Although it has the power to change lives, total joint replacement surgery is still surgery and requires good communication between you and your orthopedic surgeon. Whether you have questions about relatively common procedures such as hip replacement and knee replacement or have concerns regarding an upcoming elbow replacement, shoulder replacement, or wrist replacement surgery, you should get the facts on the procedure from an orthopedic surgeon who has performed it numerous times.

If you are considering any procedure from minimally invasive surgery to full shoulder replacement or elbow replacement surgery, ask your doctor these questions recommended by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS). Your surgeon may already have covered many of these topics with you, but because the decision to seek total joint replacement is such a momentous one, it's important to have all of your questions answered.

-What potential complications can arise from this procedure?
-What is the expected outcome if I don't have surgery?
-What is the expected recovery period?
-How long should I expect to stay in the hospital?
-If the surgery goes well, when can I expect to return to my usual activities?
How many surgeries of this type do you perform annually?
-How should I take care of my new joint after the procedure?

Because some joints are linked to overall mobility, specific questions related to knee replacement and hip replacement surgery might involve getting up and around again:

-How long can I expect to stay in bed?
-Will I need mobility assistance such as a walker or cane for some time?
-Is there a timeline by which I should expect my new joint to hold my standing weight?
-What kind of physical therapy can help my recovery process?
-How does MAKOplasty differ from conventional replacement surgery?

One resource area residents of Meridian, Boise, and Caldwell, Idaho, can turn to is the West Idaho Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Center (WIO), a member of the AAOS. The medical staff of George Nicola MD, Charles Schneider MD, John Smith MD, Michael Shevlin MD and Robert Hansen MD have performed hundreds of complex as well as minimally invasive surgery procedures and are available for patient consultations both before and after surgery. For example, Dr. Nicola specializes in MAKOplasty, a robot-assisted procedure for replacing hips and knees, and can answer your questions about this leading-edge technology. Additionally, for procedures involving the arms and hands such as wrist replacement surgery, Dr. Hansen has extensive experience with performing hand and wrist surgeries. Additionally, Dr's Shevlin, Smith and Schneider offer a variety of orthopedic surgical options for patients across the Treasure Valley from Meridian, Caldwell and Nampa to Boise and Eastern Oregon for joint replacement surgery.