Once a date is fixed for a knee or hip replacement, most of the preparation that matters is unglamorous and practical. None of it is complicated, but doing it in advance makes the first fortnight at home considerably easier.
In the weeks before
Get your general health in order
Your surgeon and physician will guide this specifically, but the recurring themes are:
- Diabetes control. Blood sugar influences wound healing and infection risk, and is worth optimising well before the date rather than in the final week.
- Stopping smoking. Smoking affects healing. Stopping even a few weeks before surgery is worthwhile.
- Dental check. Untreated dental infection is a source of bacteria that can settle in a new joint. If you need dental work, have it done before surgery, not after.
- Skin. Tell your surgeon about any cuts, boils, ulcers or infected areas — especially on the leg being operated on.
- Weight. Where there is time and it is safe for you, reducing weight lightens the load on the new joint and can reduce surgical risk.
Bring your medicine list
Not the names you remember — the actual strips or a written list, including anything from other doctors, plus supplements and ayurvedic preparations. Blood thinners, diabetes medication and some arthritis drugs may need to be adjusted or stopped before surgery, and that instruction has to come from your doctors rather than from a website.
Start exercises before, not after
Strengthening the muscles around the joint before surgery — often called prehabilitation — gives you a better starting point afterwards. Ask for the specific exercises at your pre-operative visit.
Preparing the house
You will be walking, with support, sooner than most people expect, but you will be moving more carefully for a few weeks. Worth arranging in advance:
- A firm, higher chair with armrests, to make standing up easier. Low sofas are the enemy of a new hip or knee.
- Bathroom safety. A non-slip mat, and a raised toilet seat or commode chair if you have Indian-style toilets — worth sorting before, not after.
- Clear floor paths. Loose rugs, wires and clutter in the walking route are the usual causes of a fall at home.
- Everyday items at waist height so you are not reaching up or bending down.
- Sleeping arrangements. If your bedroom is upstairs, consider arranging a bed on the ground floor for the first couple of weeks.
- Someone at home. Arrange help for at least the first week or two — meals, shopping, and company for physiotherapy.
What to bring to hospital
- All X-rays, MRI films and reports — including old ones
- Your medicine list and current strips
- Loose, comfortable clothing and non-slip footwear with a firm back — not loose chappals
- Insurance papers and ID
- Spectacles, hearing aids and dentures if you use them
- A phone charger with a long cable
What recovery realistically looks like
Every patient differs, and your surgeon will give you a plan specific to your case — but the broad shape is worth knowing in advance.
You will usually be helped to stand and walk with support very soon after surgery, guided by the physiotherapy team. Discomfort in the first days is expected and is managed actively. Swelling around a new knee is normal and can persist for weeks to months, often more noticeable at the end of the day.
Progress is measured in weeks, not days — first walking indoors, then gradually further, then stairs, then the everyday activities that matter to you. Exercises continue at home well beyond the point at which the joint starts feeling better. This is the part patients most often stop too early, and it is the part that determines how the joint feels in six months.
Questions worth asking before you sign
- Why this operation rather than continuing non-surgical treatment?
- Total or partial replacement, and why?
- What are the risks in my particular case?
- How long in hospital, and what support will I need at home?
- When can I expect to walk unaided, drive, climb stairs, travel?
- What does the physiotherapy programme involve, and where will I do it?
- What should make me call you after I go home?
A surgeon should welcome these questions. If the answers feel rushed, ask again — this is an elective operation, and you are entitled to understand it before agreeing to it.
Consultations at Sahyadri (Deccan), Bharati Vidyapeeth (Katraj) and Apollo (Swargate).
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