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Total Knee &
Your First Night at Home

At this RECOVERY HUB you will find guidance on your road to recovery.

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Use this resource as a quick guide to common questions, concerns, and expectations for your early recovery after surgery.

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Remember, Dr. Deans' team is a call away for further guidance and clarification.

Getting home is a major milestone.

 

Tonight, the goal is not to “prove” how much you can do. The goal is to stay safe, stay ahead of pain and nausea, and begin a steady recovery.

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Give Yourself Grace

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Recovery after a knee replacement is significantly more challenging than for a hip replacement, for most patients. 

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See Full Patient Recovery Protocol to the left for further details.

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Share this with your therapist; they will appreciate the information and communication on your recovery and goals.

Your Priorities Tonight

  • Take your medications as listed on your discharge schedule. Your scheduled Tylenol and anti-inflammatory medication, when prescribed, are the foundation of pain control. ​

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A multi-medication pain regimen will be supplied in your pre-operative patient handbook and discharge paperwork.​

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  • Use your walker or other assistive device every time you are up. Even if your leg feels strong, anesthesia and pain medicines can affect balance.

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​It is of utmost importance not to fall after surgery.​

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  • Drink fluids steadily and eat small, simple meals. Do not force a large meal if you are nauseated.​

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Get up for short walks to the bathroom or around the house several times. Avoid long periods sitting still. Avoid long walks with high step count.​

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  • Your goal is to get out of the chair no less than every 1.5-2 hours for short walks. Get up to go to the restroom, the kitchen, and as needed.​

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Ice the surgical area and you may elevate the operative leg to prevent calf and ankle swelling.​

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  • Ice 10 minutes of every waking hour, at least.

What Pain Should Feel Like

 

Pain is expected. The goal is pain that is manageable enough for you to rest, walk safely, use the bathroom, and perform basic exercises. Pain may increase as the spinal, nerve block, or local anesthetic wears off. This does not automatically mean something is wrong.​Follow the multi-medication pain regimen will be supplied in your pre-operative patient handbook and discharge paperwork.

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Follow the multi-medication pain regimen will be supplied in your pre-operative patient handbook and discharge paperwork.

A Good Rhythm

 

For the first 7-14 days, consider the 20/20/20 rule during waking hours:

~20 minutes elevating with ice,

~20 minutes resting,

~20 minutes up for a short walk or exercise, bathroom trip, or home exercises. Adjust this to how you feel.

Call / Seek Urgent Help

 

Call the surgical team for uncontrolled pain despite following your plan, repeated vomiting, persistent wound drainage, inability to urinate, or any concern that feels significantly different from what you were told to expect.

 

Call 911 for chest pain, severe shortness of breath, fainting, or another emergency.

 

Your own discharge instructions and medication list always take priority. This guide is educational and does not replace individualized medical advice.

Institutional Clarification

This website is operated independently and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or representative of Nebraska Medicine or the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Any clinical work performed in partnership with those institutions is conducted separately under institutional policies, governance, and privacy practices.

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