Duration of Surgery
The average operation takes about one to two hours. A revision could take as long as four hours. After your operation is completed, you will be taken to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). This is the recovery room. You will be kept there approximately one to two hours until you are ready to return to your room in the Joint Center on the ninth floor.
While You’re in the Hospital
 Leave all jewelry and valuables at home. Bring a storage case for your contact lenses or glasses and for your dentures if you wear dentures.- You will be measured for surgical hose called TEDS. These are elastic stockings that you will wear to surgery and during your hospitalization.
- Pain medication will be ordered after surgery and given to you only when you ask your nurse for it. The pain medication does not take the pain away entirely, but should keep you comfortable enough to rest.
- You will have blood drawn each morning.
- Physical therapists will get you out of bed the very next day after surgery.
- Knee replacement patients are fit with a special machine in the recovery room. This is a Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) machine. It bends and straightens your knee for you.
- You will wear a hospital gown the day of surgery, but after surgery you will dress in everyday clothes. If you have loose-fitting clothing that you would like to wear, bring it with you. Sweats or exercise outfits work nicely.
- You will always have a nurse assigned to you. You will receive a sponge bath the first day. Your TEDS need to be removed daily for bathing and at other times during the day for a few minutes. There is a “charge nurse” on duty every shift. If your concerns are not being met, ask to talk with her/him.
- Your normal expected stay in the Joint Center is three days after surgery. We recommend that a relative or friend (coach) that will be helping you after surgery at home accompany you to the hospital. The therapist will teach you and your coach the correct exercises and techniques to help you at home. You will need to do these exercises everyday at home.
Anesthesia for Total Joint Surgery
On the day of your pre-operative class, your anesthesiologist will discuss the type of pain management appropriate for you. You can reduce your risk for anesthetic complications by taking steps now. Avoid non-prescription drugs and alcohol. Stop smoking for as long as possible before your surgery and after.
Blood Donation
Most knee replacements do not need a blood transfusion. Donating blood for yourself is an excellent idea prior to your operation. This is called “autologous blood donation.”
To help your body quickly replenish your blood, you should take iron supplements. Iron pills can be purchased at any drug store without a prescription.
It is also wise to take one good multiple vitamin everyday. You should begin taking your iron and vitamin pills a few days before your first blood donation and continue right up to the day before your operation.
While in the hospital, the doctor monitors your blood count and condition daily. Decisions on blood utilization are made on an individual basis.
If you are concerned and want to donate blood before surgery for you own use, contact your physician for more information.
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Most patients are admitted the morning of the operation. The hospital will call you the day before your surgery to tell you what time to arrive. If you have not been called by 2 p.m. the day before surgery, you should call the hospital at 713-456-5709. 