Leaving Hospital / Aftercare

The time you leave hospital depends on the type of operation you’ve had. Normally if your recovery is progressing well and you have no complications, you’ll be discharged from hospital after one week at the latest.

Before you are discharged, the physician in charge of your case will talk to you about exactly what kinds of further steps are envisaged. Or will refer you to your primary care physician for further treatment.

After your stay in hospital you might also have the possibility of further one to three week rehabilitation treatment in a special clinic or medicinal spa. Such rehabilitation centres often having waiting lists of several weeks to several months, so it’s advisable to book your place there as soon as you know the date of your operation. You need to talk to your health insurance fund about how much of the overall costs for such postoperative treatment they will cover. At OZM we will assist you with the planning of post operative care when we advise you on your forthcoming operation.

Obviously you can also continue with further treatment from your own home as an out-patient. Regular sessions of physiotherapy, where you learn how to move the joint correctly and how to slowly build up your muscles, are a very essential part of successful postoperative care. Massages and baths also serve as further support for the healing process.

The first period after the operation will require you to bring in a great deal of motivation, positive thinking and hard work. However, your personal dedication will be rewarded by a rapid healing process and an increasingly pain-free joint.

Your primary care physician will regularly check on the process of healing and scar formation on your wound. If required, he or she will also remove any remaining stitches and prescribe which medicines you should take.

Follow-up examinations by the operating physician generally take place after a period of six weeks. Further X-ray checks can be made three and/or six months subsequent to the operation. We also recommend a further follow-up examination one year after the operation as after one year extremely precise statements can be made about further developments and the stability of the joint.

If your recovery shows no complications, the check-ups, as prescribed for you on leaving hospital with your primary care physician and your operating physician, are all you need to have. However, if anything out of the ordinary should occur, we strongly recommend you to get in touch with your primary care physician immediately. Your physician will be able to assess the situation and initiate appropriate treatment. Most problems can be easily solved if they are treated early enough.