Patients undergoing joint replacement are admitted to the hospital the evening prior to surgery.  Anyone with medical conditions will be evaluated prior to admission by the medical doctors on staff so they will be familiar with your history.  These physicians are available 24 hours a day during your hospital stay to take care of any medical problems that may arise.

Surgery is done under general anesthesia (sleep) or with a spinal block and sedation.  You will generally be down in surgery approximately 3 hours, with the actual operation taking approximately one hour.  The remainder of the time is spent preparing for surgery, administering and recovering from anesthesia.

Physiotherapy will begin the first day after surgery to get you walking and moving the knee.  From the second day you will be able to get out of bed with a walker.  It is important to work diligently with the physio while in the hospital to get the best result out of your knee.  After going home it will be very important to do exercises daily to maximize the function of your knee.  The total time in the hospital will be 7-9 days.  Most patients go home, although some go to a rehabilitation facility for an additional week or so.  Most people leave the hospital walking with the aid of a single walking stick.

In addition to relief of pain, a major goal of Knee Replacement surgery is to improve mobility and activities.  After 3 months, many patients are able to play golf, bowls and doubles tennis.  Patients are encouraged to remain active, and most find an improvement in the quality of life