Surgery Day

You will be admitted to the hospital on the day of your surgery. Then, you will be taken to the presurgical holding area where you will be prepared for surgery. You will change into a hospital gown and place your personal items, such as the clothes you wore to the hospital and eyeglasses, into a bag that will be transferred to your room.

In the presurgical area, a member of the anesthesia team will evaluate you. The most common types of anesthesia for total joint replacement surgery are general anesthesia (which puts you to sleep throughout the procedure), epidural (which can relieve surgical and post-surgical pain) and spinal anesthesia (which allows you to be awake but anesthetizes your body from the waist down). The anesthesia team will discuss these choices and help you decide your best option.

You will remain in the presurgical area until the operating room is ready. The operating room is a highly controlled area, where a very strict protocol is followed to ensure a highly sterile environment. In the operating room, you will be transferred from your gurney to the operating room table. The anesthesia team will prepare you for the anesthesia option chosen before surgery.

The surgical procedure will usually last 1-2 hours. For specific details on the surgical procedure, refer to the Total Knee Replacement section. After your surgery, you will be taken to the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) until you regain consciousness. Nurses in this area will closely monitor your vital signs to ensure you properly recover from the anesthesia.

From the PACU, you will be transferred to your room where you can receive visitors. Your stay in the hospital will generally last from 3 -10 days.