Planning a knee replacement surgery

A Serious State of Affairs

Once your doctor informs you that youneed to have a knee surgery, he/she will probably try and reassureyou that this is nothing serious and that you have nothing to worryabout. However, regardless if you need to undergo a knee replacementsurgery or a total knee replacement surgery, these procedures arequite frightening. Luckily, there are certain organization andlifestyle management factors which you can take care of, making itpossible for you to undergo this surgery with minimal efforts andcomplications. All you need is a good plan beforehand.

Preparing for a Knee Surgery

First of all, you need to sign theArbitration Agreement. Without this taken care of, your doctors willnot perform the surgery on you. So, deal with this during theconsultations with the doctor or before the surgery itself.

Also, you need to sign another type ofa document, your informed consent. This document verifies that youhave read it and completely understood the possible risks of theprocedure you are about to have. Thereby, for your best interest, youare to read this carefully before signing it. Speaking of signing, it isobligatory, since the surgery cannot take place without it.

Next come the insurance requirements.You must have all the paperwork taken care of, fill out yourinsurance forms and submit all this to the hospital on time.Moreover, you will have to acquire the certification for the surgerybeforehand. Taking into consideration that the process of gettingthis document might take weeks, be well-organized and require ittimely. Naturally, if there are other forms and/or papers that you need to handover, either to your hospital or to your insurance company, do itbefore the surgery, getting it out of the way.

Additionally, the hospital will ask youto donate blood in order to be used during the procedure, should youstart bleeding or experience other health complications related tothis, ending up needing blood transfusion. You may choose fromseveral different options of blood transfusion, being autologousblood, direct blood donor, cell saver blood or banked blood.

Medications are also an issue and youhave to tell your doctors what kind of drugs you are using before thesurgery, so that they may adjust your therapy and yourmedications during the surgery to those, avoiding any unwantedside-effects.

Finally, think ahead. Lose your weighta bit, through lifestyle changes and exercising. This way, you willavoid placing too much weight on your knee after the surgery.Furthermore, you need to prepare your home, making it compatible withyour needs and decreased mobility after the surgery. Last but notthe least, have your overall health examined before the surgery,undergoing medical and orthopedic evaluation.