The Very Rare Complications of Knee Surgery
Knee surgery is a remarkably successful operation. Generally speaking, it is completely successful ninety-eight percent of the time. A rare two percent of patients may contract an infection of the knee joint following surgery. Extremely rare, indeed, are those patients who have serious complications such as stroke or heart attack.
Patients who have a chronic illness will be a bit more likely to experience complications. Rehabilitation may be extended by chronic illness, and complete recovery may be hindered.
A fairly commonly experienced complication of knee surgery is clotting in the veins of the leg. You can avoid this by simply following your orthopedic surgeons orders. You will be sent home with instructions to elevate your legs on a regular basis, perform prescribed exercises, perhaps take blood thinning medications, and perhaps even use support stockings. Be sure to follow these instructions to the letter, and you should have no problems.
Sometimes a part of the replacement may wear or loosen. This is quite unusual because the parts of the replacement are very well made, and the surgery is performed very carefully.
A range-of-motion of 115 can be expected following surgery. This may be lessened by scarring of the knee or by the very rare instance of damage to the blood vessels and nerves of the knee. Additionally, if a person had limited ROM (range of motion) prior to the surgery, it can be expected to remain somewhat limited afterwards.
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If you have concerns about complications, discuss them thoroughly with your orthopedic surgeon.
What You Should Know About Home Recovery
The majority of the time, a successful knee replacement will give dependable service for about ten years. To assure the long life of your knee replacement, it is very important you follow your orthopedic surgeons instructions during your home recovery period. You may be instructed to: elevate your leg, exercise regularly, take blood thinning medications, use support hose. Be sure to do all these things exactly as you have been told. This will ensure that your implant will last a very long time.
The Care of Your Wound
You can expect your wound to be closed by either exterior sutures or staples or interior sutures. In the case of exterior closure, your orthopedic surgeon will want to see you again in a few weeks for removal. If you have subcutaneous sutures, you will not need to return for removal. They will dissolve on their own.
Protect your wound from excessive moisture. Keep it dry until it is completely healed. Use a bandage to protect it from being scraped and rubbed by your support hose or your clothes.
Stay Active
You will be sent home with a list of exercises that are intended to facilitate your speedy recovery. It is essential that you do them. You may feel a bit of pain while doing them; however, slight pain is normal and nothing to worry about. You may also feel a bit of pain while resting at night. As you heal, this will pass, and you will be back to normal and able to resume your regular daily activities in a month to six weeks.
Dr. Tarlow is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon with over 20 years specializing in knee surgery. He opened his own clinic, Advanced Knee Care, with a focus on specialty patient care. Click here to learn more about Dr. Tarlow, arthroscopic surgeon and torn ACL surgery.
