knee replacement

Anyone here had a total knee replacement and care to share details--pain, recovery time, etc?

Thanks
Terry

[9dreizig]

I had one about 5 years ago..
WAY more difficult to recover from than a hip (I've had two)..
Skied 7 weeks after then hip replacement,, 9 weeks after the knee replacement and was still very painful..
Really is a one year recovery until you're totally back to normal.. but now it's like original equipment..
I ski, bike, lift weights,, no issues
careful it might make you vote republican however

Like all joint replacements THE DOCTOR is the huge variable,, research them very carefully

Wow- a whole year? Yikes. My hope is to be back on track this summer.

My doc is pretty much the rock star in town, and he does what is called a "minimally invasive" replacement (a name he says is unfortunate, since it's still plenty invasive). This does not involve cutting the quadriceps muscle, which supposedly speeds recovery quite a bit.

I'll be sure not to vote under the influence of pain meds!

[quicksix]

Do your P.T. ahead of time,start a program to strengthen the knee flexors and extensor muscles to shorten recovery time.Research you ortho ahead of time and where he does his surgeries,keeping an eye on post surgery infection rates.
Be prepared.
Why are you getting the surgery?

Good Luck and be prepared

[plumb4u2]

a friend I play golf with every Sunday had a total knee done last winter. He had it done in November and was back on the course by April

He owns a flooring company so that did its toll on the knee

But like quicksix said the more you prepare yourself the better

my friend busted his ass in PT so that he could play golf again ASAP

[madmmac]

Originally Posted by madcorgi

My doc is pretty much the rock star in town, and he does what is called a "minimally invasive" replacement (a name he says is unfortunate, since it's still plenty invasive).

Who is the Doctor?....I'll be needing one at some point. I just had my good knee scoped last Wednesday.

Thanks,

The doctor is Seth Leopold in Bellevue. He is a professor of orthopedics at UW. I know one of his patients and she raved about him.

I plan to bust my ass in PT. I'm getting it done because wen they scoped it for a torn menisucs they said it was toast because of arthritis.

[quicksix]

Why did she rave?
Because of the results?
or
Her perception of him?
Work hard in PT,do your homework and research the implant the ortho is going to use.
0 degrees extension is what they aim for

[LakeCleElum]

Had mine knee replacement 4 weeks ago in Auburn, WA (3 blocks from Superman's house).........Doc is a rock star, Hospital sucked so bad, I wrote a 4 page letter and meeting with Hosp CEO tomorrow...I gave him a choice of meeting with me or I send my letter to the press.

I did PT for 6 weeks before. Everyone agrees I'm making amazing progress now, but MY Pt guy is canceling other appointments so he can hurt me more to get back into Full Range of Motion....

I've had 9 surgeries - This is 10 times worse than anything I've ever been thru in my life........

Having a good Doc is important, but my guess is there are many in your area than can do a good job. I was warned not to go to this Hospital....I thought: "How bad can it be".....Well, I almost called an ambulance to get me out of there.....

[9dreizig]

I don't mean to tell you it's a year before you can do anything,,, just that there's still pain a year later,, like I said I skied 9 weeks after I had it done..
Make sure you do a little research as to what device he's putting in. Hands down the latest device from Zimmer is the best, but there are a number of good ones out there. Biomet also makes a very good one. I personally called the sales guy that installed them (they are the ones that are in the OR room advising the docs, they know the good ones from the hacks).
What do you want to do at the track ? Walking, biking, etc you'll be doing that in a few weeks no problem

[Superman]

I like you madcorgi and we should have a beer some time but I'm not going to mince words here. ACL reconstruction surgery is not for sissies. When NFL players get an early-season tear, their hope is they will be back the following season. If they work hard. You're no different.

I have not had this surgery but my (then) wife did. Healthy, energetic, athletic, and it took her probably 8-10 months before her legs were the same thickness. That was a long time ago, but the warning is the same. Plan on doing some hard work. If you ever want to see grown men cry, go to a sports medicine institute. Physical therapists are evil. Okay, maybe not evil, but they're insistent. If you don't achieve the range of motion then want, they might strap you down and do it for you.

[Heel n Toe]

corgi, my first wife's pop is a tough old WWII veteran... a Navy Seabee and was involved in the invasion of Tarawa.

He had one of his knees done about 15 years ago when he was about 70, IIRC. The nurses said they'd never seen anybody work so hard in post-op therapy.

If he can do it, you can, too. Grit your teeth and go hard.

BTW, I don't think anyone has mentioned this; part of your post-op therapy may include some work in the hospital bed with a machine that is strapped to your thigh and your lower leg and it moves/bends your new knee for you from straight to bent in an increasingly severe angle to keep the range of motion there and prepare you for PT.

Yeah, it won't be fun either, but it won't kill ya.

Check this out:

Thanks got the info, guys. LakeCleEl, sorry about you hospital experience. It wasn't UW Hospital, was it?

9dreizig, you did your hone work! It didn't occur to me to find out the brand. My friend liked the result. And she walks fine with no pain.

Supe, it's not ACL--it's the joint. They leave the ligaments alone.

H&T: I think my guy uses thst Iron Maiden too.

As always, Pelicaners are great sources of info.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Superman

... ACL reconstruction surgery is not for sissies. When NFL players get an early-season tear, their hope is they will be back the following season. If they work hard. You're no different.

I have not had this surgery but my (then) wife did. Healthy, energetic, athletic, and it took her probably 8-10 months before her legs were the same thickness. That was a long time ago, but the warning is the same.... .

No experience with reconstruction, replacement, but I had my ACL removed (torn and atrophied after being in a cast with a broken tibia) from multiple basketball injuries years ago. I did an intensive 9 month PT/rehab (3 - two hour workouts per week) building up the muscles at a facility designed for professional sports teams....highly recommended. I'd previously had a PT whose equipment consisted of rubber tubbing and "passive" exercises...practically worthless for someone into sports imo, but damn she was hot . Good luck!!!

[id10t]

Been through about a thousand of 'em Used to work in PT as an aide.

The 3 biggest things -

1 - get your doc to give you a pre-op PT appointment, so you can start doing exercises, etc. BEFORE the operation.

2 - when you get to the recovery room, they will put your knee in a machine that bends it, then straightens, then bends. USE THIS MACHINE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!

3 - do what your PT says to do. If you do not hate your PT, either they aren't doing their job, or you are slacking on your exercises, walking, and knee bending


We had one guy who had a knee replaced and said that what we put him thru was worse than what the Germans did when he was shot down during WW2. He also came back 6 months later to have his other knee done with a smile on his face.

The fat little old ladies who would wimp and whine about the pain, not get up to walk, etc. always took the max hospital stay and then went on to a rehab facility. The folks who did the exercises, were in shape to some degree to begin with (could walk 100 feet without a breather), and did what the PT said to do went home 4-5 days post-op.

[Halm]

Many years ago, I was responsible for the total knee program at the largest (at that point in time) implant company in the US. I am sure that just as then, there are major advances in materials and designs. But when all of that settles, it is EXACTLY as 9dreizig said: It is the doctor. Total Knee Replacement is an art, not a science.

Even so, expect a longer recovery time than say a hip or elbow. Why? 1.) because the knee is the most complicated joint in the body. 2.) Significant soft tissue (anterior and posterior cruciate, most likely) and bone (distal ends of tibia and femur) will be removed. 3.) This is done through a 6"-10" incision versus arthroscope pin holes.

I have no idea how long "recovery time" is today. But based on what I know from the past and hear today, I would say that 6 months is not an unreasonable time period to regain range of motion and become pain free.

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by madcorgi

Thanks got the info, guys. LakeCleEl, sorry about you hospital experience. It wasn't UW Hospital, was it?
.

No, Auburn Regional Medical Ctr.....Not my choice, but have a long relationship with a Doc. located there. He knows I won't be back.

[Joe Bob]

It's a double amputation. Painful as all get out. 6 months rehab minimum.

Originally Posted by Halm

Many years ago, I was responsible for the total knee program at the largest (at that point in time) implant company in the US. I am sure that just as then, there are major advances in materials and designs. But when all of that settles, it is EXACTLY as 9dreizig said: It is the doctor. Total Knee Replacement is an art, not a science.

Hal,

As I said, my guy is considered one of the local rock stars. He does 6-8 a week (nice income from that, I'm guessing), and at the seminar I watched of him on youtube he stressed over and over the importance of the doctor.

This week I have pre-op visit where I expect I'll get my exercise assignments. I'm gonna do them like a madman. The operation is in mid-December. New knee for XMAS! Hooray!

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

No, Auburn Regional Medical Ctr.....Not my choice, but have a long relationship with a Doc. located there. He knows I won't be back.

I wasn't too impressed by them when I went there after a fire in my track car where I had smoke inhalation. The doctor seemed kinda lost.

Sorry about your experience.