First day
Patient admission in the morning will be followed by blood examinations, an additional examination (electrocardiography) of the heart and x-ray of the lungs. The ward physician performs the admission examination.
Both the surgeon and the anaesthetist will talk to you in the evening and answer your questions. The prophylaxis of thrombosis with daily injections in the subcutaneous fatty abdominal or thigh tissue begins on the evening before the operation.
Second day - operation day
The anaesthetist receives you in the operating theatre and initiates the discussed anaesthesia.
During the operation, an infusion will provide you with an antibiotic agent to prevent infections. After the operation, you will be placed in your bed and transferred to the postanaesthetic recovery room, before being transferred to the ward.
Third day to about 2 to 3 weeks after the operation
As soon as the postoperative course allows it, a physiotherapist will begin to move your knee using guided flexion and extension. He may also use a motorised movement splint for this purpose. Moreover, the physical therapist will also start to build up your muscles, with or without moving the knee joint.
The nursing staff will help you get up, and crutches or other means will help you to walk. The follow-up treatment places special emphasis on the increase of mobility and strengthening of the muscular system and the training of the gait. To lift the extended leg and to carry out a right-angled flexion of the knee joint require patience and regular exercises.
Walking with crutches is normally recommended up to 6 weeks after the operation. The prophylaxis of thrombosis will be changed from daily injections to a medication in tablet form. This requires regular blood-clotting checks.
The stitches will be removed about 10 to 21 days after the operation.
