Knee Replacement Scar and Wound Care: A Practical Guide

Caring for your knee replacement wound means keeping it clean and dry, following your hospital’s dressing instructions, watching for signs of infection, and letting the scar mature slowly over months. Stitches or clips, if used, usually come out around 10 to 14 days, and the skin wound heals over the first 2 to 3 weeks¹. The most important reason to take wound care seriously is infection, which affects about 1 to 2 in 100 people and is a serious complication that can need further surgery².

My scar runs straight down the front of my knee, and I remember being anxious about it at first, both how it looked and whether it was healing right. Knowing what is normal made all the difference. This guide, checked by a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, walks through wound care week by week, the warning signs, and what the scar will be like long term. It pairs with the recovery timeline and our main guide to knee replacement surgery.

Caring for the wound in the first weeks

In the first weeks, the priority is keeping the wound clean, dry, and protected by the dressing your hospital applied. Follow the dressing instructions you are given, and keep stitches or clips dry until they are removed around 10 to 14 days¹. The practical routine is simple:

• Leave the dressing alone unless told to change it, or unless it becomes wet, loose, or soaked.
• Keep it dry: many waterproof dressings allow a shower within a few days, but do not soak the wound in a bath or swim until it is fully healed.
• Pat, do not rub, the area dry, and wash your hands before going near the wound.
• Keep an eye on it at each dressing change for the warning signs below.

I found a waterproof dressing made the first showers far less stressful, but I still kept the leg out of the direct spray for the first week.

Stitches, clips, and how the wound closes

Surgeons close the knee wound with stitches, clips, or dissolvable stitches under the skin, and how yours is closed determines what happens next. Non-dissolvable stitches or clips usually come out around 10 to 14 days, often by a practice or district nurse, while dissolvable stitches need no removal³. Your discharge notes will say which you have.

The scar itself is usually a single straight line down the front of the knee, roughly 15 to 20cm long for a total knee replacement, shorter for a partial. Having the clips out was painless in my case, a quick appointment that felt like a milestone. The wound may still look pink and feel firm or raised for a while after; that is normal early healing.

Signs of infection to watch for

The main reason to watch the wound closely is infection, and catching it early matters. Contact your surgical team promptly if you notice increasing redness, warmth, swelling, throbbing pain, or fluid or pus leaking from the wound, or if you feel unwell or feverish². Infection affects about 1 to 2 in 100 people and is a serious complication that can need further surgery.

Some warmth, mild redness right at the wound line, and bruising are normal early on. What is not normal is redness that spreads, heat that increases, new fluid or pus, or a fever. The honest rule I followed was that if I was unsure, I rang the ward rather than waiting until morning. Early treatment is far easier than late treatment. Sudden calf pain or breathlessness needs urgent help too, as these can signal a blood clot.

Numbness and how the scar feels

Numbness to the outer side of the scar is common after a knee replacement and is usually permanent, but rarely a problem. Small skin nerves are cut during the incision, so a patch of skin to one side of the scar often stays numb or tingly³. It is an expected effect of surgery, not a complication.

I still have a numb patch beside my scar years on, and honestly I stopped noticing it within months. The knee can also feel tight and the scar firm to begin with; gentle movement and the prescribed exercises help. If the scar becomes thickened, raised, and red beyond the wound line over time, mention it to your team, as some people form more prominent scars.

Long-term scar care and appearance

In the long term, the scar fades on its own, and simple care once it is fully healed can help it settle. Once the wound is healed and your team confirms it is safe, gentle scar massage with an unperfumed moisturiser, sun protection for the first year, and sometimes silicone gels or sheets can improve the final look¹.

The scar matures over many months, going from pink and raised to pale and flat. Mine faded far more than I expected. It is now a thin, silvery line I barely think about. For the bigger picture of how the knee feels and moves long term, including kneeling on the scar, see knee replacement success rates.