Patient Information :: Patient & Visitors :: Sancheti Joint Replacement Center

When scheduling your procedure with your surgeon, make sure you obtain an estimate of how long you will be in the hospital. Your Care Manager will help you to get all the information. For any joint replacement surgery you would be needed to stay in the hospital for five to seven days. Make sure to plan accordingly, considering work schedules, holidays, and upcoming family plans.

	Pre Op Fitness: For your surgery you need to come and stay in the hospital for one before the actual surgery, in the mean time you will be referred by your surgeon to a physician and anesthetist for fitness for surgery. If you have a history of medical problems –your surgeon will advise you to obtain pre-operative medical fitness from our physician, which includes a history and physical exam as well as laboratory tests. If your particular medical condition requires it, other tests might be needed before surgery, such as an ECG or a chest x-ray; some patients need additional testing such as a cardiac stress test or 2D Echo. If you stay out of Pune, these tests can be done at your home town. Keep in contact with your Care Manager to get the pre-op fitness done before you get admitted to the hospital so that your time is saved.
	Medications: You may be instructed by your surgeon and/or physician to stop certain medications (such as anticoagulant) several days to a week before your surgery, depending on the medication. In addition, you may be instructed to take some of your medications the morning of surgery even though you won't be able to eat that morning.
	The day before your scheduled procedure, our care managers from JRC will let you know any additional instructions and reminders. You will also be reminded not to eat anything after midnight. This dose not apply to the medications that you are instructed to take in the morning before the surgery with a small sip of water. Talk to your surgeons about any medications you are supposed to take in night before surgery.

The Morning of Surgery Click here

On the morning of your surgery, you will be taken to the pre-operative holding room.

The “Preoperative Room”:
You will be brought to the preoperative room about half hour before your scheduled operative time. You will be asked to change into a hospital gown and assigned a bed in the recovery room. Your vital signs will be recorded over here. From recovery room you will be shifted to the operation theater where the operation will take place. Your family can be with you during this time. Later on they will have to wait in the waiting area outside the Operation Theater complex.

Anesthesia Click here

Your surgery can be performed under two major types of anesthesia: General or Spinal Anesthesia.

General anesthesia involves being put to sleep with medications that are given to you through your intravenous line. You will remain completely asleep and comfortable until the surgery is complete.

Spinal anesthesia for surgery involves an injection in your back that will numb the nerves going to the area involved in your procedure. In joint replacement surgery the anesthesia in generally given in the spine, so that you feel numb below your waist and are fully awake during the entire surgery .You will be comfortably sedated during the surgery. More than 90% of the surgeries at JRC are performed under spinal anesthesia. When you receive this type of anesthesia, you will feel no pain during the surgery. As a result, you will need to receive less sedative and pain medication, which will make your recovery faster and you will feel more comfortable and have less side effects such as sleepiness and nausea. In addition, the anesthesia will last for several hours after the procedure, significantly reducing your pain and smoothing the transition to oral pain medications. Epidural Anesthesia is added to spinal anesthesia procedure to make you pain free after the surgery. The medication will be injected through the epidural tube which will remain in the back for 2 days. Your anesthetists will make sure that you remain pain free during and after surgery.

The Operation Theater and High Dependency Unit Click here

Anesthesia/Surgery:
After your consultation with the anesthesiologist, you will be taken to the operating room by a nurse. Once there, your anesthesiologist will put on standard monitors, such as a blood pressure cuff and ECG leads, and will begin giving you medicines which will make surgery comfortable for you. One of the forms of anesthesia discussed above will be administered, and the surgery will begin. Actual surgery takes approximately one hour. Prior to surgery one hour is required for anesthesia and preparing the body part (Knee, hip etc) for surgery. Another half hour is required after the surgery for dressing, pain management protocol and shifting to the HDU. An anesthesiologist will be with you the entire time. When the surgery is complete, your surgeon will speak with your family and you will be taken to the high dependency unit of JRC.

High Dependency Unit (Recovery Room): We have a highly experienced and trained intensive staff working round the clock in the HDU of our hospital to prevent any untoward event. In the H.D.U, you will fully awaken from the sedation and will eventually be given small sips of water after 4 to 6 hours of surgery. You could experience vomiting or nausea and these are the normal side effects of anesthesia. You will also notice drain tube, epidural and urinary catheters and intravenous fluid line. Your doctor or someone from his team will come by and speak with you about the surgery and follow-up plan. After the surgery you will be staying in the hospital for a few days, you will be assigned a room and will go there early the next morning. While still in the H.D.U, your pain will be controlled with the infusion catheter, or oral pain medications.

Recovering in the Hospital Click here

	Physiotherapy: The recovery process will be an active one. You will likely begin working with a physiotherapist the day after your surgery. This is an important part of your recovery that will allow you to get back to your normal activities as soon as possible.
	Pain Management: We have an experienced and highly competent Pain Management Team in our hospital working round the clock to keep the patients pain free after their surgery, this team is under strict supervision from the anesthesiologist.
	Medicine Consultant: The physician who saw you before your surgery will see you while you are in the hospital and will be available to address medical issues when needed. The physician will visit you each day and will keep a close look about your progress in the hospital. If you have a question appropriate for the medical consultant, you can either call him/her directly, or you can ask your nurse to contact the consultant for you.

During all this process you can get in contact with your Care Manager for any assistance. After five to seven days of stay in the hospital, you will be discharged home after removing your stitches, likely with a prescription for pain medication, a prescription for physiotherapy, and a follow-up appointment with your surgeon.

Rights & Responsibilities Of The Patient Click here

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