- Nearest rooms
- Maroochydore
- Operating hospital
- Maroochy Private Hospital
- Hospital stay
- 1 to 3 nights
- Walking
- Day of surgery, with aids
- Driving
- About 4 to 6 weeks
- Referral
- GP or nurse practitioner
Total knee replacement for Buderim patients.
A total knee replacement resurfaces the worn ends of the thigh bone and shin bone, and usually the back of the kneecap, with metal and a high-grade plastic bearing. It is an operation for established arthritis that is limiting daily life, once non-operative treatment has been tried and has stopped working.
Professor Rodda plans knee replacement with robotic assistance and most often performs it through the subvastus, quadriceps-sparing approach, which works underneath the quadriceps rather than cutting through the tendon. The full account of the operation, the implant, the evidence and the risks is on the total knee replacement page. This page is about what it looks like from Buderim.
Where you are seen.
Buderim patients are seen at the Maroochydore rooms, on Level 9 of Maroochy Private Hospital in the CBD, straight down the hill and across the river flats.
These are the only rooms Professor Rodda consults from, so every appointment is at the same address and booked on the same number. If travel is difficult, say so when the rooms call: telehealth is available for the first consultation and appointments are grouped where they can be. Patients from Mountain Creek, Sippy Downs, Kuluin, Maroochydore and Mooloolaba are seen at Maroochydore as well.
Where the operation happens.
Professor Rodda consults and operates at the same address, Maroochy Private Hospital at Maroochydore. For a Buderim patient that means one building and one car park for the consultation, the imaging, the pre-admission clinic, the operation and every review, down the hill and across the river flats.
Getting there and getting home.
Buderim is among the shorter drives in the catchment. Admission is early, often before six in the morning, and the run down the hill to Maroochydore is short and predictable at that hour. It is still worth whoever drives you doing the trip once beforehand, because the car park is unfamiliar and the morning of surgery is not the time to find that out.
Discharge is the harder direction. Going back up the hill with a joint that is sore and a leg that does not want to bend is easier in a car with a seat that reclines, but it is a short trip rather than half a day.
Worth counting the trips before you commit to a date. A knee replacement is a consultation, a pre-admission appointment, the admission itself, four reviews across the following year, and somewhere between twelve and eighteen physiotherapy sessions in the first six weeks. The physiotherapy is the number that dominates, and it is the one that should be local.
Recovering in Buderim.
Knee replacement is the more demanding of the two operations to recover from, and the difference between a good result and a disappointing one is more often rehabilitation than surgery. Full extension is the priority in the first two weeks. Weeks two to six are the window that decides the outcome. Swelling and warmth settle slowly and improvement continues well past six months.
Knee replacement rehabilitation is the part of this operation that decides the result, and it is not a one-off appointment. Expect supervised physiotherapy two or three times a week through the first six weeks, on top of daily work at home. Buderim has more physiotherapy practices per head than anywhere else in the catchment, and that matters more than it sounds: people attend what is close, and attendance is the variable. One local caution. Buderim sits on a ridge and its streets are steep, which is hard work on a knee three weeks out. Early walking practice is easier on flat ground, so most people drive down to the river flats or the Mooloolaba foreshore for the first few weeks and save the hills for later. Follow-up reviews are back at the Maroochydore rooms.
You are reviewed at about two weeks for the wound, then at six weeks, three months and twelve months. Written rehabilitation protocols are provided and your physiotherapist can request them directly through the referrer page.
Who this operation is for.
Not everyone with knee pain needs a replacement, and a good deal of the work of this practice is establishing who does. Pain that is worst at night over the outer knee, pain that does not match the X-ray, and pain in one compartment only all lead somewhere other than a total knee replacement. The knee pain guide and what to try before surgery set out that assessment.
Fees and cover.
Where you live does not change the fee. You receive written informed financial consent covering the surgeon, the assistant, the anaesthetist and the hospital before anything is booked. See fees, no-gap cover and, if the injury is work or motor vehicle related, WorkCover and CTP.
Frequently asked questions.
Where does Professor Rodda see Buderim patients for knee replacement?
At the Maroochydore rooms, Maroochy Private Hospital, Level 9, 12 Future Way, Maroochydore QLD 4558. Appointments are booked on (07) 5493 8038, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm.
Do I need a referral for a knee replacement consultation?
No, not immediately. If you have a GP referral it comes straight to the rooms and the rooms contact you within two business days. If you do not, you can start with a telehealth consultation with a GP or with our nurse practitioner, who can provide the referral. A referral is still needed to claim the Medicare rebate on the consultation.
How much does a knee replacement cost from Buderim?
The same as from anywhere else in the catchment. Location does not change the fee. You receive a written estimate covering the surgeon, the surgical assistant, the anaesthetist and the hospital before anything is booked, and Professor Rodda participates in no-gap arrangements with several health funds.
How often will I need physiotherapy, and can I do it in Buderim?
Two or three supervised sessions a week for the first six weeks is typical, plus daily work at home. All of it can be done in Buderim. Choose a practice before your surgery date and the rooms will send them the written rehabilitation protocol.
Where will my surgery be?
At Maroochy Private Hospital at Maroochydore, which is also where you are seen. Professor Rodda consults and operates at the one address, so there is no second hospital to plan around.
Can I be seen closer than Maroochydore?
The Maroochydore rooms are the only rooms Professor Rodda consults from, and from Buderim they are the closest they could reasonably be: down the hill and across the river flats, and surgery is at the same address.
Nearby areas.
The same rooms serve Mountain Creek, Sippy Downs, Kuluin, Maroochydore and Mooloolaba. See also travelling to the rooms from Buderim and all locations.
Written and reviewed by Professor Daevyd Rodda, MBBS, Dip. Surg Anat, FRACS, FAOrthA. Last reviewed August 2026.
This page provides general information about a medical condition and a surgical procedure. It is not individual medical advice and does not replace consultation with a qualified practitioner. Outcomes vary between individuals and all surgery carries risk. A referral is needed for a consultation with Professor Daevyd Rodda; without one, you can start with the practice nurse practitioner, who can provide it.