After your Surgery

You will be provided with specific advice, expectations and rehabilitation based on the surgery you’ve had.

Listen to your body and take a common sense approach, if you’re worried, contact Dr Collins.

General advice includes:

Wound care:

o   Leave your waterproof dressings on and intact for 2 weeks.
Keep them dry and clean as much as possible.
If they need changing, they can be replaced with waterproof dressings from chemist/pharmacy (Op-site or similar).

o   Your sutures will often be dissolvable sutures, so no removal is necessary.

o   No bathing or swimming until 4 weeks

o   Keep the limb elevated as much as possible when resting (above the level of your heart). Swelling and pain go hand in hand, if you can control/limit the swelling, your pain will also be controlled

Take analgesia/pain-relief regularly: Some level of discomfort is expected, but it should be improving week to week. The pain will fluctuate, and you may have flare-ups in the first 1-2 weeks, this is normal. When you have a pain flare/attack, rest, ice and elevate the leg. If the pain doesn’t improve after 10-20 minutes take the stronger immediate release pain relief as required.

Regular icing or cryotherapy: is extremely beneficial, and will aide your recovery and limit your requirements for strong pain relief. This means icing the operative site/limb for 15-20 minutes every hour whilst awake.
Cryotherapy specific devices are a lot better than the ‘frozen peas’ and a tea-towel.
Dr Collins strongly recommends the use of RE3 cryotherapy compression braces.

Early mobilisation: walk to bathroom/toilet and back every hour whilst awake in the first 1-2 weeks. Don’t overdo it even if your pain is minimal.

Gentle exercises: at a minimum walking around your house and gentle ankle pumps every hour whilst awake is very important. A gradual and progressive increase in mobility and range of motion is expected during your recovery. If you’ve had knee surgery working on getting/keeping your knee straight and bent/flexed is an important goal.

Take your Venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention medication if prescribed. This may be a tablet (aspirin or apixaban), or a subcutaneous injection (clexane). Regular mobilisation and gentle exercising hourly whilst awake helps prevent blood clots (VTE).

Do not hesitate to call or contact us if you have any concerns at all.