When you have a sports injury or a severe injury to your joints it may be in your best interest to seek medical assistance. The first thing you should do for minor pain is visit your primary care physician. Of course at that point your primary care physician might diagnose something a bit more severe than a simple sprain, at which point you will be given a recommendation to meet with a Phoenix orthopedic surgeon.
An Arizona orthopedic surgeon is somebody who can offer you surgical alternatives to rectify problems with your joints. This can include anything from a full joint replacement surgery, a simple re-stitching of a torn rotator cuff muscle, or repairing a loosened or torn tendon.
When you first meet with your orthopedic doctor in Phoenix there are some things that you should ask.
The first thing you should ask is whether or not there are medications you should stop taking. It is imperative that you tell your orthopedic surgeon exactly what medications you are currently taking as well as what herbal supplements you’re taking. You might not think there is harm in a simple herbal wellness supplement which contains all-natural items but you may not realize that one of the items contained in that wellness supplement is a blood thinner or vasodilator, something that could make it significantly more difficult to operate on you because of the increased blood flow. These are things that you want to discuss with your orthopedic surgeon prior to going into surgery.
The second thing you will want to ask is what will happen in the surgical process. Many people understand the basics of the surgery they are about to have. But most of the time their knowledge does not extend beyond this. And yes it is imperative to know what smaller things are going to take place both before and during the procedure. These smaller things can include where the surgery will take place exactly, who will be involved in the surgery, what will happen to you during the surgery in terms of anesthetics, whether or not you have a choice and anesthetics.
Make sure you know what you should wear, what things you should eat, what time you need to arrive. These are all considerations that most people forget until the last minute leaving them in a panic. But when you meet with the orthopedic surgeon and the staff, all the questions can be answered.
You should also ask about potential complications. While many surgical operations both minor and major bring with th
em the same set of potential complications it is important nonetheless that you know exactly what could go wrong before you go into your surgery. Even if this is something as minor as potential infection after the surgery you should know what risks you are taking.
You should also ask about your post operation procedures including whether or not someone has to take you home, if somebody has to be with you and if so for how long, and what things you can and cannot do after the surgical process including what time you can go back to work and when you can start to use the affected area again.
Dr. Farber at Phoenix Shoulder and Knee is Board Certified and Fellowship Trained. He offers top notch, minimally invasive options for hips, shoulders and knees. Most insurance is accepted, call (480) 219-3342 today!
