Creating a Treatment Plan
Once you and your doctor decide that surgery will help you, you need to learn what to expect from the surgery. You and your caregiver can create a treatment plan for the best results afterward.
Preparing mentally and physically for surgery is an important step toward a successful result. Understanding the process and your role in it will help you recover more quickly and have fewer problems.
Working with Your Doctor
Before surgery, your doctor will perform a complete physical examination to make sure you don’t have any conditions that could interfere with the surgery or the outcomes. Routine tests, such as blood tests and X-rays, are usually performed a week before any major surgery. You will also do the following:
- Discuss any medications you are taking with your doctor and your family physician to see which ones you should stop taking before surgery.
- Discuss with your doctor options preparing for potential blood replacement. These include donating your own blood, medical interventions, and other treatments, prior to surgery.
- Have your 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. They cannot perform surgery until all infections have cleared up.
- Arrange for someone to help you 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.
If you are taking aspirin or anti-inflammatory medications or warfarin or any drugs that increase the risk of bleeding, you will need to stop taking them one week before surgery to minimize bleeding.
If you smoke, you should stop or cut down to reduce your surgery risks and improve your recovery.
If you are overweight, losing weight before surgery will help decrease the stress you place on your new joint. However, you should not diet during the month before your surgery.
Preparing for Your Procedure
If you are having day surgery, remember the following:
- 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 anesthesia, food, and car motion can quite often cause nausea or vomiting.
- Wait until you are hungry, after arriving home, 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 in controlling the pain.