The first 48 hours
You will leave hospital with a bulky dressing and an elastic bandage around the knee, often still numb from a nerve block or local anesthetic put in during the operation. Take the pain relief you were given before the block wears off, not after, because the pain can arrive quickly once it does and is far harder to catch up with.
The three jobs for the first two days are rest, elevation and cold. Sit or lie with the leg up on one or two pillows placed under the calf or foot, not under the knee, so the knee stays straight. Put a wrapped ice pack on the knee for around twenty minutes every two to three hours, keeping the dressing dry. Do not use a heating pad this early. Walk to the bathroom and around the house, but do not stand for long periods.
Most people can put weight through the leg straight away, using crutches at first to take some of it, unless the surgeon has said otherwise. If you were told to keep weight off it, that instruction is specific to what was done inside your knee and is not negotiable.
Days three to seven
Swelling peaks around day two or three and then starts to settle. The bandage can usually come off after a couple of days and the small dressings stay on until your team says otherwise, typically until the stitches or tape strips are removed at about a week to ten days. Keep the wounds dry until then. A waterproof cover or a bag taped above the knee makes a shower possible; a bath is not.
You will be given exercises, and this is the part people skip. The quadriceps muscle at the front of the thigh switches off after any knee operation, and the exercises are how you switch it back on. Straight leg raises, pushing the back of the knee into the bed, and gentle bending within comfort, done several times a day, do more for the final result than anything you can buy. If you have been referred to a physiotherapist, go.
Crutches usually go from two to one to none across this week, depending on how the knee feels and what was done. The test for putting them down is walking without a limp, not walking without pain.
Week two and beyond
By two weeks most people are walking normally around the house, off strong painkillers, and back at a desk job. Standing jobs take longer, and heavy manual work longer still. The knee will still swell after activity for several weeks, which is normal and responds to the same elevation and cold.
Driving is possible once you can do an emergency stop without hesitation, which is usually at least two weeks, longer for a right knee in a manual car and never while taking sedating painkillers. Our general guide to driving after surgery covers the rules that apply to everyone.
Running, cycling on the road, swimming and anything that twists the knee wait until your surgeon clears them. Full recovery from a simple trim is usually around four to six weeks; a repair or a more involved procedure can take several months, and your surgeon will have told you which you had.
What to have at home
None of this is essential, and a simple arthroscopy needs far less than a joint replacement. These are the things that make the first two weeks easier.
Reusable gel ice packs, two of them. One on the knee, one in the freezer. A wrap-around pack that molds to the joint stays put while you sit with the leg up. Always with a cloth between pack and skin, never on a numb area, and never on a wet dressing.
A leg elevation pillow. A firm wedge holds the leg up at the right height for hours without slipping, which a stack of pillows will not do. It also keeps the knee straight, which matters more than it sounds.
A knee compression sleeve. Once the dressing is off, a light sleeve helps control the swelling that comes with being on your feet and makes the knee feel supported. It is not a brace and does not replace one if you were given one.
Crutches you can live with. Hospital crutches are fine for a week. If you are going to be on them longer, or you want a folding pair for the car, a lighter set with better hand grips is a small, worthwhile upgrade.
A waterproof cover for showering. Keeps the dressings dry so you can wash properly rather than flannel-wash around them.
A shower stool. Standing on one leg on a wet floor is how a good recovery turns into a fall. A stool makes the first showers safe.
Warning signs to take seriously
Complications after arthroscopy are rare, but the ones that happen need prompt attention. Contact the hospital where you had the operation, or your doctor, if you notice any of these:
Blood soaking through the dressing that does not stop with pressure.
Pain that is getting worse rather than better, or that your pain relief no longer touches.
Pain, tenderness or swelling in the calf, or a foot that looks darker or feels cooler than the other. These can be signs of a blood clot and need same-day assessment.
A high temperature, or feeling hot, cold or shivery.
Redness, increasing swelling, or fluid leaking from the cuts, especially if it is cloudy, yellow or smells.
Numbness or tingling around the knee or down the leg that is new or getting worse.
Be patient with a small operation
The frustrating thing about a knee arthroscopy is that it looks like nothing from the outside. Three small plasters, no cast, home by teatime. Inside, the joint has been washed out, tissue has been cut, and it needs the same respect as any surgery: rest early, move steadily, do the exercises, and give the swelling the weeks it takes to settle. Most people are glad they had it done within a month. The ones who are not are usually the ones who went back to everything in week one.