Chad Hosemann, MD
Post Operative Instructions: Knee Surgery
Immediate Post Op: The first few days after surgery will be a little rough. You won’t feel good and you
will be hurting. Just stay on your pain medication, limit your activity, and, if instructed, get to therapy.
For the first five days after surgery, ice your knee as much as possible (20 minutes every other hour if
you can stand it). Keep the operative extremity elevated and rest. Utilize your pain medication. Drink as
much water as you can and get on a good daily multivitamin. Eat whatever you want, your body will
need the extra nutrients to heal. Anesthetic and pain medication often cause constipation; I recommend
taking an over the counter stool softener such as Colace. Nausea is common post operatively; if it lingers
past the first day, give me a call and we will call you in some anti-nausea medication. Usually, the nausea
will improve on its own after a day or so. Take your pain medication at night and try to sleep. Hang in
there and you will get much better after the first few days.
Post Operative Pain: Unless allergic, you will be given either Norco or Percocet for pain. Take one or
two of these every 6 hours. Don’t forget to take some before you go to sleep or you will wake up in pain.
Patients experiencing significant pain may even want to set an alarm in the night when it is time for
another dose so you don’t get behind on your pain control. These medications contain Tylenol, so do not
take additional Tylenol and do not take over the recommended dosage. Oxycodone will also be given for
“breakthrough” pain. You may alternate these medications every 3 hours or so (2 Norco then one
oxycodone 3 hours later, than 2 Norco three hours later etc.) to provide optimal pain relief, however,
you should be off of the oxycodone within a few days after surgery. Please utilize your pain medication
for physical therapy. Take a dose 30 minutes prior to your therapy session to get the optimal results
from therapy with the least amount of discomfort. Pain medication will not be called in after normal
business hours or on the weekends so please ensure you contact the office immediately if you are
running out and in need of a refill going into a weekend or holiday.
Braces/Crutches: Knee braces applied at time of surgery should be worn at all times (even at night!)
and always locked in extension when bearing weight. Your therapist should be the only one to unlock
your brace unless I personally tell you to unlock it. You may remove it to shower and get dressed, and
your therapist will remove it for PT. Otherwise you should be in it at all times. (note, routine knee scopes
will not have a knee brace). Routine knee scopes (meniscectomies) can wean off of crutches as soon as
you can walk comfortably. ACL and ligament reconstructions should stay on crutches until I see you in
clinic.
Driving: You cannot drive until you are off of pain medication and can comfortably brake. Please make
arrangements to have someone drive you until cleared by me.
Wound Care: You may remove your dressing on post operative day #3 (e.g. surgery on Tuesday can
remove dressing on Friday etc.). You may begin showering then. Let the water run over your incision but
do not scrub it or soap it. Gently pat the area dry and recover with a clean dry gauze dressing you can
get at your local drug store. Do not take baths, hot tubs, swim, or submerge the incision until cleared by
me in clinic. You may have “steri strips” over your incision. If so, leave them on if possible until clinic. Do
not put anything on the incision such as Neosporin etc. Be mindful of the signs and symptoms of
infection. Some swelling and redness around an incision is normal, but increased redness, drainage, or
pain is concerning. Please do not hesitate to call the clinic with any questions you may have about
wound care. We will normally remove your sutures or staples at your 2 week post operative visit.
Physical Therapy: I hope in our pre-operative visits, I have stressed to you the importance of physical
therapy. I am a true believer that post operative therapy is the key to a successful outcome after
orthopaedic surgery. You must do your part to ensure a successful outcome, and unfortunately, the old
adage “no pain, no gain” applies here. Please take advantage of modern day pain medication and utilize
your pain medication before and after PT. You will get more out of each session and your overall post
operative recovery will be quicker and easier if your therapist is able to push you a little more through
the first few weeks of post operative pain. It is important to listen to your therapists. These people know
what they are doing and will follow established post operative protocols to slowly guide you to a full
recovery. I cannot stress to you enough the importance of therapy in your recovery process!
Questions: My staff and I are always here for you to answer any questions. Please do not hesitate to call
the office with any questions at 601-987-8200. After hours or on the weekends, myself or one of my
partners will be on call 24-7 to answer any questions you may have.
I am honored that you chose me and my staff to assist you with getting through this difficult time in your
life. Hang in there, stay positive, and set yourself goals for your therapy. Healing from an orthopaedic
surgery is a several month process so don’t get frustrated. Rest assured that I have done my absolute
best in the operating room to help you recover from this injury. With the proper healing time and post
operative rehabilitation, it is my hope that you will have a full recovery. May God bless you in your
recovery and see you in a few weeks!