Before your operation, you will be invited to attend Joint School at the hospital.
This is a patient focussed education programme lasting approximately 2 hours, which gives you the opportunity to speak to the hospital staff and find out everything you need to know about your hip or knee replacement.
The kind of things that you will learn about include:
- Information about your joint
- How to prepare before surgery: Exercises to do, preparing your home, involving your family
- Coming to the hospital: where to go, when to arrive, what to bring
- The anaesthetic: What are the options available?
- Your recovery in hospital: What to expect
- Managing pain after surgery: medication and other techniques
- How long will you be in hospital? How will you know when you can safely return home?
- Living with your new joint: What will it look like? What will you be able to do and not do?
Attending the Joint School
You will receive forms with your appointment letter, please ensure these are fully completed and brought with you to your session.
It is really important that you attend the joint school and you are encouraged to ask questions, however simple you feel that they are. If you haven’t been given a date to attend by a month before surgery then please contact us.
