Making the choice to have a hip replacement is a big decision, and once it’s made, you will want the full support of your medical team. At CU Orthopaedics' Joint Reconstruction Program, you will find a comprehensive care team dedicated to helping you through your planning and preparation, surgery and recovery.

Your orthopaedic surgeon and a team of doctors and nurses perform the actual surgery. But our wellness approach begins before your surgical date. Prior to your hip or knee replacement, our program teaches you about expectations, preparing for your surgery, building a support group with other patients, and the process of recovering from your procedure. Preoperative education is a vital part of our program.

While attending the Joint Reconstruction Program at University of Colorado Hospital, patients stay in newly remodeled private or double-occupancy rooms. The Program’s inpatient unit has been designed as a “home-away-from-home” with personal touches throughout. In addition, there is a dining/activity room where educational sessions and group meals are held and a therapy room large enough for group therapy sessions.

Each patient is provided a “journal” and is encouraged to make daily notes on goal setting and activities. Activities that are included in the Joint Reconstruction Program include group physical and occupational therapy and lunch with other patients, their families and the staff. Our program encourages quick healing, a benefit of the support and camaraderie of working with people undergoing the same surgery.

Whether the need for primary joint replacement is due to injury or degenerative joint disease, the focus at the UCD Joint Replacement Program is on wellness not illness. Our goal is to get patients back to doing whatever physical activities they enjoyed prior to needing a hip or knee replacement, without long-term hospitalization.