After Knee Replacement Surgery
The patient will experience pain around his knee after undergoing surgery. This is a normal symptom during the recovery process. To relieve pain, the doctor will give painkillers.
In order to avoid the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis, doctor will give blood thinners. In addition, patient is also encouraged to move the legs and heels during the recovery period, so that the blood flow in the legs is maintained.
During the stay at the hospital, doctor and medical staff will help patient to do breathing exercises, and start doing physical activities using the knee. Both methods are part of the recovery period, and can be done both in the hospital and at the patient’s home during the outpatient period.
This exercise should be done regularly so that patient can get used to prosthetic knees that have been installed. In addition, the doctor will provide a list of foods that should be avoided and consumed by the patient during the recovery period.
Patients is allowed to drive the vehicle, if they are familiar with prosthetic knees and not consuming painkillers anymore.
Patient should avoid heavy physical activity, such as soccer. Because it is vulnerable to collisions of the knee. By adjusting physical activity, the results of knee replacement surgery can last up to a dozen years.
Knee Replacement Surgery Risks
Knee replacement surgery is currently very safe to undergo, and rarely causes side effects or complications. These rare risks include:
- Stroke.
- Infection.
- Nerve damage in the area of surgery.
- Deep vein thrombosis.
- Heart attack.
Especially for infections, patient must be careful of the symptoms during the recovery period. If the symptoms of an infection appear during the recovery period, the patient should immediately notify the relevant doctor. Symptoms to look out for include:
- Fever.
- Fluid out from the surgery location.
- The occurrence of swelling, redness and pain in the area of surgery.
- Have cold sweat.
Another complication to watch out for is wear or erosion of the prosthetic knee joint that has been installed. Wearing the knee joint can occur more quickly if the patient often does heavy physical activity or often lifts heavy loads.
*USA Health Articles does not provide health advice, diagnosis or treatment.
