Arthroscopic Surgery of the Knee

Surgery

You will find 2-3 small puncture wounds under the compression bandage covering your knee. These are made by the surgical instruments used during the procedure and are closed by tapes called steri strips. Although these wounds are only small, the surgery inside your joint is quite significant and your joint will take time to recover. It is important that you follow' the instructions on this sheet to facilitate healing and to maintain the muscle strength and range of movement of your knee.

Post-Surgery

You will be required to rest completely for the first 2-3 days following surgery. This means Sitting in bed or on the couch, doing some light exercises and icing the knee regularly. By the 3th or 4th day you may start to walk around a little. If you work in an office you may then return to work. More active jobs may require longer periods off work e.g. up to 2-3 weeks for manual labourers.

Progress

It is very important not to push your knee too hard, as this will slow the healing. Signs that indicate that you are doing too much include: increased swelling, increased pain, increase in temperature in the joint.

Puncture Wounds

This area should remain dry until the tapes are removed 10-14 days post-operatively.
The areas may be slightly tender and puffy for 1-2 months post-operatively and will benefit from gentle massage once healed, There may be some bleeding from the portal site. This is nothing to worry about in general. Excessive bleeding may require re-bandaging. Please call Mr Morris if this happens.

Swelling

The amount of swelling following an arthroscope varies with different people and tends to be dependent on the pre-operative state of your knee and on how much is done to your knee at the time of surgery. An increase in the amount of swelling in the early post operative days indicates that you are progressing your activities too quickly. It is important to decrease the amount of swelling as quickly as possible, as it will cause problems with healing, strength and range of movement. This can be achieved by:

• not overdoing things
• using a compressing bandage
• using crutches to reduce the weight
• keep the leg elevated as much as possible
• using ice at regular intervals.
• Ice cubes should be wrapped in a wet towel and applied to your knee for 15 minutes.
  You should frequently check your leg to ensure that it is pink in colour and not white or blue, as this will result in ice burn. You may apply ice 3-4 hourly, but each application should only be of 15 minutes duration.

Pain

Ensure that you take the tablets (Panadeine or Panadeine Forte) if you have pain.
If your pain is not controlled by tablets. please call Mr Morris.

Activities

You may commence weight bearing after 1-2 days. DO NOT DO TOO MUCH TOO SOON.
If you have pain or swelling - then rest is the best treatment early on.

Crutches

Crutches are to be used to control the weight bearing transmitted through your joint.

Full Weight Bearing

This means that you may take as much weight as comfortable through your operated leg. The crutches are used in this instance to help control swelling and pain and to assist in the healing and recovery of the joint. It is important that you contract your thigh muscles each time you take weight through your operated leg and to hop over it. You may discard your crutches when you can walk without pain and the swelling around your joint has reduced.

Stairs

It is extremely important to negotiate stairs slowly when you are on crutches.

Remember This Sequence:
WHEN GOING UPSTAIRS: Good leg to heaven, ie good leg bad teg, then crutches
WHEN GOING DOWNSTAIRS: Bad leg to hell, ie crutches bad leg. good leg