How to Better Prepare Yourself to have Surgery

If your foot and ankle surgeon has recommended surgery as the best treatment for your foot and ankle condition, here are some guidelines you can follow to make your recovery experience much easier.

Preparing Your Home

You will need special accommodations to suit your needs after your surgery. If your bedroom is upstairs, consider setting up a temporary bedroom on the ground floor so you don’t have to navigate stairs.

Set up a personal environment that will work well for you during your recovery:

• Create a home base—have things ready such as a work table, TV tray, computer, phone, TV, snacks and medication.

• Put a shower stool in the bathroom

• Make sure a clear path is available so you can easily

  move from room to room in your home.

• Be sure to have your crutches/walker/knee scooter on hand and extra pillows handy to prop up your leg.

Scheduling & Planning

If your surgery is elective and you can choose when to have it done, schedule it for the best time in terms of work, school and personal things going on in your life.

Plan ahead and be proactive. Get as many things done in advance as possible—stock up on groceries, line up friends and family to help out.

Getting Around

Driving—if your right foot is being operated on, find out how long it
will take before you can resume driving and whether you will need a temporary handicapped parking
placard.

Until you are ready to drive, enlist the help of others to provide
transportation for you.

As for returning to work, your surgeon will let you know when it’s best to go back to work. Many can work from home for a time but if you need to go to work, ask a coworker to drive you.

We are here to make this process as smooth as possible. Our scheduling team will help coordinate your pre- and post-op care. We include a preop visit in our process, where all questions are answered, you receive any durable medical equipment you may need & you get any prescriptions you may need. Please call with any questions!