What can I expect during the hospital stay?

On the morning of surgery, report to the Admission Department at the main entrance of the hospital.

• You will be taken from there to the pre-operative area where the nurses will prepare you for surgery.
• Your family can accompany you to the pre-operative area
• Your family can wait in the surgical waiting area while you proceed to the operating room

In the operating room:

• The anesthesia team will prepare you for surgery and will administer anesthesia
• Anesthesia may be spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia
• Your surgical team will inject numbing medication around your joint that will help substantially with your pain relief after the surgery
• Once your surgery is complete the surgical team will speak with your family to review the procedure

Recovery room:

• After the surgery you will be transported to the recovery room
• You will be there approximately one to one and a half hours before you are transferred to the Orthopaedic unit

Orthopaedic unit:

• The nurses will provide you pain medications, monitor your progress, provide eating instructions, and address any other needs
• A physician assistant monitors the progress of patients in the hospital and helps with discharge planning.
• You will also see the orthopaedic residents and your surgeon on a daily basis