The Day of Your Surgery

Enjoy your dinner the night before your surgery, but remember not to eat or drink anything after 12 midnight. The day of surgery, you will be taken to the operating room about a half hour early. Your surgeon will see you before your operation. Do not be alarmed if you are asked several times which knee is to be operated on. This is one of the many safety checks made to assure your good results. Your family should wait in the waiting room so that we can tell them when you are out of surgery.

Your actual surgery will take approximately one and a half to two hours if you have had no prior surgery. However, you should tell your family that there may be some additional time spent from the time you leave your room until surgery begins. Once out of surgery, you will be taken to the recovery room to be monitored while the affects of anesthesia wear away. The usual time for this process is one and a half to two hours.

If there is any question about your medical condition, or if you arrive in the recovery room late in the day, you may be taken to the surgical intensive care room (SICU). This is another safety precaution and should not cause alarm. If your condition allows, you will go back to your regular room the next morning.

When you awaken, a continuous passive motion machine (CPM) may be on your bed. Your leg may be resting in this machine and it will slowly move your knee. The CPM helps speed recovery by starting movement early.

A small tube may be coming from your knee attached to a suction bottle at the side of your bed. This is to drain blood from the knee.

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