How to Talk to a Doctor About Knee Surgery

Today's doctors have an abundance of sophisticated tools at their disposal. Conversation with the patient remains one of the most important ways a doctor can come to a correct diagnosis of a problem. Knowing how to talk to your doctor about your knee surgery can shorten the diagnostic process and ensure that the most effective therapy for the problem is chosen.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Notebook

Talk Effectively to a Doctor About Knee Surgery

1. Start a notebook and write down how your knee feels, when it feels that way and, if possible, what made it feel that way.

2. Use descriptive terms when talking about your pain and its onset. Words like pop, grind and sandy all give the doctor clues about what is wrong with your knee.

3. Give locations for your pain. A pain that starts in the back of the knee may signify something completely different from one that starts at the side or the front of the knee or from inside of the kneecap.

4. Recognize pain that seems to come from other areas in the body may be a result of a problem with your knees. Thigh pain, ankle pain and back pain can all be related to knee problems.

5. Explore the anatomy of the knee. Knowing how the knee is put together will help you understand the different procedures your doctor may recommend.

6. Talk to your doctor about what you can expect from surgery. Many people have unrealistic goals when approaching arthroscopy or knee replacement.

7. Ask to look at actual replacement joints. Seeing the mechanism can help you better understand how it will function in your body.

8. Tell the doctor what happens to your knee. You might say that it locks up, gets too stiff to move or gives way under weight.

9. Understand that arthroscopic surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that deals mainly with torn ligaments and cartilage.

10. Acknowledge that knee replacement is major surgery done primarily for serious wear and tear to the joint done by degenerative disease and/or serious injury.

11. Discuss pain management and commitment to physical therapy with your doctor. People are often unprepared for the amount of pain encountered during recovery from knee surgery and the rehabilitation process.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't decide what your problem is before you walk into the doctor's office.
• Don't rule out any form of therapy before speaking with your doctor.
• Keep in mind that if you ignore your knee pain long enough, you can do damage to your other knee as well, since it has to compensate for the bad knee.

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[marlo]

on 5/20/2008 the blood has stopped going to my knee and the bones are dead. my doctor says stay off it and keep ice on it which i have. its still excruciating pain, i cant bend it at all, i move it and it kills. the doctor wants me to wait 2 more weeks and rest it, its not him feeling this pain, and its getting worse not better. what do you suggest?