Total Knee Replacement Recovery

For appropriate patients—those whose x-rays show arthritis in one knee compartment only and who have not responded to conservative treatment—this less invasive approach to knee replacement offers the potential advantages of:

• quicker recovery
• shorter hospital stay
• less post-operative pain
• no physical therapy—a few gentle exercises and progressive walking is the only rehabilitation needed

After surgery, patients typically remain in the hospital: two to four days for total knee replacement and computer-assisted surgery; four to six days following bilateral knee replacement; and overnight for a partial knee replacement. In the hospital, patients receive physical therapy to help them adjust to the prosthesis.

Patients also learn postoperative exercises to perform when they return home. Following bilateral knee replacement surgery, patients typically spend a week at a rehabilitation center before returning home.