Mr Simon Bridle performs total knee and total hip replacements at three leading London private hospitals.

When you are discharged from the Cromwell BUPA Hospital, Spire St Anthony or Parkside Hospital, the nursing team will provide you with guidance on how best to look after your wound and also supply you with a phone number where you can contact the team if you have any concerns post-surgery.

However, below is some general advice that Mr Simon Bridle gives all his patients about how best to care for their wound and dressing after joint replacement surgery.

His standard advice is to leave the dressing on for two weeks as long as it doesn’t get wet. After this two-week period, they can remove the dressing. Typically, patients are able to do this themselves but if you’re nervous you can get the practice nurse at your local GP surgery to do this for you.

There will be no sutures to be removed after a total knee or hip replacement as Mr Bridle uses dissolvable stitches.

Once the dressing is off, then it can be left exposed and the wound can get wet and there will be no issues.

Mr Bridle advises his patients that bio oil or moisturising cream can be applied to the wound to promote better scar healing if they want.