When both knees need replacing, bilateral knee replacement provides the benefit of one surgery, one hospital stay and one rehabilitation period.

We will evaluate your health to ensure you don’t have any medical conditions that might make bilateral surgery difficult for you. And, depending on the condition of your knees, we can perform bi-compartmental or total knee surgeries.

We have worked together for many years providing bilateral knee surgery. We are skilled in using the same knee implant. For bilateral knee surgeries the same implant is typically used for both knees. Our orthopedic operating room has specially equipped tables to accommodate bilateral knee surgery.

You’ll recover in our surgery suite until you are awake from the anesthesia and your vital signs are good. Our Care Team members will then move you to our Intensive Care Unit where you will spend the first 24 hours in our Intensive Care Unit before going to your room at Henry Community Health’s Joint Replacement Center.

You will typically spend two-three days in the Joint Replacement Center and receive physical therapy to prepare you to return home. In some cases patients elect to go to a rehabilitation facility after surgery if they do not have help at home to assist in their recovery.

Follow-up physical therapy will be needed after you leave the hospital. Initially this will be done in your home or a rehabilitation facility if you choose go to there then possibly followed by outpatient physical therapy. Typically the first three weeks of recovery after bilateral knee surgery is more difficult than if you only had one knee done. Don’t get discouraged though as after 8 weeks, your recovery process is usually the same as if you only had one knee done.  Plus you won’t have to come back a second time for another surgery and recovery period