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Pre-Op & Post-Op Instructions

What You Need To Know About Knee Arthroscopy:

On the day of surgery you cannot eat or drink anything after midnight the night prior to your procedure. Only take medications that the preadmission testing nurse has told you were ok to take with a sip of water. Please shower the morning of your surgery but do not apply any lotions or perfumes after your shower. It’s a good idea to leave any jewelry at home since you will be asked to remove it prior to going into the operating room. The anesthesiologist will meet you prior to your knee arthroscopy illustrationsurgery and will keep you comfortable. Dr. McClung will see you and mark the correct limb prior to surgery.

During your surgery you will be completely asleep, under a general anesthesia. The entire procedure will last between 30 and 45 minutes. With arthroscopy, we can fix problems inside the joint with just making 2 or 3 small incisions. A small camera is inserted into the joint through one of these holes so we can look at the bones and tissues in the joint. Small tools are then inserted through the other hole. During your surgery, it is possible that Dr. McClung will trim or repair a torn meniscus, smooth any rough surfaces, clean up any arthritis or loose pieces of bone and replace your ACL or PCL if you’ve discussed this with him prior to surgery. You will go home the day of surgery, but will need a responsible adult to take you home since you will still have anesthetic in your system. You will need 24 to 48 hours after surgery to get the anesthesia out of your system, it’s a good idea to plan to have this time off work. If you have a desk job, it’s acceptable to return to work within 3-5 days after surgery; if you have a more strenuous job, you should discuss this with Dr. McClung prior to scheduling your surgery.

 

Patients can click here to download and/or print pre-operative instructions for knee arthroscopy.

 

Knee arthroscopy Post Operative Instructions from Dr. Glen McClung:

  1. Sponge bathe until your dressing change appointment 2 days after surgery. Once your dressing has been changed you may shower as long as your incision sites are covered with waterproof bandaids. Remove and replace your waterproof bandaids daily after bathing.
  1. Do not put any ointment or peroxide on the incision sites. Normal drainage appears bloody or like water, if there is any abnormal drainage from the incision site please let us know.
  1. Do not submerge in a bathtub, hot tub or pool for 4 weeks post operatively
  1. Wear your sling or brace at all times as it was put on in the operating room unless you were instructed otherwise by Dr. McClung.
  1. Only take medication as prescribed by Dr. McClung. Do not take it more often than prescribed. If your pain is not controlled please call our office, do not take any additional Tylenol. If you need a refill on your medication, call the office. Please understand that it may take up to 24 hours after your call for your medication to be refilled.
  1. Ice the operative site for 20 minutes at a time with a traditional ice bag or for one hour with the ice machine. Do not place the ice bag or ice machine directly on the skin, place a towel between the ice bag and your skin. Icing the operative site regularly will decrease swelling and pain to the area.
  1. You will go home from surgery with stockings on your legs to prevent blood clots. These may be removed once you are getting up and walking around or getting around on your crutches regularly.

Thank you for choosing Beacon Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and Dr. McClung for the care of your orthopaedic injuries. We look forward to serving you and getting you back to a pain free lifestyle!

Patients can click here to download and/or print post-operative instructions.

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