PREPARING FOR SURGERY

In England and Wales, there are approximately 160,000 total hip and knee replacement procedures performed each year. Mr Deepu Sethi, consultant knee surgeon and one of London Medical Concierge’s network of doctors, give his advice to patients on how best to prepare for hip and knee surgery.

Regardless of your patient pathway – either NHS or private care – preparing for surgery is actually as important as after-care to improve your chances of a full recovery.

By following the below five steps, you can prepare yourself to tackle the road to recovery.

1. Stick to a balanced diet – having a healthy and balanced diet before and after surgery can help to promote recovery and reduce the risk of infection. Calcium and Vitamin D both improve the strength of your bones and protein aids healing after surgery.
2. Visit your GP and dentist – If you have other medical problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes it is important to ensure that these are well controlled and stable to ensure that you minimise the risk of complications following surgery. It’s also advisable to have a dental check-up and get any problems dealt with well before your operation.
3. Book your pre-admission clinic – your hospital will invite you to a pre-admission clinic, usually around 2-3 weeks before the surgery. You will be examined to make sure you’re generally well enough for the anaesthetic and the operation. This can involve blood tests, x-rays, urine samples and an ECG.
4. Prepare your home – it is important to set up your home properly before you have joint surgery to allow you to easily move around your house with a walker or crutches after surgery and reduce the risk of falls and maintain your hip or knee alignment. I would advise arranging someone to stay with you for the first 72-hours after leaving hospital and moving items you will need on a day-to-day basis to an easy height to reach.
5. Get your exercise regime organised for post surgery -  when recovering from hip and knee surgery, walking and exercising is encouraged, and you will progress from walking with the support of a physiotherapist in hospital, through to walking with a stick at home for two to six weeks after the operation. Exercising will make your muscles stronger, improve your endurance and help keep your joints moving. Before surgery, exercising will also help you to build up your confidence and knowledge of how to exercise after surgery.

For more information and fast tracked appointments to leading experts please contact us at London Medical Concierge on experts@londonmedicalconcierge.com or call 020 7305 5590