Wentworth-Douglass Total Joint Center
A Comprehensive Approach
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has prioritized excellent outcomes in its total joint program. Lindsay Bradley, RN is our Program Coordinator. She meticulously collects data on all total joint patients to ensure our success. We have a multidisciplinary team which meets regularly to delve into the data and strives to make our program one that will beat all of your expectations.
Lindsay Bradley can be reached at (603) 609-6135.
The Wentworth-Douglass patient education handbook for total knee replacement is available here for you to read.
Surgical Optimization Center
Before surgery, every total joint patient meets with Dr. Wheeler and her care team for a comprehensive evaluation to better understand how existing medical conditions may influence surgical risk and recovery. In collaboration with the patient’s primary care physician and other specialists, Dr. Wheeler ensures that chronic health conditions are carefully optimized prior to surgery, helping to support the safest possible procedure and the best possible outcome.
Meet Dr. Wheeler
Pre-Surgery Physical Therapy Visit (Prehabilitation)
Your pre-surgery physical therapy visit helps you prepare for a safe and successful recovery after joint replacement surgery.
During this visit, your therapist will:
Review your home setup and support system
Discuss equipment you may need after surgery
Explain what to expect during early recovery
Discuss your recovery timeline and milestones
Practice safe walking and movement techniques
Before you leave, your questions will be answered, your post-surgery therapy visits will be scheduled, and you’ll have a clear plan for recovery.
Our goal is to help you feel prepared, confident, and supported every step of the way.
Katrina Lampros, MPT
Katrina is a Wentworth-Douglass physical therapist who has been instrumental in building our prehabilitation program. She describes its benefits in the video to the right and in a blog post on the WDH website which you can read following this link.
Perioperative Pain Management
Using a multi-modal pain management plan, we are able to keep patients remarkably comfortable even immediately after surgery.
Afternoon after surgery
With the success of our pain control strategies, we are able to get patients up and out of bed very quickly after surgery. Most are walking around the nurse’s station within a couple hours.
Next day discharge
Most patients are now going home the morning after their surgery.
Same day discharge
A growing number of patients are going home the day of surgery. We have put together a comprehensive structure to allow same day discharge safely.
Outpatient Physical Therapy
Getting to an outpatient physical therapy provider as soon as possible after surgery is important. While some patients will require a visiting therapist for a week or so, I strongly encourage all my patients to have an outpatient appointment set up for the second day after surgery prior to having the procedure.