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Welcome to the Joint Replacement Program at Norton King’s Daughters’ Health. Our team of orthopedic surgeons, nurses, and therapists specialize in joint replacement to provide you with an exceptional experience from start to finish. As we like to say, It’s your life. Go live it!
Once a patient and his or her physician decides that joint replacement surgery is needed, the program begins. The process includes:
Team members review medications and provide a checklist for the morning of surgery. Patients will be asked to select a coach (often a spouse, relative or close friend) who will assist them after surgery. Once our surgeons are completed, patients will be moved to a private room on the fourth floor. Nurses specially trained in joint replacement then help patients begin recovery. Physical therapists will arrive to discuss specific targets and goals prior to discharge. Learn more about our physical therapy program. Follow-up appointments with the physician will be scheduled, along with outpatient therapy sessions.
Most candidates for joint replacement surgery are individuals with chronic joint pain that keeps them from enjoying their favorite activities or that interferes with their ability to complete activities of daily living. The goal of joint replacement surgery is to relieve pain and restore the patient’s ability to enjoy activities.
Advances in technology and surgery techniques—including anterior-approach hip replacement and muscle-sparing knee replacement—have significantly reduced recovery time for most patients. Most patients undergoing a knee or hip replacement surgery walk the same day of their surgery, and most return home in one or two days. These new procedures help limit postoperative pain.
With a coordinated program, patients are actively involved with their care from the moment they decide to have surgery. It also helps that our orthopedic physicians, nurses and therapists are all trained in joint replacement care and procedures. This helps them provide you with the best care and achieve the best possible outcome.
Patients begin physical therapy (rehabilitation) while at the hospital and continue outpatient therapy after discharge. From start to finish, patients know what to expect throughout the process. Care plans include everything from preoperative testing to postoperative therapy and follow-up visits with the orthopedic surgeon.
Our Joint Replacement Program coordinator helps guide patients through the process. With the orthopedic surgeons and pre-surgery testing located inside the Main Campus Medical Building and adjacent to the hospital, patients in the program access care at one location.
All patients entering the Orthopedic Joint Replacement Program receive a Joint Replacement Notebook. It’s an educational and informational tool for patients and family members—from the physicians, nurses, therapists and other members of your joint replacement team.
Patients should bring the notebook to all of their appointments and to the hospital for surgery. Members of the joint replacement team will provide updates throughout the process. The notebook is a resource with phone numbers, appointment dates and guidelines for care and recovery after surgery. It contains answers to a variety of frequently asked questions (FAQs), as well as a variety of exercises to be completed at home. It also contains safety tips for every room in your house.
Select an appointment date and time from available spots listed below.