Knee conditions

Knee arthroscopy – otherwise known as keyhole surgery – is the most common operation in orthopaedic medicine.

Usually performed as a day case, and involving just two small cuts in the knee, it’s as fast and low-impact as surgery gets. But what about the recovery time?

The quick answer is that you can, potentially, be back to normal activities 2 weeks after keyhole knee surgery. The longer answer? It very much depends on why you’re having the surgery.

Let’s dive into the details…

What is knee arthroscopy?

Keyhole surgery for knees usually involves two devices: a miniature camera probe (an arthroscope) to view the inside of the knee and some form of micro instrument, such as forceps or scissors. The probe is usually inserted through an incision on the outer (lateral) side of your knee. The instrument travels into the joint through the other cut, normally on the inner (medial) side. In almost all cases, this happens under a general anaesthetic.

The quick answer

With an arthroscopy, your surgical footprint is much smaller than it would be in open surgery. Those two cuts are typically just 6mm to 1cm long. That means significantly less disruption to tissues, which means less pain after the operation and, of course, faster healing time.

So, in an ideal scenario, your arthroscopy timeline could look something like this:

Day 1 – Operation in the morning, home in the afternoon

Days 2–5 – Ready to drive again (if you can comfortably make an emergency stop)

2 Weeks – Cuts healed and return to regular daily activities

4 Weeks – Back to light sports and exercise

The detailed timeline

Here’s how that optimal recovery breaks down:

Phase 1: The first 24 hours

A standard arthroscopy typically lasts about 30 minutes to an hour. Afterwards, the nursing team will take you back to the ward to wake up and recover. You might have an appointment with a physiotherapist in the hospital before you leave. After that, usually within three hours or so of surgery, you’re free to go. (Keep in mind that, since the operation involves a general anaesthetic, you won’t be able to drive yourself home.)

Phase 2: Days 2-5

Since you’ve had a general anaesthetic, you’re likely to feel tired and a bit light-headed for a day or so. After that, your main focus will be on managing swelling and pain. You can do this with the RICE protocol – Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. That means keeping your leg raised and applying ice packs for 10-20 minutes, a few times a day. Pain is usually mild to moderate after keyhole surgery. You can generally manage it with co-codamol for the first few days, before transitioning to paracetamol or ibuprofen if you need it.

Phase 3: Weeks 1-4

Over those first five days, you’ll need to keep your dressings dry while the wound heals. After about a week, however, you should be able to remove them. It usually takes about 1-2 weeks for the incisions to heal up, and you should start to feel the benefits within a fortnight or so. That’s not a hard-and-fast rule, though, and it can take longer (see below). As you feel better, you’ll be able to gradually get back to everyday routines and, eventually, your regular exercise. We will usually see you for a follow-up appointment six weeks after surgery.

The caveat: what happens inside matters

With all that said, it’s important to remember that an arthroscopy is the technique, not the treatment. So your exact recovery timeline is going to be dictated by a) what’s going on inside your knee and b) how your surgeon repairs it during the operation…

The standard treatments

Nowadays, standard arthroscopies are usually performed for two main reasons: removing loose bodies and repairing meniscus tears.

• Loose bodies are fragments of cartilage or bone that can cause irritation and jamming in the joint. We can use keyhole surgery to locate and remove these from the tissues in your knee.
• A meniscal tear is when you damage the major cushioning cartilage in the centre of your knee. Using an arthroscope, we can trim away the torn portion of cartilage, leaving the rest of the meniscus in place (this is known as a partial meniscectomy).

Having either of these treatments? Assuming there are no other complications in your joint, we’d expect you to follow that standard recovery timeline above. That is, one to two weeks for wound healing and full recovery after about a month.

The more complicated treatments

It would be nice if every knee followed this timeline – but of course that’s not always the case! Some issues can complicate your treatment and make your recovery journey a little longer:

Significant meniscal damage – If you have a longer meniscal tear, or if it extends into the inner “white zone” portion of the cartilage where there’s little blood supply, you may need a full meniscal repair. This can still be done with keyhole surgery, but it’s a more complicated operation with an extended rehab and recovery time. In fact it can take six months to a year to feel the full benefits of a meniscus repair.

Existing arthritis – The other thing that can complicate your recovery after keyhole surgery is arthritis. Many of us have long-term damage in our cartilage. If it’s relatively mild, it may cause no pain or functional problems at all. But if the wear and tear is more extensive, it can make your recovery more unpredictable. In those cases, removing loose bodies or trimming your meniscus may not fully resolve the problem. We’ll need to keep an eye on your symptoms, and your recovery timeline could be longer – perhaps 12 to 14 weeks post-surgery before things really return to normal.

How to help your recovery time

While the nursing team will look after you in hospital, there are a few simple ways you can take control of your own healing once you get home. First, as we mentioned earlier, ice and elevate regularly by resting your leg on a comfortable pillow and applying a cloth-wrapped ice pack for 10-20 minutes, three to four times a day, to keep joint and stiffness to a minimum. Secondly, be consistent with your physio by sticking daily to the knee-bending and muscle-strengthening routines you’ve been given by your therapist. This will help you rebuild muscle support and prevent scar tissue from tightening up your joint.

Support when you need it

Are you due to have a knee arthroscopy, or wondering if keyhole surgery could help resolve your persistent joint pain? Our team is always here to guide you through your options and put your mind at rest. Get in touch with us today to arrange a consultation with Mr Bailey.

The above information is for guidance only. Always take direct advice from your doctor or consultant about how to care for your knee before and after surgery.

Friends and patients often ask us how technology is changing knee care. Sometimes it’s about knee replacements – are the implants getting better? Is pain-relief science improving? Sometimes it’s about the wider picture – what are the big new developments on the horizon? Will we ever see a cure for arthritis?

They’re great questions. And the good news is that, yes, the outlook for orthopaedic medicine is very exciting at the moment. The technologies available to us are advancing all the time, and so is the effectiveness of our treatments.

Twenty years ago, for example, orthopaedic clinics were filled with patients suffering from rheumatoid disease. Now, thanks to the latest Anti-TNF drugs – medicines that lower inflammation and prevent immune system damage – those numbers have plummeted.

So what are the most promising developments heading our way in the next few years? Here are four emerging technologies that, we think, are worth keeping an eye on.

Cartilage regeneration

Hyaline cartilage, as you may know, is the substance on bone endings that helps joints move without pain and friction. When injury or long-term damage wears away this material, the body can’t simply grow it back again because hyaline cartilage lacks its own blood supply. So the smooth covering becomes permanently depleted (osteoarthritis).

Regenerating hyaline cartilage is extremely difficult, but several research teams around the world are now working on ways to make it happen. One of the most promising is at Stanford University. Scientists there have developed an injectable molecule that blocks “15-PGDH”, an ageing enzyme involved in preventing tissue repair. Early trials have been very encouraging. “The [molecule] causes a dramatic regeneration of cartilage beyond that reported in response to any other drug or intervention,” says one of the researchers.

Read more: Have scientists just found a way to regrow knee cartilage?

Smart knee implants

The artificial implants we use in knee replacements today are lighter, stronger and, crucially, more anatomical than ever before. They feel more natural in the joint and more comfortable to use, and those things are making a discernible difference to patients’ rehab and recovery after surgery.

Smart knees are a newer evolution of the modern implant. Just like smartphones, they have built-in sensors to pick up health-related data in the user. The latest versions include micro-sensors inside the stem extension of the shin bone to record metrics like step count, cadence, range of motion and stride length. This data feeds back to a phone app, where it can be reviewed by both the patient and their surgeon. As they improve, we expect these types of devices to include other metrics like joint load, temperature (to catch infections) and the stability of implant components.

Read on: Are “smart knees” the future of knee replacements?

Weight loss drugs

Not so much an on-the-horizon development as one that’s already with us… Medicines like Wegovy and Mounjaro have upended the way patients approach weight loss. The reason this is significant for knees is because weight plays a critical role in joint pain and osteoarthritis.

Excess weight puts huge pressure on a knee that is already damaged and painful. In the past, that sometimes meant referring patients for bariatric surgery before they could undergo the knee operation they needed. Now, people are shedding the pounds without that extra need for invasive surgery. There are caveats to bear in mind with weight loss drugs, but on the face of it this is good news for arthritis sufferers.

Read more: Can weight loss drugs like Wegovy reduce arthritis knee pain?

Pain relief treatments

A “life-changing, once-a-month jab” that offers hope to long-term osteoarthritis sufferers? That was the headline question that greeted news of “LEVI-04”, a first-of-its-kind medicine that targets the nerves involved in arthritis-related pain. Where many other pain-relieving drugs have focused on blocking pain signals completely, LEVI-04 uses an inhibitor chemical to “scavenge” the excess neurotrophins (proteins involved in nerve cell growth) that are present in chronically painful joints.

After an initial trial involving some 500 people with knee arthritis, patients who were given the injections experienced a 50% drop in pain levels after four months. “I can’t quite believe how good the results are,” the lead researcher from Leeds University said at the time.

Read more: A “game-changing” treatment for knee arthritis pain?

Are you worried about an issue with your knees, or in need of advice and further investigation? We’re here to help you get the support you need. You can book an appointment with Mr Bailey on our website, or by calling us direct on 01962 826107.

Susan Marks, a 59-year-old teacher from Wales, had reached the end of her tether.

Seven years earlier, she had been involved in a car crash. The accident caused significant damage to both of her knees, leaving her with acute and ongoing knee pain.

“My pain had got to a level where I was using a stick and finding it difficult to walk the dog,” she told reporters earlier this year.

As X-rays later showed, Susan also had end-stage arthritis in both knee joints. But when she visited her GP to request a knee replacement, there was a problem.

“They said I wouldn’t get on a list because I was too young,” she explains. “They said there was nothing they could do other than give me painkillers.”

In desperation, Susan eventually opted to fly to Lithuania for a private knee replacement. This is one reason why her story made headlines earlier this year: “Woman travels to Lithuania for knee surgery after ‘being told she was too young for NHS op’.” (ITV News)

But her experience also raises some important questions about age and knee replacements. Why would UK doctors say she wasn’t old enough for the operation? And did they have a point?

How young is “too young”?

If you look at the statistics for knee replacements, you’ll see the average patient is around retirement age. The UK’s National Joint Registry (NJR) is one of the best databases in the world for the topic. It says the median age of a patient having a total knee replacement is 70 (though patients having a partial replacement were “typically six years younger.”) Of the 1.8 million people in the dataset, less than 7% are under 55. So, statistically at least, Susan was unusually young when she first requested the operation, in her early 50s.

Why would doctors say you’re “too young” for a knee replacement?

It’s not uncommon to hear doctors say a patient is too young for replacement surgery. Indeed, some surgeons say they won’t perform the operation on people below the age of 60. There are two main reasons for this:

Implant lifespan – Although modern artificial knee joints are very strong, normal daily activities still cause significant wear and tear to the knee over time. Eventually, the implant will wear out. We tend to say the lifespan of an artificial knee will be between 15 and 20 years.

Revision risk – Because artificial knees don’t last forever, the chances of your implant wearing out obviously rise the younger you are. If you’re 50 when you have the operation, you might be looking at a revision knee replacement at 65 or 70. Also, younger people tend to place more daily wear on their knees, reducing the implant’s longevity.

What’s the issue with knee revision?

Knee revision is an effective operation, but it isn’t the same as having a first-time replacement. For a start, it’s a longer and more complicated operation, especially if the old implant is being replaced. Surgery involves removing more bone material to accommodate the new implant. The surgeon may also need to place stems into the bone endings to ensure a secure fix. It takes longer to recover from the operation and, overall, the revision implant typically has a shorter lifespan that the original. (You can find out more about how revision surgery works in this blog: What is revision knee replacement?)

But what if you “can’t manage much longer”? Do you still have to wait?

In her interviews at the time, Susan felt she had reached the end of the road with her injured knees. “I couldn’t have managed much longer,” she explained.

When patients ask us about their suitability for a knee replacement, we explain that it’s reserved for the most severe knee cases. But then the question is: what is severe? Essentially, it means:

• Serious cartilage damage – where injury or osteoarthritis has caused significant wear to the cartilage on bone endings (“bone-on-bone” or “end-stage” arthritis)
• Severe, ongoing pain – the pain feels persistent, or even constant, and is becoming overwhelming; it interferes with daily life and makes it difficult to sleep
• Significant impact on daily activities – the pain or stiffness is making it hard or impossible to do basic movements like walking, climbing steps or descending stairs

If these things describe your own situation – if you feel the pain is making it impossible to cope – then it’s hard to argue that your age should be a barrier to knee replacement until you turn 60. That’s not to say age is irrelevant. It’s a vital consideration, and all patients need to be fully informed about the risks and downsides of early knee replacement.

But, clearly, there’s a balance to be struck between immediate need and long-term wellbeing – particularly as implant technology improves and the lifespan of artificial knees gets longer. The bottom line is that knee replacement is a case-by-case treatment. It needs to be carefully debated by you and your surgeon. If that’s something we can help you with, please get in touch. We’d be very happy to help you weigh up the options and make the right choice for your knee pain.

For further reading

Do I need a knee replacement?

Am I too young for a knee replacement?

What are the alternatives to knee replacement?

How long does a knee replacement last?

What can the National Joint Registry tell you about knee replacements?

If you’re facing ACL reconstruction – or have recently had the operation – you probably know that ACL rehab is a bit of a balancing act.

On the one hand, you want to keep your knee active so you can maximise your recovery timeline. But on the other hand, there are dangers in overdoing it – especially in the early stages.

So what does “overdoing it” look like, how would you know if you were putting your ACL under excessive strain, and what does a well-balanced ACL rehab look like? Here’s our take…

What’s actually happening in your knee after ACL surgery?

An ACL reconstruction is a significant operation. The surgeon will remove your torn ligament and create a series of tiny holes in your femur and tibia bones. They will then fashion a graft (usually a piece of your hamstring), stretch it tight across the joint space and secure it to those holes.

The end result is a good, strong substitute ACL. But it will take time, rest and a carefully-controlled programme of physiotherapy to bring it to its full strength. We generally say it takes 6 months for the graft to heal into the bone tunnels and develop a healthy blood supply, and 9 months or more to reach full strength.

Where do patients typically go wrong?

On the whole, people who have ACL reconstructions tend to be young and active. If they make a mistake with their rehab, it’s rarely because they fail to keep up with their physio exercises. It’s usually the opposite: they tend to push too hard and fast in the early stages because they want to rebuild strength as soon as possible.

But this risks irritating the graft just as the tissues are healing and remodelling themselves, generating fresh inflammation that will actually break down the collagen growth you’re trying to encourage. It also runs the risk of loosening that crucial fixation to the bone. If you’re ambitious and sporty, putting your body to the test comes naturally. But for the first three months after ACL surgery, and certainly for the first few weeks, rest and protection are more important than pushing your limits.

A measured ACL recovery will look more like this…

The first 3 months: keep it in-line

Immediately after surgery, you’ll focus on keeping your leg rested and straight (see Bethany’s rehab journey, below). From there, you’ll progress to crutches and gentle mobility exercises – movements like lifting your heel up to your bottom or raising your leg while straight. The key is to keep the movement “in line”, meaning a straight trajectory (rather than from side to side or in rotation). Your early-stage ACL graft won’t tolerate extremes of movement, like twisting, turning and over-bending. You should also avoid exercising with heavy loads, for instance doing lunges with weights.

Months 3 to 6: progression without surprises

Around the three-month mark, most patients are able to progress to some running exercises. But it will be slow and gentle at first. We usually recommend a treadmill, where the going is flat and there are no unexpected bumps to contend with. By six months, you should be able to transition to light outdoor running (again, prioritising flat, predictable surfaces where there’s less risk of tripping). You want to avoid sudden, out-of-the-blue movements and activities. Start small and build up gradually. Your knee should begin to feel a lot stronger; however, even if it feels perfect, keep in mind that it hasn’t yet fully healed. Pushing yourself at this stage might feel like commitment. Biologically, it isn’t.

Months 9 and beyond: reaching full strength

Nine months is generally when we would expect your ACL to be fully healed (though for some patients, it can take longer). Your physiotherapist will give you guidance here, but this is usually the safest point to return to regular sporting activities, high-level training and heavier-loading exercises (like box jumps, pivoting, bounding). A rule of thumb is for your new knee to reach 90% of the strength and functional capacity of the uninjured knee. This is known as a Limb Symmetry Index (LSI) of 90% or greater. This is a good measure of how your new knee will stay secure, stable and injury free.

Red flags: how your knee tells you to stop

The good thing about our bodies is that they’re generally very good at signalling their limits – and when we might have overreached them. As you work on your post-operation rehab, these are some common red flags to be conscious of:

• Sharp or lingering pain – mild muscle soreness that fades with rest is a normal part of post-exercise recovery. Sharp stabbing pain – or a throbbing ache that lingers – is a warning to stop the activity and rest before you do serious damage.
• Significant swelling (effusion) – Major swelling around your knee (as opposed to some mild tightness after exercise) is a sign that the tissues are irritated and the knee is acting to protect itself with cushioning fluid. This creates a hostile environment for the graft.
• Lingering Stiffness: Excess fluid buildup doesn’t just cause discomfort; it can also physically limit your range of motion, making the joint feel stiff and tight. You want to be encouraging smooth overall movement in your knee, not recurrent stiffness.
• Instability – Overdoing a workout can fatigue the nearby muscles, such as the quadriceps and hamstrings, that provide crucial support to your joint as it heals. This can potentially put extra strain on the new ligament, causing it to feel wobbly or unsteady.

 

Bethany’s rehab journey

After fully rupturing her ACL during a football match, 20-year-old striker and sports coach Bethany Norman had ACL reconstruction surgery with Chris Bailey Orthopaedics. Here, she explains what the first 3 months of rehab were like.

“For the first few days [after surgery] it’s quite difficult to move. It wasn’t so much painful as very weak around the knee. To begin with you have to keep your leg straight, without bending, and lie completely flat when you sleep. You have to throw a dressing gown cord round your foot and raise it with your hands when you want to lift the leg. After that I was on to crutches for about two weeks.

“You have regular physio, and they give you mobility exercises to start off with. They’re not very intense; it’s just things like lifting your heel up to your bottom, or raising your leg straight up, holding it there and then putting it back down again.

“After that you go on to things like strengthening and cardio exercises and eventually squats and lunges. Ten weeks after the operation, the physio did a test to see if I could walk without a limp (I could). He also had me do a leg press to see whether my recovering leg could bear 70% of the weight that my other leg could bear. At that point it could only do about 20%! But by the 12-week mark I had made it to 70%.”

Read the full story of Bethany’s ACL injury and recovery

All about ACLs – more articles to read on our website

What is ACL reconstruction?

Why “prehab” is vital for ACL surgery

Will my ACL be the same after reconstruction surgery?

Patient case study: Beth Farmer’s ACL reconstruction story

What’s causing the surge in Premier League ACL injuries?

Windswept knee deformity is a problem with the alignment of the knees. It’s a rare condition nowadays, but one we do see from time to time in our clinics.

So what exactly does “windswept” refer to, what causes it and – most importantly – how would you treat it? Here’s a brief guide to an unusual but challenging condition.

Understanding knee alignment

Windswept deformity is what we call a malalignment issue. Think of your knees as the midpoint in an imaginary line running down each leg. This line (doctors call it the “long axis of the leg”) starts in the centre of your hip and runs down to your ankle. In an ideal world, the axis would fall in the middle of your knee joint. In reality, most people’s alignment isn’t quite so perfect. Most of us have knees that point either outwards or inwards:

Varus alignment – is the medical term for knees that angle outwards, arching the legs (“bowlegged”)

Valgus alignment – is when the knees point inwards, towards each other (“knock knees”)

You can find out more about the implications of varus and valgus knees in this article: I’m a bit knock kneed / bow-legged: is that a problem?

What are “windswept knees”?

While most people’s alignment tilts either inwards or outwards on both knees, windswept deformity (WSD) is different. With WSD, one knee is in valgus misalignment while the other is varus. This gives the condition its very visual name. The legs appear to lean in the same direction, like an object that has been blown by a strong gust of wind.

What causes windswept knees?

The potential reasons are quite varied. In children, windswept deformity is usually linked to bone disorders like rickets (now rare in developed countries), growth issues or rare genetic conditions such as Blount’s disease (tibia vara). In adults, it’s more likely to be an acquired condition. Common causes in adults include:

Past surgery – if you’ve had an osteotomy or an operation to remove your lateral meniscus

Injury – if you’ve badly damaged your knee, for instance by fracturing the outer side of your tibial plateau (the upper surface of your shinbone)

Inflammatory disease – if you suffer from an inflammatory joint condition like inflammatory arthritides or rheumatoid arthritis

Degenerative arthritis – if you develop “wear-and-tear” arthritis: windswept deformity is 20 times more common in people who suffer from osteoarthritis

Are windswept knees a problem?

Misalignment in the knees isn’t necessarily a problem. As we’ve seen, some degree of malalignment in adulthood is very common. The key is whether it progresses – ie gets worse over time – and / or starts to cause symptoms. What are the potential symptoms of windswept knee deformity? The main ones are:

Instability – as the centre of balance in your legs shifts, you become more prone to falling

General discomfort – the imbalance puts more pressure on the outer-side muscles and bones in one joint, and the inner parts of your other knee, causing persistent pain through the hips, knees and ankles

Pain – the pressure points can begin to cause cartilage wear and acute pain in certain parts of the knee joints.

How do you diagnose windswept knees?

Interestingly, it’s quite common for loved ones to notice the condition before the patient does. That’s partly because acquired windswept deformity is insidious; like osteoarthritis, it tends to creep up on you over time. In the early stages, many people imagine it’s just part of the ageing process. In clinic, we can usually identify WSD with a physical examination. After that, we would normally want to order some imaging so that we can take a more detailed look at the overall alignment of your legs.

What are the treatments for windswept knees?

If windswept deformity is beginning to cause problems, we always start with conservative treatments. That usually means:

Physiotherapy – to help you build up strength in the supportive muscles around your knees and to improve the mobility of your joints

Bracing – If the deformity is still correctable – meaning we can manually straighten your legs to a degree – we may try to correct the deformity with a brace (though the braces can be quite bulky and tricky to get used to).

But if conservative approaches don’t work, we can look to corrective surgery instead. The two main operations here are:

Osteotomy

This is a procedure that’s designed to relieve painful pressure on a specific section of the knee joint. We remove a small wedge of bone near the joint in order to gently alter the alignment of the leg and shift your body weight away from the damaged compartment and onto healthier cartilage.

Total knee replacement

Knee replacement is an operation for joints that are suffering from serious, ongoing pain or stability problems. With WSD, the goal is to completely realign and restabilise your legs, and this normally involves both knees at the same time, with a specialised implant design to straighten each limb alignment and properly redistribute the mechanical forces going through your legs. Though knee replacement for windswept deformity is complex, studies have shown it can be highly effective when the surgeon carefully tailors the soft tissue balancing and alignment angles for each distinct knee.

Noticed a worrying shift in your knee alignment, or concerned about a loved one’s changing balance? We’re here to help. Whether you have questions about corrective surgery, want to discuss a specific joint concern or just need some expert reassurance, you can call or email us to book an appointment and get help with the next steps. We’ll be delighted to help you find the support you need.

Recently, researchers in Denmark carried out a survey for International Patient Safety Day. They contacted nearly 1,000 people who were waiting for surgery and asked for their feelings about it.

The results were revealing: just over half (51%) had “moderate or high levels” of fear about their upcoming operations.

Fear of surgery, then, is really quite common, not least when it comes to a major operation like a knee replacement. If you’re waiting for a replacement yourself, or considering one, you might be feeling anxious about the procedure itself, or the potential risks and complications, or how long it will take to recover.

All these concerns are completely understandable – but how much should they actually worry you? Here are five things that we think it’s helpful to know about knee replacements, to help you feel more reassured.

1) Feeling scared is actually normal (and healthy)

As the Danish study shows, pre-surgery nerves are really the norm rather than the exception. If you’re feeling some degree of worry before surgery, that’s quite natural. In fact, it can actually be helpful. Although knee replacement is very safe (see point 3), it’s still a big operation that takes time and effort to recover from and that works best when patients prepare well and know what to expect afterwards. Being alert to these things can help you approach the operation in the right way, with realistic expectations. For more on just this topic, see this recent article: 7 tips from one of our knee replacement patients.

2) Your surgery team is highly experienced (and prepared)

Knee replacement is one of the oldest and most commonly-performed surgeries in the UK. About 116,000 people had the operation in 2024/2025. We’ve performed nearly 3,000 knee replacements here at Chris Bailey Orthopaedics alone. What this means is that surgeons have been able to develop techniques and aftercare programmes that make joint replacement very safe and successful. We work in centres where these operations are performed day in and day out. The whole team, from the nurses to the physios, is focused on looking after people with different requirements, pain thresholds and fitness levels. You’re in very good hands!

3) Worried about complications? The risks are very low

As with any operation, it’s important to be aware of the risks associated with replacement surgery. There are certain complications – such as blood clots or infections – that every patient needs to be aware of so they can be alert to them afterwards. But it’s also important to put these risks in context. Less than 1% of patients get an infection after surgery. The likelihood of a serious complication after a replacement is less than 5%. As the National Joint Registry explains, “the overall risk involved in joint replacement is very low.”

4) Patient satisfaction is high: focus on your long-term goals

Ask the average knee replacement patient how they felt about their surgery afterwards and, statistically, you’ll find they are likely to be very positive. Of the patients who had the operation in 2024/25, NHS England reports that nearly nine in 10 (89.6%) felt their situation had improved afterwards (more than 70% described it as “much better”). While recovery from a joint replacement can be tough-going in the early days, the key thing is to focus on the long-term goal. After years of pain and immobility, most patients find the outcome is worth the undertaking.

5) Pre-surgery anxiety can be managed

No good consultant, of course, would ever want to dismiss a patient’s worries. But if the operation is making you seriously anxious, the most important thing to do is tell your surgical team about it. Write down your concerns and tell them what’s on your mind. They’ll be very happy to provide reassurance – and specific tailored support, such as anti-anxiety medication, if you need it. We’d also recommend looking into stress-relieving techniques before your operation. Many patients find that breathing exercises and self-calming techniques can be very helpful. The Royal College of Anaesthetists and the British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis have created some relaxation recordings aimed at helping patients to relax before surgery. It’s worth checking them out if you’re interested in exploring this further.

Worried about your upcoming surgery? You don’t have to go through it on your own. If you have questions, want to discuss specific concerns or just need some expert reassurance, we’re here to help. Call or email us to explain your concerns and schedule a consultation. We’ll be delighted to help.