Post-Operative Medications

Our goal is to provide a multimodal preventative approach to pain management. We want you to be as comfortable and well-managed with your pain following surgery. There are multiple preventative steps and treatments that we incorporate into our approach to pain management. These include:

Anti-inflammatory: reduce post-op pain and swelling

Blood Clot Prevention: medication to keep the blood thinned and help minimize the risk of blood clots.

• Aspirin 81mg by mouth twice daily with food x 30 days
  • If you have any conditions that prevent you from taking aspirin, please discuss this before your discharge from the hospital.
• Some patients may resume an anti- coagulant (i.e. Coumadin, Plavix, Eliquis, or Xarelto) that was taken preoperatively as indicated.
• If your family doctor or cardiologist has recommended a specific protocol, please refer to that.

Other Post-Op Medications:

• Nausea: People may experience nausea after surgery or in response directly to other medications
  • Zofran 4mg 1 pill by mouth every 8 hours as needed for nausea
• Stool softeners: Some people experience constipation while taking pain medication.
  • Colace 100mg by mouth twice daily as needed
    • You may consider taking Milk of Magnesia, drinking prune juice, increasing water and fluids, adding fiber to your diet, or taking an over the counter stool softener to prevent this.
  • Antibiotics: Certain patients may go home on oral antibiotics, especially if they had their surgery performed in as an outpatient and went home the same day as surgery.
    • Keflex 500mg 1 pill by mouth every 6 hours x 3 doses
    • Clindamycin 300mg 1 pill by mouth every 6 hours x 3 doses
  • Home medications: Resume your home medications as instructed by your physician.

Understanding Opioids (download PDF brochure)

Antibiotic Prophylaxis after Joint Replacement

We recommend that you take oral antibiotics before invasive procedures for life after joint replacement. Examples of invasive procedures include, but are not limited to:

• Dental work: teeth cleaning, root canal, crown placement, bridge work, etc.
• Any skin or organ biopsy
• Vaginal examinations and gynecological surgery
• Any podiatry (foot) work
• Any gastrointestinal procedure: upper or lower GI examinations, colonoscopies, etc.
• Tonsillectomy
• Bronchoscopy
• Genitourinary instrumentation
• Prostate or bladder surgery
• Barium enema

Recommended antibiotics:

• Amoxicillin 2 grams orally 1 hour prior to procedure
• If allergic to penicillin: Clindamycin 600mg orally 1 hour prior to procedure

If you are unsure whether or not your procedure requires antibiotic prophylaxis, please contact our office and we will assist you in making that determination.