Total Knee Replacement: A Patient's Guide.
Edited By: Seth S. Leopold, M.D.
Last updated Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Preparing for surgeryPreparation Patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery usually will
undergo a pre-operative surgical risk assessment. When necessary,
further evaluation will be performed by an internal medicine physician
who specializes in pre-operative evaluation and risk-factor
modification. Some patients will also be evaluated by an
anesthesiologist in advance of the surgery.
Routine blood tests are performed on all pre-operative patients;
chest X-rays and electrocardiograms are obtained in patients who meet
certain age and health criteria, as well.
Surgeons will often spend time with the patient in advance of the
surgery, making certain that all the patient's questions and concerns,
as well as those of the family, are answered. Costs The surgeon's office should provide a reasonable estimate of:
- the surgeon's fee,
- the hospital fee, and
- the degree to which these should be covered by the patient's insurance.
Surgical team The total knee requires an experienced orthopaedic surgeon and the
resources of a large medical center. Some patients have complex medical
needs and around surgery often require immediate access to multiple
medical and surgical specialties and in-house medical, physical
therapy, and social support services.
Finding an experienced surgeon There is good evidence that the experience of the surgeon performing
partial knee replacement affects the outcome. It is important that the
surgeon be experienced--and preferably fellowship-trained--knee
replacement surgeon.
Some questions to consider asking your knee surgeon:
- Are you board certified in orthopaedic surgery?
- Have you done a fellowship (a year of additional training, beyond
the five years required to become an orthopaedic surgeon) in joint
replacement surgery?
- How many knee replacements do you do each year?
Facilities A large hospital, usually with academic affiliation and equipped with
state-of-the-art radiologic imaging equipment and medical intensive
care unit is clearly preferable in the care of patients with knee
arthritis.Surgery for Severe arthritis of the knee at the University of Washington If you are interested in making an appointment to discuss this procedure, you can request an appointment using our online referrals website. To request a referral online, please click here. You can also call the Bone & Joint Surgery Center at 206-598-3354 or Eastside Specialty Clinic at 425-646-7777 to make an appointment.
How useful was this page or article?
|
|