- 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 Noosa 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 Noosa.
Where you are seen.
Noosa patients are seen at the Maroochydore rooms, on Level 9 of Maroochy Private Hospital on Future Way, with parking on site. It is about thirty five minutes south on the Sunshine Motorway.
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 Noosa Heads, Noosaville, Tewantin, Sunshine Beach and Peregian Beach are seen at Maroochydore as well.
Where the operation happens.
This is the one thing worth knowing before you start. Both the consultations and the operating lists are south of Noosa: the rooms at Maroochydore, and surgery at Maroochy Private, the same address. Nothing happens in Noosa itself, so it is better to plan for the drive at the outset than to discover it when the surgery is booked. Appointments are grouped where possible so the trip is made as few times as it can be.
Getting there and getting home.
In practice it means two things. The drive down happens once, very early, on the morning of surgery, and whoever drives you should treat it as a full morning rather than a school run. Discharge is the harder trip, because you are travelling the length of the coast one to three days after a major operation, and a car with a seat that reclines and a passenger who can stop is worth more than a fast one.
Some Noosa patients choose to stay with family closer to the hospital for the first few nights after discharge rather than drive straight home. It is not required and most people go directly home, but if you live alone or the drive worries you, raise it at the pre-admission appointment rather than on the day. It changes the discharge plan, and the plan is easier to change in advance.
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 Noosa.
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.
This is where the geography stops mattering. Knee rehabilitation means supervised physiotherapy two or three times a week for the first six weeks, and nobody sustains that down the coast and back. It has to be local, it has to be booked before your surgery date rather than after it, and it is the single strongest predictor of how the knee ends up. Tell the rooms which Noosa practice you have chosen and the written protocol goes to them directly. The flat riverfront path along Gympie Terrace at Noosaville is good ground for early walking practice. The two week wound review and the later reviews are at the Maroochydore rooms, which are on the same campus as the surgery.
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 Noosa 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 Noosa?
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.
Do I have to travel to the coast for physiotherapy?
No, and you should not try. Knee rehabilitation is two or three supervised sessions a week for six weeks and it needs to be in Noosa. Book the practice before your surgery date and tell the rooms who it is so the written protocol goes to them.
Where will my operation actually be?
At Maroochy Private Hospital at Maroochydore, which is also where you are seen. There is no private orthopaedic operating list in Noosa itself, and Professor Rodda no longer consults in Noosa either. Consultations and follow-up reviews are at the Maroochydore rooms.
Can the first appointment be done by telehealth?
Yes, where travel is difficult, although a joint replacement decision needs a physical examination at some point before surgery is booked. Telehealth is most useful for the follow-up conversation after imaging, and for reviews once you are recovering well.
Nearby areas.
The same rooms serve Noosa Heads, Noosaville, Tewantin, Sunshine Beach and Peregian Beach. See also hip and knee surgeon Noosa 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.