Preparing for Total Joint Replacement | 23 What to expect after surgery Monitoring your progress After your surgery, the nursing and surgery teams will closely monitor you. They will: • Check your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and pain level. • Ask you to take deep breaths regularly using a special device to help keep your lungs clear. • Get you out of bed as soon as you safely can. Your physical/occupational therapist will develop a rehabilitation plan with you to get you moving, beginning on the day of surgery. Standing and walking safely will be one of your first goals after surgery. • You may have a catheter (a small tube inserted in your bladder that drains into a bag to collect urine), which will be removed at the surgeon’s direction. Caring for your incision Your care team will regularly check the bandage or dressing covering your incision and will change it when needed. Keep your dressings in place unless instructed by your care team. Managing your pain Usually oral (pill) or intravenous (IV) pain medications are used to relieve your postoperative pain. You might also have an epidural or nerve block catheter to help control pain. Your CRNA will discuss these options with you on the morning of your surgery. After surgery, your nurse will ask you to rate your pain on a scale of 0-10 (0 is no pain and 10 is the worst pain you can imagine) at regular intervals. It is important that you are comfortable enough to change position, cough, take deep breaths, sleep and get out of bed, as these activities are an essential part of your recovery. Oral pain medicines provide long-lasting pain control and fewer side effects such as nausea. The goal will be to get your pain controlled with pills early after surgery, since you will be discharged home with oral pain medicine. No Hurt Hurts Little Bit Hurts Little More Hurts Even More Hurts Whole Lot Hurts Worst www.wongbakerFACES.org ©1983 Wong-Baker FACES® Foundation. Used with permission. Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale ®
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