My Knee Guide app

The My Knee Guide app is designed to assist individuals contemplating or preparing to undergo knee surgery, from minor surgeries to total knee replacement. The app covers the whole surgical process, including insights to pre-operative strength programmes, radiology expectations and outcomes, standard patient journeys, surgical processes, and recovery time frames.

The app is divided into 7 main sections:

• The knee has information about the anatomy of the knee and the disease process of arthritis (osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis). It also has information about total knee replacement, and knee prosthesis.
• X-ray vision has animated images of arthritis and knee replacement surgery to help users visualize the disease and the surgery. 
• Pre Op has  information about how to prepare for your surgery including what the tests means, stopping smoking and advice about stopping NSAIDs and herbals.
• The hospital section has information relevant to your hospital stay, including anaesthesia and wound healing.  
• Post-Op has various sections to look after yourself after surgery including exercise programs, managing pain and preventing infection.
• Checklists has a variety of easy to follow lists of items to think about or consider at different phases of the surgical process, eg, questions to ask your surgeon before surgery, how to prepare your home, day before surgery and post-op visit questions. 

The app has a variety of features to help patients better understand what to expect during the surgery, how to prepare and care after surgery.

• Interactive calendar feature to create timely safety notifications, education, checklists, and surgery specific reminders.  
• Patient stories and experiences where users can read the experiences of others who have dealt with the difficulties of knee arthritis including experiences of patients who have undergone knee surgery. Users can post their own own story or comments.
• Rehabilitation plans to help users with recovery after surgery.

For the complete app description, go to the App Store(external link) or, for a more detailed review, see reviews below.

Clinical review

Reviewer: Simon Keepa, Physiotherapist
Date of review: March 2024
Platform: Apple
Version: 1.8
Comments: A comprehensive app for knee surgery patients who are wanting to gain oversight and understanding of the process they are about to undertake. The app essentially creates a portal for patients to gain oversight into the process of all facets of their knee surgical journey and provides insights into achieving the outcomes in different ways. This app works as a personalized educational resource hub, offering users a range of information, tools, and patient experiences to navigate their own pre-operative, post-operative, and rehabilitation phases. Users can access pre-surgery preparation checklists, track their progress post-surgery with recovery timelines, receive reminders for medication and follow up rehab sessions, and access educational content to enhance their understanding of the surgical process and recovery journey.
Safety concerns: This app has a Medical Disclaimer upon first opening the App, stating that it is not a substitute for a medical professional.
New Zealand relevance: Yes the app is relevant to a New Zealand audience as an educational tool. Although the content is based on American orthopaedic opinion, much of the information and resources are still relevant to New Zealanders. Medicines mentioned in the app are US based, eg, acetaminophen instead of paracetamol. Not all sections may be relevant to New Zealand patients, such as the checklist 'Finding an orthopaedic surgeon".