|
GENERAL QUESTIONS |
| 1. |
When
do I return to your office for the first time after joint
replacement surgery?
Within three to six weeks from your surgery
date or sooner if the patient is having problems. |
| 2. |
When
should I have a joint replacement?
Joint replacement is indicated when a patient has exhausted
all conservative forms of therapy and still has enough
difficulty to warrant the risks of surgery. |
| 3. |
How
long will I be off work after my surgery?
Depending on whether a patient has sedentary work or physically
active work will make a difference in how quickly they
will return to work. Someone who has sedentary work, may
be able to return to work from three to six weeks from
surgery. For someone who has physically demanding work,
it may be as much as three months. |
| 4. |
When can I drive after my surgery?
Currently, we recommend that patients begin driving their
vehicle at approximately three weeks after their surgery
or as soon as they feel they can do so safely. |
| 5. |
Will
I need to take antibiotics before I go to the dentist
after my hip/knee replacement?
Yes. Antibiotic prophylaxis is important following joint
replacement to decrease the risk of possible infection. |
| 6. |
When
will I be completely finished with follow-up visits after
my hip/knee replacement?
Currently, the recommendations of the American Orthopedic
Society is that the patient should be followed over time
on an alternate year basis for X-rays of the joint replacement
to evaluate for possible early difficulties. Because of
this, currently patients are never really done following
joint replacement surgery but will be followed up at intervals
at approximately two years once they are over the primary
post-operative course |
| 7. |
How
long does the actual surgery take?
Surgical procedures of the knee and hip take approximately
one hour to perform. |
| 8. |
What
is the truth about the bone-on-bone stage?
Commonly, on X-rays, osteoarthritis will have worn the
cartilage surface to the point where the cartilage is
worn through and the underlying bone is now rubbing against
the underlying bone of the opposite part of the joint,
thereby creating a “bone-on-bone” situation
which can be very painful and often times will cause deformity
of the joint. |
| 9. |
What
are the conditions that cause people to need a joint replacement?
The most common reason for joint replacement
is to alleviate pain and to increase abilities to participate
in normal daily activities. |
| 10. |
What
causes the pain?
There are many factors that cause the pain to knee arthritis.
Inflammation, the cartilage flaking off into the joint
causing irritation inside the joint, mechanical dysfunction
because of the wearing surfaces of the joint, and/or mechanical
change in the joint because of deformity. |
| 11. |
What
preparation would I need to do prior to having surgery?
If the patient decided to have joint replacement
surgery, multiple phases prior to the surgery itself will
be undertaken. Evaluation by either a local medial physician
or the patients’ own medical physician to make sure
that there are no underlying medical difficulties that
may make surgical intervention unsafe. Certainly, laboratory
tests and X-ray testing as well as possible EKG, chest
X-ray, etc… would take place prior to surgery. Often
the patient will bank their own blood so that it can be
utilized during surgery. Sometimes physical therapy for
increasing strength and teaching ambulation with crutches
or walker is performed prior to surgery as well. |
| 12. |
What
steps do you take to minimize my chance or developing
a problem?
In Dr. Jerry’s office, we preoperatively use nasal
ointment to decrease bacteria on the body. We will be
giving the patients blood thinning agents to decrease
the likelihood of blood clots and we also have either
the patient’s own family physician or a local medical
physician help with any medical problems that may arise
during the hospitalization. |
| 13. |
What
risks do I face if I choose not to have surgery?
Unfortunately, osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease
that worsens over time. Although there are conservative
measures that will slow the progression of the disease,
at this science has no cure for the disease process. Therefore,
the decision of not having surgery will create a situation
where the patient’s symptoms will gradually worsen
over time. |
| 14. |
What
can I expect from my hospital experience?
Most hospitals have classes specifically for
patients that are to undergo joint replacement surgery.
They are extremely informative, helpful and include
all the information needed for a patient, as far as
the hospital’s point of view is concerned.
To Top
. |
|
THE KNEE |
| 1. |
What
does an arthritic knee usually feel like?
Common symptoms of knee arthritis are pain, swelling warmth
and sometimes bowing of the leg at the knee joint |
| 2. |
What
does an arthritic knee do to me?
Commonly, arthritis of the knee decreases the ability
for patients to participate in normal daily activities.
Often going up and down stairs, prolonged standing or
walking, such as going shopping, can be very difficult
because of the discomfort. |
| 3. |
Why
do I limp?
Commonly, patients with arthritis limp as a protection
to decrease weight bearing on the affected joint. |
| 4. |
How
long do hip and/or knee replacements last?
Commonly in the past, knee and hip joint replacements
had a longevity of 10-15 years, but with the advent of
new materials, the knee and hip replacements last significantly
longer. Because these are recent advancements, over the
last five to six years, it is difficult to tell how long
an implant will last. We are expecting 20+ years at this
time. |
| 5. |
Do
certain kinds of joint replacements last longer?
There has been a significant change in the quality of
the components for knee and hip joint replacements over
the past five to six years and since these new products
have come into the market, most commonly used joint replacements
all have the same likelihood of lasting similar lengths
of time. |
| 6. |
What
are the risks of having a hip or knee joint replacement?
Risks of joint replacements, although rare, can sometimes
be rather significant. The most concerning course would
be infections, wound healing problems, deep vein thrombosis
(blood clot), pulmonary embolus (blood clot to the lung),
stroke, cardiac or heart problems, difficulty with the
joint itself as far as dislocation, leg length differences,
difficulty with anesthesia or mediations in the hospital.
Also included, although extremely rare, is death. Again
as mentioned, these risks are quite rare and generally
96-98% of patients go through surgical intervention without
complications, however there is still always some risks
with surgical interventions. |
| 7. |
What
kind of hip or knee replacement should I get?
There is such a wide variety of hip and knee replacements
currently on the market today, that a thorough evaluation
by an orthopedic surgeon would be necessary to prescribe
the specific type of implant that would be best for
you as a patient. .
To Top |
|
THE HIP |
| 1. |
What
kind of hip or knee implant should I get?
There is such a wide variety of hip and knee joint replacements
currently on the market today, that thorough evaluation
by an orthopedic surgeon would be necessary to prescribe
the specific type of implant that would be best for you
as a patient. |
| 2. |
What
does an arthritic hip usually feel like?
Commonly, an arthritic hip will give groin pain, decreased
ability to forward bend, such as the movement of tying
shoes, difficulty of rotating the leg inward or outward,
as in being bull=legged or pigeon toed and sometimes causing
the leg to feel as though it is going to give way. |
| 3. |
How
does an arthritic hip affect me? The arthritic
hip often causes decreased ability to participate in normal
activities such as household chores and shopping because
of pain and easy fatigueability. |
| 4. |
Is
it my hip or my back causing the problems?
This is a common question of patients with pain. If the
pain is in the groin area, often times that is hip joint
pain. If the pain is in the buttock area or the back of
the leg, this is often a pain from the back itself. However,
there can be overlapping of those pain complexes and often
times needs to be sorted out by an orthopedic surgeon. |
| 5. |
If
it is the hip and back, should I take care of the hip
first? Generally speaking, back pain can often
times be caused by limping related to hip joint arthritis.
Frequently, patients will have their back pain rsolved
after resolving the problems with te hip joint arthritis. |
| 6. |
Why
the hip first?
As mentioned in question #5, frequently patients will
have their back pain resolved after resolving the problems
with the hip joint arthritis first. |
| 7. |
How
long do hip and/or knee replacements last?
Commonly in the past, knee and hip joint replacements
had a longevity of 10-15 years, but with the advent of
new materials, the knee and hip replacements last significantly
longer. Because these are recent advancements, over the
last five to six years, it is difficult to tell how long
an implant will last. We are expecting 20+ years at this
time. |
| 8. |
Do
certain kinds of joint replacements last longer?
There has been a significant change in the quality of
the components for knee and hip joint replacements over
the past five to six years and since these new products
have come into the market, most commonly used joint replacements
all have the same likelihood of lasting similar lengths
of time. |
| 9. |
What are the risks of having a hip or knee joint
replacement?
Risks of joint replacements, although rare, can sometimes
be rather significant. The most concerning course would
be infections, wound healing problems, deep vein thrombosis
(blood clot), pulmonary embolus (blood clot to the lung),
stroke, cardiac or heart problems, difficulty with the
joint itself as far as dislocation, leg length differences,
difficulty with anesthesia or medications in the hospital.
Also included, although extremely rare, is death. Again
as mentioned, these risks are quite rare and generally
96-98% of patients go through surgical intervention without
complications, however there is still always some risks
with surgical interventions..
To Top |
|
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES |
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Link to Knee replacement movie |
| >> |
Patient
Information Sheet |
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Medical
History Sheet |
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Link to Birmingham Knee Replacement movie |
