What to Expect When You Have Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

If you are an athlete, you are probably used to getting injured. A sprained ankle or tweaked back can easily be fixed with some ice and heat, as well as lower back rehabilitation.

But if your injury is more severe, and you have to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery, there is little more at stake. You will likely have to do a lot more than pop on an ice pack or fire up your heating pad.

While arthroscopic knee surgery can seem overwhelming, knowing as much as you can about the procedure will make you feel a lot better, as most anxiety stems from the unknown.

Here are a few things you can expect when you go in for the surgery — hopefully this will help calm your nerves.

• Pre-Op. This refers to what happens before the surgery is done. Your physician will likely do a health examination on you before the procedure to determine if there have been any changes in your body that could cause problems during the surgery. He or she will also double check the proper spelling of your name, and also have you sign a consent form that verifies you know agree to the surgery.
• Anesthesia. You will usually be approached by the anesthesiologist next. He or she will take your blood pressure and vital signs, then explain to you how the anesthesia will work. With knee surgery, they will typically inject a spinal epidural to numb you from the waste down. This type of anesthesia also lasts a few hours after surgery, which can be helpful for pain.
• Recovery. You will likely open your eyes after the surgery and realize that you’re not in the operating room anymore. Doctors usually transport patients to the recover room post-surgery, and allow them to wake up from anesthesia slowly. You may feel some pain at this time if you only received local anesthesia, but you may not feel anything if you opted for the epidural. You may also experience some pain with movement, and but will be given pain medication by the doctor.

Once the surgery is over, you can expect your physician to recommend physical therapy exercises to help return normal range of movement to your knee. Doing these exercises at physical therapy clinics will be a key part of your recovery.

With this information in mind, maybe the surgery won’t seem so scary after all. Continue reading here.