18 Points: Checklist for your operation
- 1. Schedule an appointment at our outpatient clinic, referral by your orthopedist or surgeon. Important for patients residing in Germany with compulsory insurance: Please don't forget the referral slip and your insurance ID card.
- 2. Diagnosis Outpatient clinic check-up with examination, x-rays if necessary, diagnosis, discussion of therapeutic possibilities. Please bring along current and, if available, older x-rays as well as any other relevant diagnostic findings.
- 3. Informed consent If surgery is needed, information about the operation, the scheduled week for the operation, if applicable the dates arranged for preliminary discussion and blood donation. The referring doctor receives all relevant data in an informative letter.
- 4. Possible blood donation If applicable appointment with the blood donation department, usually the same day as the first visit. Here you will also receive a questionnaire concerning anaesthesia.
- 5. Possible infection If applicable infection sites have to be cured, especially tooth disease, treament of circulatory disease, varicose veins before knee surgery.
- 7. Prescription drugs If you take blood thinning medication or medication that affects blood flow (e.g. ASS, aspirin, Colfarit, Marcumar, Warfarin etc.) it has to be stopped well before surgery. Please talk to your family doctor or us about this to determine the right time for the possible change in medication.
- 8. Arrival You will normally be admitted to the hospital the day before surgery.
Please bring with you:
+ Your medical records (medication, doctors letters
and findings etc.)
+ Your insurance card (if applicable)
+ Referral for in-patient treatment by your home physician
(only for patients residing in Germany)
+ The address of your insurance company
+ The address of your family doctor
+ The address of your referring orthopaedic consultant
(if applicable)
+ Crutches or other walking aids, if you already have them - 9. Admission The first stop in our clinic should be the hospital admission department (please ask at the front desk). Keep your referral slip (patients resident in Germany only) and your insurance card handy. You will then be shown to our in-patient admission centre, which is located right next to Mr Fulghum's offices on floor 0 in the south wing.
- 10. Please bring with you
Apart from your personal belongings we recommend you bring the following with you:
+ Dressing gown or bathrobe
+ pyjamas/nightdress
+ sweat shirt and jogging pants with wide cut at the ankles
for easy entry
+ sturdy closed shoes with non-slip rubber soles,
preferably slip-ons
+ If you wear shoes with an alignment correction please also
bring shoes that do not have this correction on the soles
+ Very long shoe horn
+ long pair of tongs (e.g. barbecue tongs)
+ swimming costume or trunks
+ any medical devices you currently use (walking aids etc.)
+ if possible and applicable bring hand towels, mouthglass,
containers for dentures, contact lenses etc. with you
- 11. Preparation for surgery Preparations for the operation will be carried out on the day you are admitted. If there are no diagnostic findings that make further examinations necessary, surgery will normally take place on the following day.
- 12. Hospital stay For joint replacement surgery you should expect to be at the centre for 6 to 10 days, with another optional 21 days in a rehabilitation centre.
- 13. Anaesthesia Surgery is performed, in line with the pre-operative findings and your wishes, with general or partial anaesthesia. The anaesthetist will discuss this with you in detail. Please bring along the completed anaesthaesia form you received on your first visit.
- 14. After surgery You will usually get out of bed one day after a joint replacement operation and make your first attempts to walk using crutches. These activities will be gradually increased in the following weeks. You will be free of crutches about 3 to 6 weeks after your operation.
- 15. Postoperative care We will plan your stay at an inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation centre with you during your stay as an in-patient, registering you at the selected clinic, since the right post-operative treatment is as important as the operation itself. There are a number of rehabilitation centres available. We generally recommend the Dr. Beger Clinic in Garmisch-Partenkirchen because their treatments are carried out in close coordination with our wishes and we can visit you there twice a week.
- 16. Physiotherapy After your inpatient stay and your rehabilitation you will usually be in need of further physiotherapy for pain-free use of your new joint. Often a build-up of the muscles strained and impaired by the osteoarthrosis with improvement of coordination, power and stretching is necessary. You can attain this yourself but the help of an experienced physiotherapist is often helpful. For prolonged improvement the attendance of a rehabilitation-sports course can be advisable.
- 17. Disability We will normally give you a medical disability certificate for a period of two to four months following joint replacement.
- 18. Further check-ups The first check-up as an out-patient takes place one year after surgery. Further check-ups at five-year intervals are advisable. Regular checking by your surgeon can be important for the longest possible, trouble-free functioning of your joint: He can see possible changes early, at the onset, and if necessary treat them.
