PostOp fall

[chattychristine]

Hi, I'm currently a nursing student; although yesterday my mother had a knee replacement and tonight she called me and said she had a fall in the bathroom. She doesn't remember how it happened, just that her nurse helped her to the bathroom and actually did not put her leg brace on before doing so like usual. Scary! I know I do not want to make a big fuss of it, accidents happen... , but this is my mom of all people 36 hours post-op total knee. Any recommendations of how to approach this situations?

[One Flew Over]

Just take some time and relax tonight. Tomorrow or whenever you plan to visit next just ask the nurses for a little more information about what happened, and what they're doing to do to prevent a repeat fall. She wasn't hurt, but you'll still want to show some concern about her safety, especially where they forgot her brace. Just keep your composure, getting upset is like walking backwards. I know how you are feeling, from experience, my memere was put into some real crazy rehab facilities before she got into ours. :)

You may want to even try and speak with the physical therapy (if the charge nurse hasn't already done so)?

They actually may have a little more pull on the floor and could orient/remind the aides about the brace, the proper way to apply it and how important it is for her to be wearing it. Sometimes some aides don't always realize how much these devices are really needed.

[Boog'sCRRN246, RN]

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[RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN]

I hope she is okay and didn't get hurt. I hate falls and personally think they should never happen, although accidents do happen. I just take extra precautions with my patients to avoid situations such as these. I always make sure I tell my pts to call me before they get up and if they follow my instructions, they will stay safe because I am right there with them helping until they are back in bed safely. I will use bed alarms in certain situations as well. I work in ortho and we do not use leg braces for knee replacements. Did she have on nonskid socks? I'm sorry this happened.

[diane227, LPN, RN]

We don't use knee braces on post op knees. Did she try to get up by herself after being taken to the restroom? Was she given a walker? Had she been up yet? Did she have a call light in the restroom to use when she was finished? Why can't she remember? Did she hit her head when she fell? Need more info..

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

Sometimes falls happen and it's not necessarily the fault of anyone. They are called "accidents". We go to great lengths in my hospital to prevent falls, and still they happen occasionally. I hope your Mom's okay and that she is on track with her recovery.