Proper care needed post knee surgery, say doctors

Patients who undergo a knee replacement surgery need to be educated on post-surgical care as most patients lack the awareness of the risks. Most people resort to their habits before the surgery which stressed their knee further.   

To increase awareness regarding the issue, the doctors from Jaipur have emphasised on post-surgical care after a knee replacement surgery.  

“It has been observed that the patient is aware of all the pre-surgical procedure required for knee replacement but the same person overlooks the post-surgical precautions exposing their knee to the same affliction that forced them to undergo surgery,” said Dr Neeraj Agrawal, joint replacement specialist at Jeevan Rekha Hospital.  

“It may take as many as six weeks for a patient to even feel steady on his/her feet. A walker should be used while walking and when the patient starts using the stairs, he or she should always use the handrail. It is important to reduce stress on the replaced knee. So, patients should lead with the old knee when going up the stairs and lead with the replaced knee when going down the stairs,” he added.

Doctors suggested that those who have had the knee replacement must walk for at least one kilometre regularly and it should be increased by 250 metres every week.  

“Controlling the weight is most important. Walking not only keeps a patient’s weight under check, but also puts a check on diabetes or hypertension-related issues. Squatting should be avoided completely and an ortho-specialist should be consulted once a year even if everything is normal after the surgery,” said Dr Agrawal.

After knee replacement, patients should go for immediate medical help in case of any chest pain, shortness of breath, sudden swelling, pain or redness, added Agarwal.