ARTHRITIS OF THE KNEE JOINT

Patients are admitted to the hospital the same day as the surgery. Most insurance companies insist that patients not be admitted the day before surgery because of the expense.

When you arrive at the hospital on the morning of surgery, go directly to the admitting office. From there you will be taken to the pre-anesthesia area where you will change into a hospital gown, and an intravenous line will be started.

The anesthesiologist will see you there and discuss anesthetic options and risks. He will discuss the advantages of general anesthesia (in which you are unconscious) and spinal or epidural anesthesia in which the lower half of your body is completely numb (and pain-free) and you will sleep lightly but not be unconscious.

With the epidural, the recovery is smoother. Most doctors having surgery themselves would probably elect to have an epidural. With certain conditions (especially chronic lung disease) epidural anesthesia is considered safer. The final choice of anesthetic is made by you and the anesthesiologist. You will be given sedatives before being taken to the operating room.

IN THE OPERATING ROOM

First-time knee replacements take 1 to 2 hours of operating time. You will be in the operating room for about another hour (for anesthetic induction and other necessary procedures before and after the operation). Revision operations can take up to 4 hours of operating time (or even more). When the operation is over Dr. Huddleston will meet with relatives or friends in the surgical waiting area to give them a progress report.