Multiple Knee Ligament Injuries

[Nuna]

what can be done to insure my friend's maximum fitness in preparation for surgery and rehab, given the constraints/injuries/situation described below? he will continue to be hospitalized/institutionalized while he is waiting for knee surgery for traumatic knee dislocation with multiple knee ligament injuries sustained in a car accident. the knees are no longer dislocated, but all ligaments are ruptured except the lateral collateral on each knee. docs are planning to use cadaver grafts to reconstruct the ligaments, the time frame is still uncertain. my friend also has a broken fibula in each leg, broken bones in right hand/wrist, and is recovering from plastic surgery to right forearm. so far he has been in bed for three weeks, out only twice, once for mri and once to wheelchair. if the docs wait four to six more weeks to do the first surgery (kness will be done separately), as they may, my friend will be institutionalized all that time, being unable to self transfer. my friend is 51 years old and was in good health and fitness, being a greenhouse worker prior to the car accident. any advice will be much appreciated.

[meownsmile, BSN, RN]

It sounds like he is already in a position that if he isnt in fairly good shape he has the potential to have a miriade of complications. I would think the most important thing for him to be doing at this point, considering his infirmary already is that he concentrate on using the incentive spirometer faithfully, and continue to do ankle pumps and ankle circles to help prevent blood clots and pneumonia.

I hope your friend recovers soon.