PROCEDURES

• If you smoke, you should stop or cut down to reduce your surgery risks and improve your recovery.
  
• Have any tooth, gum, bladder or bowel problems treated before surgery to reduce the risk of infection later.
  
• Eat a well-balanced diet, supplemented by a daily multivitamin with iron.
  
• Report any infections to your surgeon. Surgery cannot be performed until all infections have cleared up.
  
• Arrange for someone to help out with everyday tasks like cooking, shopping and laundry.
  
• Put items that you use often within easy reach before surgery so you won't have to reach and bend as often.
  
• Remove all loose carpets and tape down electrical cords to avoid falls.
  
• Make sure you have a stable chair with a firm seat cushion, a firm back and two arms.

• Have someone available to take you home, you will not be able to drive for at least 24 hours.
  
• Do Not drink or eat anything in the car on the trip home.
  
• The combination of anaesthesia, food, and car motion can quite often cause nausea or vomiting. After arriving home, wait until you are hungry before trying to eat. Begin with a light meal and try to avoid greasy food for the first 24 hours.
  
• If you had surgery on an extremity (leg, knee, hand or elbow), keep that extremity elevated and use ice as directed. This will help decrease swelling and pain.
  
• Take your pain medicine as directed. Begin the pain medicine as you start getting uncomfortable, but before you are in severe pain. If you wait to take your pain medication until the pain is severe, you will have more difficulty controlling the pain.

The following medications can interfere with surgery and therefore may need to be stopped temporarily around the time of your surgery.

The general recommendations are set out below. Please discuss this with Dr Parker if you are unsure as to what you should do before your surgery.