Pre-Operation

Before the surgery, you will have to have a Pre-Op appointment to make sure you are healthy, not pregnant, etc. They will do blood work, a urine test, and a physical exam to make sure everything is good to go.

Night before the surgery:

1. Do not eat or drink after midnight (including gum)
2. Do not take any kind of medicine one week before (unless otherwise directed)
3. Do not take aspirin one week before (very important)
4. Stock up on lots of fluids and bland food
5. Get a good night sleep!!

Side note: Many people ask how much work you should take off. DO NOT QUESTION THE DOCTOR!!! I will go through this in more detail later.


How to prepare your home:


1. Tidy up for convenience and safety

There’s going to be a time after your surgery where you’re trying to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night on crutches and under the influence of some pretty powerful drugs. But even in less trying conditions we need to make sure that our home is going to be a safe place for us in our new condition.

When you’re crutching your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night the last thing you need is to set your crutch tip down on a sock or piece of paper. Take the time before your surgery while you’re still fairly mobile to clean up and organize. Concentrate on walkways in particular, but also on the areas where you’ll be performing delicate maneuvers: near the bed, in the kitchen and the bathroom.

Cleaning gets a whole lot harder when you’re in crutches and feeling lethargic from the drugs.

2. Prepare your nesting area

In the hours and days immediately after you get home from surgery you’ll be spending a lot of time sitting still in one place. Whether you’re strapped in to a CPM machine, icing the joint or just resting this nesting area will be your daytime home.

Take the time now to get this space ready for your return. In my case I concentrated on our couch which is in the main living area of our home near the TV, between the kitchen and the bathroom. It’s in this space that I’ll use the ice machine, work on my laptop, watch TV and talk to visitors. My focus was on creating a flexible and comfortable space that caters to these concious activities, I figure if i’m going to sleep I may as well crutch over to the bed.

3. Healthy, Convenient Food

Your body has gone through a lot when you get home from surgery and in my experience, it’s not uncommon to have a healthy appetite. My focus is on healthy foods that are tidy and convenient to eat. They should have as little left over as possible to prevent my nest from becoming a compost bin.

4. Sleep Area

Between the stresses of surgery and the effects of the painkillers you'll be wanting to sleep a lot after surgery. To make your bed as safe, comfortable and convenient as possible I recommend three things:

•      Have extra pillows to support and pad your knee while you are sleeping
•      Limit the number of times you have to get in and out of the bed.
•      Make it as safe and easy to get in and out of bed. (Keep crutches close to bed)

5. Entertainment

While you are laid up you'll need something to keep your brain engaged or you will go crazy! I find that having a couple of good books, a handful of good movies and a laptop will give you plenty to do. 

What are some things you did or wish you did to prepare you for recovery?