Surgery FAQs

Once your surgery is scheduled, the office provides the specific instructions you need — including any pre-operative testing, what to do about the medicines you already take, and when to stop eating and drinking beforehand. Follow those instructions exactly; they are set for you and for the procedure you are having.

It also helps to prepare at home before the day arrives: arrange your ride, set up a place to rest with the operated limb supported, and think through stairs, bathing, and anything you normally do that will be harder for the first week.

Yes. You cannot drive yourself home after anesthesia or sedation, so arrange in advance for someone to take you. It is also a good idea to have someone with you for the first night.

It helps to bring a photo ID and your insurance information, a list of the medicines you take, and any imaging or records from other providers if you have them — particularly X-rays or an MRI of the area being evaluated.

Orthopedic ONE will confirm anything else you need when your appointment is scheduled.

Some pain is expected. The goal is pain that is controlled and manageable rather than pain that is entirely gone. Some soreness is expected as you heal; worsening or uncontrolled pain is not — tell your care team.

Take only the medicines your surgical team prescribed or told you to take, exactly as they directed. If you have a question about any medicine, ask your surgical team or the prescriber. If your pain is not reasonably controlled, or it is worsening rather than gradually improving, contact the office.

Mild warmth around the site, a small amount of redness right at the suture line, a little drainage in the first days, numbness in the skin near the incision, bruising that tracks downward with gravity, and a low-grade temperature in the first week are all common.

The general guide to instructions after surgery describes these in more detail, along with what should be reported.

Call promptly for redness that is spreading rather than settling, drainage that continues or increases, a fever higher or more persistent than your team told you to expect, shaking chills, pain that is escalating, or new calf pain or swelling.

For a medical emergency — including sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, or bleeding that does not stop — call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Driving is not decided by how many days have passed. It depends on which procedure you had and which side was operated on, whether you are wearing a brace or sling, whether you are taking medicine that affects alertness or reaction time, and whether you can control the vehicle safely — including making a sudden emergency stop without hesitating because of pain.

Do not drive while taking prescription pain medicine that makes you drowsy. Ask your surgeon to clear you before you start driving again, rather than deciding on your own that enough time has passed.

This depends on the procedure, how your symptoms are settling, the restrictions you were given, and what the day actually demands of you. Sedentary work or classroom attendance is usually possible well before physical work, lifting, or being on your feet all day.

Your surgical team can document your restrictions for an employer or a school, and will adjust them as you progress. Ask at your appointment rather than assuming, particularly if your job involves lifting, climbing, or driving.

Return to sport is based on meeting functional criteria — strength, motion, control, and confidence in the limb — rather than on a date. The aim is to return when the whole body is ready, not only the part that was operated on.

Your surgeon and physical therapist make that decision with you, using the milestones in the rehabilitation protocol selected for your procedure.