There is no specific preparation required. At the time of booking our friendly customer service team may ask you a few questions, and will provide you with all relevant information about the procedure and aftercare.

Please wear loose clothing to your appointment, preferably a shirt and pants/skirt, so we may access the treatment site easily. In some instances, you may be given a gown to wear. You may also be asked to remove objects like watches or jewellery for your scan, so consider leaving any valuables at home.

Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment with your Medicare card and/or concession card, your referral, and any relevant previous scans. If you have a child aged 6 or under, they must be supervised by an adult other than the patient.

Depending on the procedure, your background risk and the type of blood thinner you are taking, you may be contacted by us and asked to temporarily withhold your blood thinners. If you are not sure if you are able to safely withhold your blood thinners, then you can ask your referring doctor whether you are able to stop them temporarily. If you have been advised by your doctor not to stop your blood thinners, then please advise us so we can take this into account when planning for your procedure.

EUFLEXXA® treatments are available at Qscan Radiology Clinics by referral only. Once you have received your required referrals contact us to make an appointment. 

You will have an initial consult with one of our expert radiologists, who will advise whether a steroid injection is required to reduce swelling in the joint. If it is, you may receive the steroid injection at this time, and then return at a later date for your first EUFLEXXA® injection. If you do not require a steroid, the radiologist may administer your first EUFLEXXA® injection at this appointment.

Each EUFLEXXA® procedure takes about 20 minutes.  Your skin around the area being injected will be cleaned with an antiseptic solution. In some cases a local anaesthetic will be initially administered, which may cause a stinging sensation which will quickly subside. 

A needle will then be guided into place in the joint under imaging guidance (usually CT). When the needle is in the correct position, the joint will be injected with Euflexxa. You may feel some discomfort or cramping during this injection which usually settles very quickly.

The length of your appointment may vary, but generally a joint injection will take 15 – 30 minutes. You may be asked to stay at the clinic for a short period following the injection to ensure that you do not have any problems.

Most people do not report any problems following the procedure, or at most report only minor side effects from the procedure. 

However, there are some risks that you need to be aware of:

• Pain or discomfort during the procedure – It is common to feel some discomfort during any procedure involving needles, although we will try to minimise your discomfort with local anaesthetic. However, you should let us know if you are feeling pain during the procedure.
• General malaise –A feeling of general malaise is also sometimes reported.
• Flare of pain – some patients may feel an increase in their symptoms after the injections. This may be caused by the EUFLEXXA® or sometimes the local anaesthetic. This will usually settle down by itself over the course of a few days, although sometimes may take longer. You may take analgesia if you experience a flare, as it will not affect the outcome of the injection. Most people who experience a flare also report that their usual baseline symptoms improve once the flare has also settled.
• Allergic reactions – serious allergic reactions are rare for this type of procedure, although may be caused due to a reaction to the skin cleaner, EUFLEXXA® or local anaesthetic. If you suffer from an allergic reaction it will usually occur at the time of the procedure, and will be treated accordingly by the radiologist.
• Failure of the procedure – in some cases the procedure may not alleviate your pain, or may only partially relieve your symptoms. The reason for this may be for a variety of reasons, but is usually related to the cause of your pain rather than anything related to the procedure itself. The fact that the procedure has not alleviated your pain is still important information for your referring doctor to know, as it will help to further guide the diagnosis and management of your pain in the future.
• Bleeding – bleeding and bruising is usually very minimal. It may be more common in people who have an underlying bleeding disorder or who are taking blood thinners. Rarely it may cause a ‘haemarthrosis” or bleeding into the joint requiring further medical or surgical treatment.
• Infection – this is uncommon and usually minor, although uncommonly may require hospital admission and treatment with antibiotics or surgery.

You may require a driver to take you home and you should not drive for at least 6 hours following the injection. We ask that you avoid any strenuous physical activity, including standing for more than one hour at a time, for 48 hours post injection.

If you experience pain following the procedure, you may treat with a local application of a cold pack and analgesia (e.g. paracetamol or NSAIDs).

If you develop fever with joint pain, swelling, redness and warmth in the days or week following an injection, call Qscan on 1300 177 226 or contact your GP. If you are still concerned and it is after hours, please contact your nearest Emergency Department.

Our friendly customer service team will provide you with any specific aftercare instructions at the time of your appointment.  If you are still concerned and it is after hours, please contact your nearest Emergency Department.

Our friendly customer service team can advise you of all costs involved with your procedure including any out-of-pocket costs, if relevant. Please contact us for a quote or to book your appointment.