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Starting at around two weeks, the patient typically will make tremendous progress from two weeks to six weeks. The patient will see much improvement in their mobility, pain relief, as well as strength. In hip replacement surgery, we want to make sure that the bone grows into the implant uneventfully. Therefore, we want to reduce high impact activities during this time so that it can grow in without any complication.
Starting at around two weeks, the patient typically will make tremendous progress from two weeks to six weeks. The patient will see much improvement in their mobility, pain relief, as well as strength. In hip replacement surgery, we want to make sure that the bone grows into the implant uneventfully. Therefore, we want to reduce high impact activities during this time so that it can grow in without any complication.
When you're discharged from the hospital with either your hip or knee replacement, patients will go home with a bandage in place. Typically, we leave that bandage in place and don't rely on the patient to change the bandage in any way. All we ask is that you don't submerge the incision itself underwater. The dressing itself is waterproof to the fact that you can shower immediately and let the water run right over the dressing. You pat it dry with a clean cloth and keep the area clean and dry. In approximately 10 days, we will remove the dressing in the office together to make sure the wound is healing properly. During the first few days after surgery, it is normal to experience discomfort and pain. I want to make sure you stay ahead of the pain. Make sure you take the pain medicines ahead of your discomfort. It is much more difficult to control the pain when you have spikes of pain rather than keeping the pain at a low minimum. This is very important during your recovery process. Most patients after surgery will require the use of a walker for the first four or five days following the procedure. Eventually, you drop the walker and pick up a cane for the next few days, potentially even up to a week. The majority of patients returning for their first postoperative visit at approximately two weeks no longer require the use of any ambulatory aids. Although certainly if the patient required any use of a walker or a cane prior to surgery, they're much more likely to require a longer period of time with these devices. The majority of the care for your joint replacement in the early postoperative period is centered around keeping your incision clean and dry. Infection is still one of the highest complications and certainly the most devastating.
Many patients who are thinking about joint replacement surgery either don't have any loved ones around or have limited friends and family in the area. Our requirement is that following your joint replacement surgery, we want someone, either a family friend or neighbor to be able to come to your home or stay with that person for the first few days following their discharge for the safety to ensure that when they get up in the middle of the night, they have someone there to help them and to improve their chances of mobility and decrease their risk of falls. If you are that loved one, it's important to be patient as the recovery can often take a little bit of time. One of the biggest concerns immediately following surgery is the risk of falling. We want to be sure that there is stable platform for the patient to get around to reduce their risk of falls. We want to create an area which limits falls by taking away loose rugs or anything that's on the ground that the patient can trip over. Navigating stairs following your joint replacement can also be difficult. There are tips and tricks you will learn from the physical therapist prior to discharge, but navigating these can be difficult and may require some assistance to ensure the patient does not fall.
Typically following both hip and knee replacement, many patients will feel mostly recovered by the three to four month mark postoperatively. However, we have multiple studies demonstrating that patients continue to benefit from their joint replacement even after one year, particularly with knees. Knees will continue to improve after three to four months. In the sense of decreased warmth around the joint, improved mobility and decreased pain as well as increased activity tolerance. Once completely healed, the patient has virtually no restrictions following their joint replacement surgery. Many patients choose to return to activities such as skydiving, jumping, and even running. Although there are no true restrictions following a joint replacement, many patients following knee replacement do not choose to return to the sport of running as it doesn't feel as natural as it once was. Our partial knee candidates, however, do you often return to the sport as their knee feels and functions much more like a native knee rather than the total knee replacement.
Certainly following joint replacement surgery, the first two weeks of the toughest. You will require some light narcotic medicines. In addition to anti-inflammatory medications. Typically I prescribe a medicine called Celebrex, which reduces the pain and inflammation in and around the joint replacement itself. It also allows you to use less of the narcotic prescription. All patients are discharged with a very specific protocol that's dedicated to their pain regimen. All of these medicines will be gone over very carefully with the patient prior to their discharge, either from the surgery center or the hospital.
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