Overcoming Anxiety for Joint Replacement Surgery
William Macaulay, MD, and Ann Marie Moynihan, RN, share tips to reduce anxiety for joint replacement surgery.
It’s especially common to have anxiety for joint replacement if it’s your first surgery, says William Macaulay, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon at NYU Langone Health. This may be your first time under anesthesia or your first time being admitted to the hospital. “Typically, I'll take a patient like that and give them the phone number of two or three patients just like them, who had the procedure within the last few years,” says Dr. Macaulay.
“That will go a long way to allay people's fears.” “Any surgery can be anxiety-producing for patients. It is important that you have a support system in place to help manage that anxiety,” says Ann Marie Moynihan, RN, Director of Nursing at NYU Langone Health. Find out more about knee replacement surgery and hip replacement surgery.
- Ann Marie Moynihan, RNAnn Marie Moynihan, RN, served as the Director of Nursing at NYU Langone Health in New York City. She is currently the Vice President for Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Saint Joseph's Medical Center/St. Vincent's Hospital Westchester Division,
- William Macaulay, MDWilliam Macaulay, MD, is an Orthopedic Surgeon at NYU Langone Health in New York City.
References
Erens, G.A. (2023). Patient education: total hip replacement (beyond the basics). UpToDate.
Martin, G.M. (2024). Patient education: total knee replacement (beyond the basics). UpToDate.
Stanford Health Care. (n.d.). Complications of joint replacement surgery.