If you and your doctor have agreed that knee replacement surgery is the next step in your health journey, it’s a good idea to start preparing for the surgery day and the recovery process.  

A total knee replacement surgery can also be termed a knee “resurfacing” because only the surfaces of the knee bones are replaced. The damaged surfaces at the ends of the femur and tibia bones are removed and replaced with metal components.  

Your surgeon will provide information about your hospital stay, but generally, you will be discharged from the hospital the same day or within a few days. They will also provide instructions on what you should and should not do before surgery, exercises to strengthen your knee after surgery, and instructions for your post-op care.  

In the lead-up to your surgery, you might want to think about ways to start preparing yourself and your home for your surgery and the recovery period afterwards. Part of your preparation may include making small modifications to your home, such as removing loose carpets, rugs or cords to reduce tripping hazards. It can also be helpful to have your living space all on one floor rather than attempting to walk up and down stairs if your bedroom is on a different level. Other steps that could be helpful are preparing bulk meals that can be frozen so that you can easily defrost and reheat nutritious meals during your recovery.  

Soon after your surgery, you will generally be able to walk with a cane, crutches or a walker, but other everyday tasks will be more difficult. The knee is the largest joint in the body, and we use our knees for almost every daily activity. It is, therefore, important to have extra support from friends or whānau when you are recovering for things such as preparing food, household chores, driving and moving around.   

If you’d like to learn more, register for our next webinar, Preparing for and recovering from knee replacement surgery: What to expect, on Wednesday, 14 May.  

Our webinar guest speaker will be Dr Simon Young, a Specialist Orthopaedic Knee Surgeon and the current President of the New Zealand Knee Society. Dr Young has many years of experience in knee surgery, and his research has contributed to major advancements in knee surgery. He recently led the world’s largest randomised trial on robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery, conducted in Auckland. To learn more about some of the groundbreaking research Dr Simon Young is involved in, click here. 

Dr Young also presented our previous webinar, Exploring hip replacement surgery: Chat with an orthopaedic surgeon and a patient, which you can check out here. 

For tools that could aid your recovery after knee replacement surgery, watch our video about what’s available from the Independent Living Service store here.

Knee replacement surgery is often seen as the inevitable destination for those suffering from arthritis in their knees. However, this is not always the case. In our recent webinar Dr Daniel O’Brien discussed the progression of post-traumatic arthritis as a result of knee injuries, along with strategies that can combat the effects of this condition and defer patients from ending up on the surgical table.  

Our next Webinar