Anyone ever have knee replacement surgery?

Make_My_Day

I'm not talking about total replacement, where they remove top and bottom of the knee and give you a mechanical version of a joint. What I mean is a resurfacing, such as a grinding off a portion of the swivel part of the bone and put in a piece of material that replaces the worn existing joint cartilage.

I am expecting to have double knee replacement surgery at the end of February or early March, and I'm wondering if any of you have had this surgery done, and what have been the results in your particular case. How has the quality of life improved for you since the surgery?

For me, the last few years have been very painful in my knees. I have had arthroscopic surgery on both knees already with a temporary improvement, but don't think this will help again. I rely on painkillers every day to get by, and I have reached the point that having the surgery is a better alternative to not doing anything but take pills. I would like to know what you all think....thanks.

Jayhawker

In some cases, it's just putting off the inevitable... FIL had it done a few years back..got a lot of relief from the procedure, but in the end still had a full-knee replacement last year. Your mileage may vary...

Teach

Miss Mary had a total knee replacement about 6 years ago, and a "revision" last year where the plastic shim between the stainless steel parts was replaced with a thicker one to tighten up some slack. The first one was not effective from the get-go- - - -the knee would flex from side to side, which it should not be able to do. The pain from that one never stopped. After the revision, things are much better. Do your homework, and definitely talk to the surgeon's former patients to see how well their procedures went- - - - -particularly the ones several years down the road. Knee work has a habit of having to be re-done after a while. Mary also had several partial procedures before the total replacement was necessary.
Jerry

Make_My_Day

Teach wrote: »

.......Do your homework, and definitely talk to the surgeon's former patients to see how well their procedures went- - - - -particularly the ones several years down the road.......

With patient privacy issues being what they are, I'm not sure I would be able to speak with former patients. The surgeon I have is supposed to be one of the best in the Orlando area. He is a board certified Orthopedic Surgeon, a specialist in knee surgery and also someone who works in sports medicine, so I imagine he does repair for athletes as well. He told me in my pre-op consultation that surgical techniques have been improved in the last few years, so that recovery time and the damage caused by the surgery itself is a lot less now. That has given me some degree of comfort. I have a booklet and video designed to answer all the questions a potential surgery patient would have, so I imagine I'll find out all about what to expect. I saw the x-rays of both my knees, and it doesn't look good. The inside left has no cartilage at all, the outside left is narrowed with arthritis. The inside right is narrowed with arthritis and outside right is normal. The pain in both knees without the pills is about the same....moderate-to-bad.

bisley

I don't need one, yet. If I ever start getting the proper amount of exercise, though, I probably will.

While I don't want surgery of any kind, unless absolutely necessary, I have seen too many successes with people I know well, to refuse it. My mother had a total replacement at age 75, and my MIL had both done at that age. My neighbor had both done, in his 70's, and said it was the smartest thing he ever did.

A friend had one done at about age 50, and had the fastest and most complete recovery of all of them. His knees were wrecked from HS football, and had dealt him misery for decades. He was better than he had been in many years, and pain-free.

These were all total replacements. My mother is 89, and still doing well with hers, and the hip replacement she had a couple years later.

Teach

Malpractice suits are a matter of public record, so it's pretty simple to ferret out the unsuccessful procedures a surgeon has done. Good results might be a little harder to discover. My family has made it a practice to do our due dilligence before putting our trust in anybody who's about to do any whittling, and somebody with the inflated ego of a surgeon will always clam to be "the best there ever wuz"! Ask any surgeon or medical specialist- - - -all of them walk on water!
Jerry

Make_My_Day

bisley wrote: »

I don't need one, yet. If I ever start getting the proper amount of exercise, though, I probably will.............

Hahaha...guess what? 30 years of regular jogging wore my cartilage out to the point it is now!

Make_My_Day

Teach wrote: »

........My family has made it a practice to do our due dilligence before putting our trust in anybody who's about to do any whittling, and somebody with the inflated ego of a surgeon will always clam to be "the best there ever wuz"! Ask any surgeon or medical specialist- - - -all of them walk on water!
Jerry

I don't discount what you say, but in this case I trust this doctor. He is the one who did the arthroscopic procedures on me, did a special injection into both kneecaps to try and mitigate the loss of cartilage in there, and never once encouraged me to get a knee replacement. He was always willing to try and see what less invasive procedures would work as an alternative to surgery. This is not the first time I have had physical issues and needed surgical repairs. I suffered a nasty motorcycle accident in 1975 and have been left with all kinds of problems since then. This is just the latest in a series of them. I also have been using this particular practice since I have lived in the Orlando area, and I think they are very well qualified to do this. The reason for posting this inquiry was more to find out what other people's experience with the surgery was. I am already committed to having it, as I see no other recourse to improving my quality of life at this point.

Based on your advice, I did do a search for malpractice of this doctor and found that he has had no malpractice, sanctions or board actions. In addition, the man is a graduate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Emory School of Medicine.

DoctorWho

How many replacement surgeries has the Surgeon done ? just like automotive work, experience counts, go to a hospital such as the hospital for joint disease http://hjd.med.nyu.edu/contact-us

09.26.2012 Joseph Zuckerman, MD, Quoted on Recent JAMA Article on Knee Replacements

Hate Newyorkers for being stupid libtards if you must, but if you need knee surgery, you need a teaching surgeon.

DanChamberlain

How heavy are you? Will have an effect on recovery time.

orchidman

My Uncle/Godfather had his one of his knees done in sept/oct last year...........he was 87 at the time. He was walking around better than he had been for a number of years and was totally pain free after having the op. He has just gone through a hip replacement (at 88) and is due to be released from hospital shortly.

After the knee surgery he said he felt good and was able to do things he hadnt been able to do for 30-40 years. Trouble was, the pain meds he was taking prior to the surgery ( knee) were masking the hip problem. After a couple of months his hip started to cause major problems so he decided to have it done, despite the odds only just being in his favour of surviving the op due to heart problems.

He came through the hip op good and when he gets home I will talk to him about the knee and pass on any info if you want.

Ranch13

I would suggest that you not have them both done at the same time. Do the worst one get it healed and then go with the next one.
It is a quite painful thing to start with, but with dedication to your physical therapy and doing just exactly the excersizes etc they tell you to the recovery time will be short and complete.
If you follow thru with the full recovery regime you will be able to get around about as good as you ever were. If you decide to park on your butt and whine because it hurts, you'll be crippled up worse than you are now.

CHIRO1989

Research the brand of device they are going to implant in your knee, my patients have had nothing but trouble with the "Striker" (sp?) Hip replacement device.

Forgot to add, if you have not been using a stationary bike, you need to start, even if you have the surgery.

Make_My_Day

orchidman wrote: »

......He came through the hip op good and when he gets home I will talk to him about the knee and pass on any info if you want.

Thank you. If he feels good after his knee surgery, that is the kind of info I'm interested in.

Make_My_Day

Ranch13 wrote: »

I would suggest that you not have them both done at the same time. Do the worst one get it healed and then go with the next one............

I realize having both done at once will be worse than doing one at a time, but I have already made up my mind about getting it all over with at once. I don't want half of this year bogged down with recovery time. I want to go to the SE Shoot this year and I also have a motorcycle rally in North Carolina to attend in August, but I appreciate the advice.

Make_My_Day

CHIRO1989 wrote: »

Research the brand of device they are going to implant in your knee, my patients have had nothing but trouble with the "Striker" (sp?) Hip replacement device. Forgot to add, if you have not been using a stationary bike, you need to start, even if you have the surgery.

I don't know if what you're talking about is related to knee surgery. The surgeon I'm using is a very well qualified Orthopedic Surgeon, specializing in knee injuries and works with injured professional athletes as well, so I'm pretty sure they use the best available implant devices.

Make_My_Day

DanChamberlain wrote: »

How heavy are you? Will have an effect on recovery time.

6'2" @ 273 lbs, with build similar to an overweight football player.

bisley

Make_My_Day wrote: »

6'2" @ 273 lbs, with build similar to an overweight football player.

That's an interesting way to describe it - I'm 6'3" @ 300lbs. and look like a pregnant football player with no butt and skinny legs. :jester:

Make_My_Day

bisley wrote: »

That's an interesting way to describe it - I'm 6'3" @ 300lbs. and look like a pregnant football player with no butt and skinny legs. :jester:

Well, at least I don't look pregnant....:roll2:

samzhere

I had left knee total replacement in 2007 and personally have problems with the procedure -- not the overall process performed by a good surgeon and such, but my own surgery was rushed and sloppy. This can happen in any sort of surgery -- the process itself is great (if needed) and the successes very high, but it can be screwed up occasionally.

I'm far better than prior -- it was total bone on bone before and I was crippled -- but the questionable quality of the surgeon's job on my knee has left me with a partially okay knee.

But in general, do everything reasonable to avoid surgery -- this is good advice for ANY illness -- but if the replacement thing becomes necessary, make sure you've got a top notch doc and then go for it. 99% you'll be fine.

Make_My_Day

samzhere wrote: »

.........But in general, do everything reasonable to avoid surgery -- this is good advice for ANY illness -- but if the replacement thing becomes necessary, make sure you've got a top notch doc and then go for it. 99% you'll be fine.

Thanks...I think my doctor is a good one. I'm having partials, not total. He's done my 3 arthroscopic procedures already and 2 injections of some stuff in my kneecaps. I had some relief, but not long lasting. I've been on pain pills every day for 3 years and I think it's time for the surgery. I don't want to live this way anymore...I've had it, so I'm going under the knife. I just hope I can make the SE Shoot this year. It looks like I won't be getting the surgery until Late March, unless there is a cancellation for February 21st, like I wanted. By the time I got the results of my pre-surgery physical, the spot was filled. So we will see how it goes. I have actually put this off for 2 years already. The only reason I have waited this long is because I was running a business, and I wanted to wait until I was on Social Security before I shut it down and retired.

DoctorWho

Proper diet / nutrition is also a big factor in better healing post surgery.....

samzhere

One other piece of advice -- after surgery, be faithful and diligent in the rehab exercises! They may be painful but are absolutely necessary for proper healing.

Make_My_Day

samzhere wrote: »

One other piece of advice -- after surgery, be faithful and diligent in the rehab exercises! They may be painful but are absolutely necessary for proper healing.

Yeah, that's what I hear. I intend to do whatever is needed.