Anaesthesia for this surgery is a combination of a full general anaesthetic and local anaesthetic techniques for pain relief. The general anaesthetic is delivered into your drip via a computer assisted total intravenous anaesthetic (TIVA) without anaesthetic 'gases' which reduces the risk of nausea and improves wellbeing after surgery. A brain wave monitor will also assist with determining your depth of anaesthetic and dosage of anaesthetic agents.

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The surgeon will inject local anaesthetic into the knee joint while you are asleep and this will be supplemented with an ultrasound guided injection of local anaesthetic into your thig. You will have top up strong pain relief, usually PALEXIA tablets available during your 1st night in hospital. This should be well tolerated but may make you feel drowsy. Nausea and itching are possible side effects of the pain medication but the PALEXIA tablets are less likely to cause nausea than other strong pain relieviers such as ENDONE or TARGIN.

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I will give x2 additional preventative medications to reduce your risk of nausea. Once you get through the first night your pain should be reasonably well controlled. You need to be careful when trying to mobilise especially during the 1st 24h due to risk of falls as a result of dizziness, and weakness of the thigh muscles. Please take care and wait for the nurses to assist you with mobilising.

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On discharge you will be provided with paracetamol, anti-inflammatory and PALEXIA tablets. You may need the PALEXIA for 3-5 days but not usually longer than this. If there are any problems with your wound please contact the surgeon.