While most of the focus following a knee replacement procedure is on how you can strengthen your knee and restore as much physical function as possible, a portion of your post-op protocol will be focused on caring for your incision site. Following a knee replacement operation, you’ll have a 4-6 inch scar above your knee that is closed with sutures or stitches, and it’s going to take some time for the skin to heal and close off the surgical site. If you’re not careful while this healing is taking place, the skin can break open or you can develop an infection.
In today’s blog, we take a closer look at some of the best ways to care for your incision site following total knee replacement.
Cleaning Your Incision After Total Knee Replacement
As we mention in a number of our blogs, please remember that although we have a wealth of experience performing knee replacement operations, the following remains general advice. For the best wound care instructions, talk to the surgeon who is performing your replacement operation.
While you are at the surgical center, your care team will handle any dressing changes that are necessary. They will go over some instructions for removing and replacing your bandages after discharge, so pay attention to what they are doing and how they are covering the incision site. Some places may tell you to keep the dressing as is until your follow up appointment unless there is noticeable drainage, while others will tell you to change it at regular intervals until your follow up appointment. Follow those instructions.
When changing your dressing, make sure you take a minute to examine the incision site and look for signs of an infection. After a major surgery, it’s completely normal to have certain symptoms that are the result of the trauma of surgery. For example, swelling, bruising, discoloration and some mild redness along the incision line is to be expected. However if you notice any of these symptoms when changing your dressing, talk to your care team, because they may be indicating the presence of an infection:
- A foul odor
- Discolored discharge
- Significant drainage
- A temperature over 101.4
- Moderate to severe pain at the incision site
Sutures are typically removed at your follow up appointment, which can be anywhere from 1-4 weeks post-op depending on how the skin is healing. Following suture removal, you’ll likely be able to shower without covering the knee, although you should not submerge the knee in water until you’ve been cleared by your surgeon, which is usually about four weeks after your surgery. After showering, you’ll want to carefully dab the incision site to ensure it is clean and dry. You do not want to leave the site wet, as this can weaken the recovering skin and lead to wound opening or an infection.
Over the next couple of weeks, continue to monitor your incision site and change your dressing as recommended by your surgeon, again looking for any signs of an issue. If at any point the incision site reopens or you suspect that something isn’t going as expected with your site healing, contact your surgeon.
Changing your dressing as instructed, watching for signs of an infection and avoiding certain activities that could jeopardize the integrity of your recovering incision site are the three main things you should do over the first month or two following your knee replacement operation. If you can do these things and you stick to your physical therapy recommendations, we’re confident that you’ll experience great healing and functional improvements. For more information, or for questions about your knee discomfort, reach out to Dr. Botero’s office today.
