Do you need to take narcotics after having a knee joint reconstruction?

No: If you have a high pain tolerance, you can avoid narcotics, but most people need to take something for pain, even if its just for the first few weeks after surgery. Not only does it ease the overall discomfort following this major surgery, but it allows patients to do their postoperative rehab (which is critical to getting a good final result) more effectively.

Yes: You can do much more with your rehabilitation (pt).

Yes: Most people need some narcotics, but large joint centers use a multimodality pain approach to reduce the need for narcotics.

Not necessarily: Most patients experience a fair amount of discomfort with this surgery. I routinely have at least 2/40 patients per month who eschew narcotics and seem to do well with tylenol (acetaminophen) and celebrex. Interesting, they seem to be the happiest patients. I am not sure if they truly have a high pain threshold or if patients who do not take narcotics just feel better.

Most often yes: Most joint reconstructions are quite painful and require at least a short course of narcotics. It's not unusual to require some narcotics for several weeks to a few months with total knee replacement or hip replacement.