Kneee replacement

[jay3534]

Anyone had knee replacement? My wife is going to have it done and I am concerned about the surgery. Any input would be appreciated as I am told it is pretty tough to go through.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

My Mom is going to need both knees done in the future, interested as well.

 

[Bird]

I had my right knee replaced on August 30, 2010 (almost 6 years ago). I went in Monday morning for the surgery and went home Thursday. There were no complications and I couldn't have asked for any better treatment than I got in that hospital (Medical Center of Lewisville). Doctor say he used a Zimmer brand replacement, and while in the hospital, they used a CPM (constant passive motion machine) to bend the knee back and forth; starting at 50 degrees and working up to 90 degrees, and they gave me a walker to use. But it was a fairly long recovery, home physical therapy for 2 weeks, etc. Now it will never bend quite as far as the OEM knee, but no problems.

 

[IXLR8]

Anyone had knee replacement? My wife is going to have it done and I am concerned about the surgery. Any input would be appreciated as I am told it is pretty tough to go through.

Is it a full knee replacement or a partial? Partials tend to be a no big deal, my wife had a partial and was walking on it 3 hrs after she came out of surgery. The most pain she had was in her hip as the knee being out had thrown her hip out. With the knee straightened back out, her hip was now aligned properly for the first time in 10 years and that is where she experienced the most pain. My mom had full knee replacement and it took her 8-10 months to recover. Although to be honest, most of her issues were her own doing as she refused to do her physical therapy properly. I think the key is to get the knee moving again as soon as possible with as much range of motion as possible. Not doing your PT properly is the worse thing you can do. There is going to be a fair amount of pain, lots of stuff in the knee was disturbed in the process, but you need to work thru it if you want to return to anything resembling normal.

 

[chuck172]

I had my right knee replaced about 5 or 6 years ago. Needed both done but chose to go one at a time. Getting a new right knee took a big load off the left. Manageable pain level there now. The big thing is physical therapy. Not just after but it's real important to start prior to the surgery. I thing pre-physical therapy is the key to having a successful replacement.

 

[techman]

My wife had both done (total) last fall. There was certainly discomfort for a few weeks, but it continually got better and by Christmas she was as good as pre-op, except she moved as well as she did 30 years ago. Now, 11 months later, no issues, scars are almost non-visible and no complaints.

Look for a doc with a good track record, usually at a renowned facility. Experience is everything with these surgeries.

Paul

 

[jay3534]

Thanks for the replies. She went thru the fusion of 3 lumbar disks in February and continues to have issues but the pain in her knee is so bad she says "I have got to do it"
Thanks again

 

[EddieWalker]

My mom just had a total knee replacement last Tuesday at Tyler Spine and Joint. We have several large hospitals in the area and my wife was a manager at one of them for awhile. She now teaches nursing at UT and is very close to completing her PhD. She knows who the good docs are and who to avoid, Tyler Spine and Joint is one of the best in the nation and people fly in from all over the country. Ten years ago my dad had both of his knees replaced. One a year. His recovery was amazing, so we went into this based on his experience.

My mom and wife did the tour of the facilities, then another meeting on what to expect. They where given a list of items to buy, things like a seat for the shower and stuff like that. She was also given a set of exercises to do beforehand that she did religiously. She is 74 years old, active as she can be with the pain in her knees, and probably 20+ pounds overweight.

The day of the surgery, we all got up at 3:30 am and she was there an hour later. The surgery went fairly quick and by noon, the physical therapist was there to start her therapy. It was very important to get her walking right away. Her first walk was 160 feet, which they said was extremely good!!! Two days later the spinal blocking pain meds wore off and then she was in pain. Until then, she didn't feel any pain.

She came home two days after surgery and my wife is taking care of her. Bathing her, cooking for my parents and doing laundry. We're paying for a house cleaner to keep the house nice since my dad just doesn't seem to be able to see dirt. He's 80 and tries real hard to help out, but you have to really stay on top of what he is supposed to do for it to get done. She has to take pain meds every 4 hours. If not, then we are chasing the pain and it's harder to control. Dad forgets and Mom doesn't like taking them, so we've had a few issues with pain because she went longer then 4 hours in taking them.

We've had the physical therapist out here to their house twice so far and that's gone great. Mom is very determined and really pushes her therapy. When my dad had his done, he set records in his recovery because he did twice what he was supposed to for therapy, and then some.

Mom is scheduled to have her other knee replaced Nov 1st.

And about a month ago, our female Akita blew out her knees chasing a guinea fowl. She had been having problems with knees and we where thinking it was her hips, but the xrays showed that her hips where perfect, but her knees where both horrible. When she blew it out, she was crippled. Couldn't walk on it, couldn't stand on it, and she wasn't able to get into position to go potty.

We had her in for surgery two days later. The next day, early in the morning when we picked her up, she walked out to the car and I picked her to get her into the SUV. She has to be kenneled and on a short leash when we go outside. After a month of this, she wants to run so bad, but we can't let that happen. She is still healing and could injure herself easily.

Cost for my moms knee replacement was $70,000. Cost for our dogs knee replacement was $2,700 done by a specialist that just does knees.

 

[sd455dan]

Anyone had knee replacement? My wife is going to have it done and I am concerned about the surgery. Any input would be appreciated as I am told it is pretty tough to go through.

Wife had her right Knee done (total) in May, and a couple thoughts
1st there is a Huge difference between partial and full /total.
Hope it just a partial, but if it is a total knee replacement-

It got put off for 2 weeks because of a slight nick in the incision area- so make sure she doesn't shave and just make sure no abrasions happen- docs won't do the surgery if there is any chance of infection.

Get the femoral nerve block - hope I remembered the name right it is a time released pain killer from a ball that lasts for a few days after the surgery -really, REALLY helps with the pain for the first few days and the CPM.

If possible get the after surgery care at a Life Care style facility that offers physical therapy - IT Was worth it for us, we have dogs and ANY thing bumping or running into the Knee area can be excruciatingly painful, It was great to have the extra physical therapy and a doctor available ( swelling , ripped staple and others) . The first few weeks don't expect her to be able to do anything but exercises and rest- especially If she has any other physical things like arthritis...

In the end Full knee replacement was very much worth it- my wife now has full motion and her knee does not sound like it is grinding up gravel when moved also she no longer wakes up at 4 am in tears due to the knee pain every morning let alone when trying to walk.

If your wife is motivated and is willing to work thru the pain (like mine)-should work out great but- some people ( more than a few) get the surgery done, and don't push themselves My friends uncle, is having additional surgery to re adjust the artificial ligaments due to not following docs orders on pt.

ps. they used a new model of a full knee replacement that has replaceable wear discs, this way the bone fused parts do not need to be removed, and should the wearable parts need replacement it is far less invasive than the previous method.

hope this helps

 

[TnAndy]

Had my left one done in February. In hospital 3 days, began Pt following week, that went on for 6 weeks. Overall, not that bad.

I'm NOT that pleased with the results now months later....joint pops and clicks every step I take....loud enough other people can hear it when I walk by, so it's not just me. Still some pain at night laying in the bed. Personally, I'd have to really think hard before having the other one done.

Surgeon says a year for full recovery, so we'll see....

 

[mapper]

Going into week three with my wife's new knee. She started PT in the hospital a few hours after surgery, nerve blocks are the key for the the first two days then pain meds every four hours. Her physical therapy is going well, important to synchronize the pain meds with PT. Expect temporary setbacks in progress, a lot will be due to swelling, invest in a lot of ice bags and use them 20 minutes of ice 60 minutes between icing.
Expect to be your wife's PT coach, cheerleader, and you will be taking care of everything for the first few weeks. As coach you will need to make sure that she pushes herself, as cheerleader you need to notice the improvements and make sure she is encouraged by them. Everything else is housekeeping, cooking, shopping, driving to PT threes times a week and all the other stuff you normally do.
Got to go now - fix breakfast and head to PT. Weeds in the garden will have to wait:laughing:

 

[RSKY]

I am having my left knee replaced on the 29th of August. Just three weeks away. I am thru hurting with ever step I take and I am finished taking pain pills all the time.

The best advice I can give, since mine hasn't been replaced yet, is to investigate the doctors in your area. I investigated and asked everybody that I could find that had a knee replaced. The doctor who is doing mine has the best reputation of any around my home. It takes FOUR MONTHS just to get in to see him for a preliminary visit. According to his assistant about a third of his work is fixing other doctors screw ups. I have talked to several people who have had replacements done by him and all sing his praises. On the other hand there are people I have talked to that have had their replacements done by other doctors that have had nothing but pain and trouble. Ask around, talk to people, find out which doctor takes months to get in to see. The good ones are backed up for months. If you can get in to see the surgeon next week run, or in my case it would be limp, away as fast as you can.

The hospital staffs are always aware of what doctors do good work and what doctors do not. Find somebody who works surgery in your area and find out who they like. I had my pre-surgery checkup last week and every single lab tech, x-ray tech, staff, and even the ancient volunteers smiled when I told them who was doing the surgery. They know who does good work.

According to my doctor an older obese woman will have very little pain. A fairly slim, physically fit male will have more pain. He told me that my surgery will be painful. I will have very little therapy. He said therapy helps but is not one size fits all and can sometimes cause much trouble. The physical therapists he uses are working out of the hospital the surgery will take place at. They know what he wants done and are extremely careful not to overdo things.

Sorry to be so long winded when the surgery has not happened yet but he insists that his patients go to a 'knee replacement boot camp' where a very attractive young lady tells you simple things I would have not thought about to make recovery easier. Everything from diet before and after surgery to treatment of the wound. What to do and what not to do and when to do it. Swelling seems to be the main concern and she went into great detail about how to position oneself while watching TV or other activities. Proper positioning will help reduce swelling.

Once again, sorry to be long winded but getting the right doctor is the key even if you have to wait longer.

 

[dmccarty]

Thanks for the replies. She went thru the fusion of 3 lumbar disks in February and continues to have issues but the pain in her knee is so bad she says "I have got to do it"
Thanks again

Since she is at the point where the pain is so bad she needs the surgery, now is the time.

I was standing around waiting for a meeting a few years ago and a bunch of guys were talking about their back pains, surgeries and doctors. One guy had gone to the doctor and the recommendation was surgery. The guy did not want surgery yet and the doctor said fine, come back and see me when you can no longer take the pain. I think that was a very good point. Put these things off as far as possible, but when the pain is so bad, then it is time for surgery. There might be some circumstances where it would be better to have surgery sooner but in these cases it seems like holding off is a good idea.

Why? Because you really don't know the outcome. Some people wish they had done the surgery sooner but for others it is not so successful. My grand father had both knees replaced and it was not successful. We think he was worse off after the surgery but we also think this is partially his fault since he would not do the PT. Flip side, was we were told that for some reason these surgeries cause a high rates of strokes. My grandfather had gazzilions of strokes in the years after the surgery. Was this a result of the surgery or just life? We will never now the answer but it is why I think waiting as long as possible for these type of surgeries is a good thing.

My mother had had her knee replaced and she did the PT but she still has some pain and trouble walking. Is she better off after the surgery? I think so but not by much. Reading people's results on TBN and seeing family go through the surgery, the out come seems to be a roll of the dice which gets me back to the pain. Once the pain is so bad you have to do something, then you have to do something, and the outcome will be what ever the outcome will be.

What I have learned the hard way with the medical field, is to find the best possible doctor you can, and even if it means travel, go to them. Don't be afraid to "fire" a doctor either. My wife has had three shoulder surgeries, two of which were from a car accident. The third one might have been from the accident or just life. The surgeon said the problem that caused the third surgery sometimes just happens to women of a certain age. No rhyme or reason but she sees the problem frequently. :shocked::confused3: The wifey had been going to doctor that was supposed to be good and he treated her for 12-18 months with no real changed. Went to this specialist at Duke and she immediately found the problem. The ligament in the wife's arm was busted like overstretched spandex. No amount of PT or shots were EVER going to fix the problem. :shocked: All of the pain my wifey had been enduring as a result of the injury, shots and PT should not have happened and was not going to solve the problem.

Find a really good doctor... We don't play anymore and we go to Duke or UNC to find the doctors that really know what they are doing. Problem is, we knew this already, but we went with this other doctor instead of going to Duke or UNC. :confused3:

Later,
Dan

 

[RSKY]

Good doctor = Good results.

 

[dickfoster]

Anyone had knee replacement? My wife is going to have it done and I am concerned about the surgery. Any input would be appreciated as I am told it is pretty tough to go through.

My wife has had both done. A partial the first time around and a compete on the other knee. Now the partial is starting to act up so I suggest not messing around with a partial and just get a complete replacement. She did just fine going though both operations though and they were done in two different places by different docs. She was like a new person after each and says it's well worth getting it done rather than putting up with the pain.

 

[Budweiser John]

I have had two total replacement knees. In both cases done with an overnight hospital stay.
Do the recommended PT and get off the couch and move about. Advil for pain. Expect some digestive slow down due to the antibiotics and a few painful steps at first but the end result is well worth the effort.
Just go for it.
B. John

 

[JerryK]

Brother had both knees done. First one went well about five years ago, this last one he never worked the full movement back into it. Don't know if it is because he is now 73, or just ' because '.

 

[jay3534]

Thanks for the replies and comments

 

[Bird]

It's obviously very common surgery. Before having mine done, I asked the doctor how many of them he had done and he said, "More than a thousand." Now he had tried everything else first, injections, etc. before talking about a knee replacement. I later learned that he does knee replacements every Monday, and another orthopedic doctor in the same office does them on Tuesdays.