Knee Surgery - Questions i should ask

I had arthroscopic knee surgery almost a year ago due to a meniscus tear ( the cartilage in my knee covered too much of the knee and tore) the surgery wasn't too bad. I had an epidural to numb me up. I was awake the whole time. I even have picture the surgeon took during the surgery. I did get chills from the surgery room being so cold and they covered me up with all the warm blankets. I even watched the surgery being done and had someone explaining to me what the surgeon was doing. It also helped the surgeon was also cute..=) I was on crutches and put a little pressure on that leg. with in a week I was pretty much walking with out the crutches but was still using 1 like a cane. Overall it wasn't a bad experience at all.

Not only have I had 7 on my RT knee I have had some of the worst complications not saying you will but I can give you a well rounded objective view.... Feel free to message me, Brian

First of all depending on what kind of knee surgery you have makes a difference on some questions. Some knee surgeries allow you to stay awake during the procedure and you go home the same day. I had surgery on my meniscus 17 years ago and watched the whole thing. Ask if you have to go under or not? How long your recovery period will be? Success rate of the surgery you are having done? If you have to have Physical Therapy or not? Just a few off the top of my head. Good luck.

I've had two major knee surgeries and 2 minor surgeries (arthroscopy only & a hardware removal). I had my major surgeries when I was a teenager but here are the things I suggest you ask because the knowledge was helpful for me:

1. What type of anesthetic will be used? Will they use general, or will you be awake? Do you have the option to choose? (and then you have to decide what you're comfortable with).

2. Ask how long the surgery should take and ask them to walk you through it. This helps to reduce anxiety as well as let you know what is going on.

3. Find out your aftercare info (not that they won't give that to you but I always liked to know in advance). I'd especially ask how long you'll be in recovery, how long you will be doing physical therapy (and how often), and how long you'll be expected to be on crutches (if necessary). It helps to know this so you can plan but also so you have a realistic idea of what your recovery will be like.

4. I'd also ask if there is anything you can do to prep to be ready. For my first knee surgery, I went in practically blind. I was on crutches for 6 weeks and in PT for 3 months. For the second (exact same surgery), I worked very hard to make sure that my legs were extremely strong and it made all the difference in the world. I was supposed to be on crutches for 6 weeks again but I was only on them for 3 and I was released from PT a month early.

That's all I can think of right now... If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Good luck with your surgery - I hope everything goes well.

ETA: I don't know about asking this but when we were discussing the surgery, my doctor told me that because of the degree of damage & issues with my knees, the surgery would help a lot but that I would experience arthritis later in life. He also said that I would likely need a knee replacement later in life. I don't say that to scare you (or anyone!) but it helped with expectations. Of course, I have severe genetic knee problems that I inherited on both sides of my family which, combined with wear and tear, just killed my knees. But i was good to know what to expect not only in the short term but for the long haul.