After a knee or hip replacement, the operation is our work; the first six weeks are
lived in your house. Walk through it room by room, written for Kerala homes, and tick
off each arrangement as it is done.
An educational guide. Your surgical team's discharge instructions always come first.
Start two to three weeks before surgery, so nothing is being hammered or shifted while
you recover. This walkthrough pairs with the
prepare-for-surgery checklist,
which covers your body and paperwork; this page covers the house.
Home preparation walkthrough · Dr. Vishnu Baburaj, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Aster MIMS Kannur
The veranda steps and the courtyard path are where most early falls happen, so make this first stretch of home firm, dry and something to hold on to.
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Room 2 of 6
Sitting room
You will spend much of the first two or three weeks in one good chair, so set that chair up properly and clear everything that could trip you on the way to it.
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Room 3 of 6
Bedroom
Getting in and out of bed, and the walk from bed to bathroom at night, are the two moments that need the most preparation in this room.
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Room 4 of 6
Bathroom
This is the most important room to prepare: a wet floor, a squat toilet and nothing to hold on to are the three things your new joint cannot manage in the early weeks.
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Room 5 of 6
Kitchen
You will not be running the kitchen in the first weeks, but a few changes let you make your own tea safely and keep you off the wet floor.
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Room 6 of 6
Stairs
Stairs are the part of the house that demands the most respect after joint replacement, and the safest plan is often simply to avoid them for a while.
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A different kind of preparation
If it is your shoulder
After shoulder surgery you can walk about freely, so the home changes are less about floors and stairs and more about how you sleep, dress, and manage everyday tasks with one arm resting in a sling.
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Every house is different, and this walkthrough cannot see yours. If something feels
unsafe, ask the physiotherapy team at discharge; they answer these questions every day.
For the family
For the person helping at home
If you are the son, daughter, or spouse helping at home, the first two weeks are mostly about steady, quiet support rather than nursing. Your main jobs are walking alongside during the short walks the physiotherapist has advised, keeping medicines on time, and glancing at the dressing each day for increasing redness, discharge, or new swelling. Encourage each small step forward, but resist the urge to hover; doing the exercises themselves is part of how your parent or partner gets strong again.
Call the hospital helpline without hesitation if you notice fever, a wound that looks worse instead of better, calf pain or swelling, breathlessness, or pain that stops responding to the prescribed medicines. It is always better to ask early than to wait and worry. And look after yourself too: share duties with other family members where you can, sleep properly, and step out for a break each day, because a rested caregiver is a safer caregiver.
Keep a small notebook by the bed with medicine names, times, and any questions to ask at the next review.
Save the hospital helpline and the physiotherapist's advice sheet in one place, ideally photographed on your phone.
Walk on the weaker side and slightly behind, close enough to steady but not so close that you become the support.
Set fixed times for exercises, meals, and rest, since a predictable routine makes the first weeks calmer for everyone.
Why the house matters as much as the operation
Most falls after joint replacement happen at home, in the first weeks, on familiar
ground: a wet bathroom floor, a doorstep crossed ten thousand times, a mat that never
slipped before. The arrangements here come from standard falls-prevention and
occupational-therapy guidance, adapted to how Kerala homes are actually built and lived in.
Ideally two to three weeks before the surgery date, at the same time you begin the rest of your prepare-for-surgery checklist. This gives the family time to shift furniture, clear walkways, and arrange help without last-minute rush. It also means the patient can practise living with the new arrangement, like a ground-floor bed, before coming home with a fresh wound. A weekend is usually enough for the actual work once you know what needs doing.
Do we need to buy special equipment?
Usually much less than families expect, so please do not buy everything in advance. At discharge, the hospital physiotherapy team will tell you exactly what is genuinely needed for your situation; a walker and a commode chair are the most common items. Many things can be arranged or improvised, such as a firm chair with armrests instead of a special seat, or a borrowed walker from a relative. Buy or hire only what the team actually recommends.
Our bedroom is upstairs, what should we do?
If at all possible, arrange a temporary bed on the ground floor for the first few weeks, close to a bathroom. Stairs are not forbidden: the physiotherapist usually practises them with you in hospital before discharge, and one flight with a sturdy rail is manageable. What you want to avoid is climbing up and down many times a day in the early period, when the leg is still tiring easily. After the first few weeks, most patients return to their own bedroom comfortably.
How long do these home arrangements need to stay?
Most of them matter for the first six weeks, which is when balance, strength, and confidence are still returning. After that you can gradually put the furniture back and retire the walker as the team advises. A few changes, like a night light on the way to the bathroom and grab rails in the bathing area, are worth keeping permanently for the whole household. If you have had a hip replacement, follow the surgical team's own timeline for movement precautions rather than a fixed date.
Ready to Begin?
Take the First Step. We'll handle the rest.
OPD: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 am to 4 pm at Aster MIMS Kannur.
Online bookings receive a confirmed time slot.