Preparing for Knee or Hip Replacement Surgery
What you do before an operation can help you heal faster after.
Planning to undergo joint replacement surgery soon? Taking measures to ensure the health of your tissues before and after surgery will help ensure healthy rehabilitation of your joint.
If you smoke, stop. In a study of 224 patients who had shoulder surgery, only 15 percent of 95 smokers -- compared with 51 percent of 129 nonsmokers -- scored an excellent surgical outcome. Conversely, 28 percent of smokers and fewer than two percent of nonsmokers rated a poor outcome. Smoking restricts blood circulation, and poor blood supply to tendons and other tissues adversely affects healing, says the study's lead researcher William J. Mallon, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon at Triangle Orthopaedic Associates in Durham, N.C.
Get a complete check-up. Work with your doctor to improve or manage chronic medical conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes prior to undergoing your procedure. "Heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and lung disease are all common disorders that can affect the outcome of surgery," says the study's Randall D. Neumann, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon at OrthoWest, in Omaha, Neb.
Strengthen the joint. Strengthening exercises help stabilize the joint, which means you'll have an easier time in post-surgery rehabilitation and physical therapy sessions.
Question your medications. Ask your surgeon when you should stop taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) prior to surgery, as well as when it's OK to resume taking them. "NSAIDs diminish the inflammatory response," says Dr. Neumann, "and some researchers feel the inflammatory response is necessary to begin proper healing of bone and soft tissue." Traditional NSAIDs like aspirin and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) may prolong or exacerbate surgical bleeding, so patients often are advised to stop taking them a week or more before surgery. COX-2 inhibitors, such as celecoxib (Celebrex), do not thin the blood as much as traditional NSAIDs, but several preliminary studies suggest COX-2 inhibitors may delay bone growth and tissue healing after joint surgery.
