Wellness

[shoesnbags]

---

@Katcat1 wrote:

@qvc chick   Do it now while you are young because you will heal faster so DO NOT wait.  Everyone is different so ask your surgeon what is the average down time.  Does your job have medical insurance leave where you will still receive some of your money but not your regular pay check?  I had hip replacement surgery and i bet knee surgery is less downtime.

---

@Katcat1 

I've only had a total knee replacement, but everyone I've heard from who has had both says that hip replacements are much easier than knee replacements.

[shoesnbags]

@judianne 

Have you been tested for an allergy to the material the knee replacement is made of?  The mother of someone I knew had a similar problem to yours.  Her doctor had no idea what was wrong - went on for maybe 18 months and she was given all of those equally bad alternatives to choose from.  She was in a wheelchair at that point. 

I gave them the name of my ortho surgeon and she went to see him.  He tested and found that she was allergic to the implant itself, which kept her knee irritated and subject to infection.  He removed the implant and put her on some kind of meds to clear up the infection and let the knee rest.  Then some months later he did a replacement with a different material from the first one.  She got back total use of her knee.  That was 10 or so years ago.  Might be worth checking into.  Best of luck to you!

[lizzief]

I haven't had this surgery, but my brother and a neighbor did. They both regretted not getting it done sooner! My brother (72) was riding his bike after 2 weeks! As with most medical procedures, knee replacement and recovery has come a long way! Just make sure you go to a surgeon who is using the latest prosthesis, and not someone who while me be experienced, has done thousands but is still using the old fashioned techniques, and has not kept up to date on the latest methods. That's what will save you a lot of pain and recovery time!

[jazzie3]

I had a TKR 16 months ago. I was surprised at how tough and painful recovery was. I was 66 yrs at the time but very active. The knee is feeling better but stairs are still painful, especially going down. Everyone is different but I have gotten discouraged when I hear how others are doing amazing things after a couple of weeks. Well that wasn't me. Just temper your expectations but hope for the best.

[chiclet]

My husband had it done in October.  He recovered nicely and it does not hurt to walk or use steps.  The first 10 days are the worse.  The Doctor said years back they were able to give twice the pains meds they do now.  He is a big guy and they did not give him a lot. It was painful to go to PT without a lot of pain meds and hurt really bad afterwards.  Now he needs to do the second one.  The one he had surgery on still hurts when he tries to sleep at night.  Hopefully that will go away in time.  He is thinking about a different surgeon.  The one that did surgery never saw him again.  He went in for a check up with his assistant and that was it.  It felt like assembly line surgery.  

[Katcat1]

@shoesnbags    I had the hip replacement and a week or so later I dislocated the hip.  Talk about pain -- I was screaming.

[Sapphiregal]

I recently heard an orthopedic surgeon talking about partial knee replacement. He said that about half of the people who have TKR would do fine with just having the partial knee replacement which is less invasive and much less healing time. However, he went on to say that there aren't a lot of surgeons who know how to perform this surgery. I found a you tube video that shows the difference in the two procedures. It described the TKR procedure as " brutal" and I would have to say, I agree, after watching it. 

[hckynutjohn]

@Sapphiregal 

I can relate to this new type of surgery done on 2 different people.

My sister's son is an MD. He found a surgeon that is familiar with thus specifically surgery by doing quite a few of them. This surgeon told the first group of patients that this was an "experimental type surgery", so they understood and signed a more detailed risk waiver.

They were all successful so my nephew told my sister it was safe to have done. I am not sure where this surgeon practices, but it is not anywhere close to our city.

The other is a good friend that is an Orthopedic Surgeon, that specializes in nothing but Spine Surgeries, which include Micro-surgeries. Now my other friend is also and Orthopedic Surgeon, he specializes in Hip and Knee Repair and Replacement, he did my wife's TKR a few years ago.

Now these 2 share the same last name but are not related. They both played in my Adult Hockey League for many years, and are very good friends. The Spinal Surgeon had went through several knee surgeries during his college sports years. Thus it was decided he needed Knee Replacement Surgery.

My Hip/Knee Orthopedic friend said he could not do this Partial type of surgery because he had only assisted on a couple of them done by another doctor, and he was not yet Certified to perform this Partial Knee Surgery.

My Spinal friend went to a surgeon somewhere in New York and had this Partial Surgery done. 

Both my sister(who was 86) when she had this done, recovered in less than half the time it took my wife with her TKR. The Spinal Surgeon recovered even quicker than my older sister. 

First he is 25 years younger, and also has been through many knee rehab surgeries during his life, my sister had not. They both agreed they are happy they took this Partial Surgery Route.

It was explained to me in pretty generic medical terms, most of which were hard for me too follow. Wish I could say more about the "how this is done", but it would be futile for me to even attempt to try to do so.

hckynut  🇺🇸

[Shelbelle]

I know someone who has had 2 partials, doing great.