quote:

Originally posted by Stlhead:
911 are we going to talk about that abnormal X-ray?

“Shrinkage! It was cold in the x-ray room.”

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
I am 9 months post-op from my Mako TKR on my right knee. Doing well, first 12 days or so was the worse. Do the PT, get a cold water circulator.

Large carpet slider is great for doing the heel slides.

Only thing that really hampers me at this point is not able to really bear weight on my knee while kneeling on the ground and some reduced sensation on the skin around my knee cap, otherwise went great.


At the 8 week FU Doc said everything looked great on the X-ray

That's a horse x-ray!

Is there anything more tedious than sitting in a hospital room?

Television sucks.

Thank God for SIGforum!

quote:

Originally posted by Stlhead:
911 are we going to talk about that abnormal X-ray?

Abnormal? What's so abnormal about it (maybe a little shrunk up, probably cold that day)?

Went in to get my staples out last night and found out there where none under the dressing, they stuck my leg back together with Elmers glue! My X-rays are not nearly as impressive as those post in this thread, but they are good enough for me.

2340, if you have headphones spool up a trashy audio book.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, Sig240.

I've had cartilage surgery on both knees from my football days. Some days are better than others. It's not bad enough to need surgery at this point.

I had my right knee replaced 1 month ago and the left replaced in August. Both by Robotic.
When I did my research I looked for the Med center that had a very low infection rate. Infection was my main concern.
The first weeks are the worse, Do not get behind on your pain medications.
I have a compression/cold water cirulator, plan to buy one, you don't want to be without it.
I was given after both surgery a compression wrap that is rechargeable to wrap around my calf's. It is supposed to help prevent blood clots.
The surgeon supplied me with an extensive folder that tells you what to take and why, and a schedule that starts 1 week before surgery that has to do with washing the areas with a surgical soap, clean bed sheets and cloths.

I was in and out in a half day and had a home therapist come the day after surgery. He came for about 3 weeks then I was transferred to a physical therapy center.

The pain, inconvenience, and having your body demand so much attention gets depressing for at least the first month.

The best to you!

911Boss - You owe me a keyboard.

Sig2340 - Glad you are doing good Sir. Best of luck on your recovery and PT.

Hope your recovery goes well. I had a TKR in 2022. This helped me keep my leg(s) elevated during the day and at night.

https://www.amazon.com/Pillow-...ps%2C147&sr=8-6&th=1

Day 2 post-op update.

Surgeon's comment post-op: "That was one gnarly knee. It was just shy of failing structurally."

Now the good news.

I am already walking on it using a walker for stability.

I've have gone up and down my four steps a few times.

Taken a shower (which was awesome).

Little pain (I'm just taking Tylenol already), and stiffness isn't a big issue.

Had my range of motion device training, and am heading off to the next session with it (5x day, 12-18 minutes session).

In office PT starts Tuesday.

Overall, I am really surprised at how well I'm doing. I'm thinking that the last two years of hard bicycling has a lot to do with it. My legs were strong coming into the surgery.

I can say this, at day 2 post-op, my knee hurts A LOT LESS than it has for >20 years.

It was around the 48 hour mark when it got rocky for me, I hope you don’t hit that wall. Day 3-5 were tougher for me then things turned up pretty quickly, again I hope you coast through better, but in any case there is plenty to look forward to.

Prayer sent for continued progress and total recovery 2340.

Day 3 post op.

Pain level is slightly higher since the nerve block in the knee is wearing off, but not unbearable.

Did all five ROM sessions yesterday, laundry, some cleaning, cooking, and moving about with a walker.

Off to start today's ROM sessions.

Progress.

Update

As I originally posted in December 2024, I underwent total knee replacement surgery. That went as perfectly as was possible, both the surgery and the physical therapy. Almost no need for pain meds (I took them at night for three days to ensure I slept). At eight weeks post-op I was cleared to return to the gym and cleared (with appropriate limits on the new knee) to work out hard, which I did for about two weeks

Well, Monday, the same team did the left knee.

Holy Mother of God was the surgical experience different.

The pre-op nerve block in my thigh did not work. At all. And no one realized it before the surgery. Two anesthesiologists could not manage to give me a spinal block either, despite repeated tries. So, we went with general anesthesia.

The shit hit the fan when I awoke. With no nerve block or spinal block and no anesthesia, it was straight to level ten pain that took four hours in post-op to get “under control.” Imagine having someone slice your knee open, use hammers and chisels to break both bones in your leg, and you awake to find nothing in the way of pain control is working.

I have experienced pain worse from just one source: KIP Scale Level 10 cluster headaches. KIP 10 cluster headaches are often referred to as suicide headaches because so many suffers kill themselves to escape the pain. There is no pain like it, and nothing to do to stop it.

The pain from my leg, was un-fucking-bearable.

The getting “under control” involved another failed nerve block (which hurt too), followed by so many IV doses of dilaudud and fentanyl I lost count. At least six. And all that did was get the pain from ten to a seven. It took overnight before the pain was down to five, and that was taking three opioids orally. Today it is down to three.

To give you an idea of where my knees had gotten, let me pass along a comment from the surgeon and his surgical PA yesterday: “Your left knee was the second most arthritic, structurally compromised knee we’ve work on in several years. We took a pan of bone spurs and bone because of the damage. The surgery went fine from the prothesis implantation and it did allow us to correct your slight bowleggeness, so there is an additional benefit.” So, I asked “What knee was number one?” His response “Your right knee.”

My knees, pre-replacement:



And this morning I awoke to no heat. The house was 42 degrees. That is fixed now, thank goodness.

I am on limited mobility for a while, but pressing ahead with recovery, starting PT Thursday. After all, at this point I have not another choice as I burned the ships to get where I am.

Do not get the impression I am unhappy with the outcome. My right knee had not been pain free in nearly 30 years and the relief was a surprise that took a few weeks to get used to. I'm hoping the same outcome on the left side.

I would say on full day two post-op, I am about where I was when they did the right knee. If you need a knee replacement, remember my surgical experience, which broke both ends off the scale.

So sorry to hear how badly it went for you the second time! It sounds like now you are greatly improved. I had both knees done about 4 years ago and had nowhere near the level of pain you experienced.

My second knee was easier than the first, maybe because I knew what to expect. I am another one who basically just took Tylenol once I left the hospital.

One mistake I made was I wasn't as diligent with my exercises the second time around, and that knee doesn't seem to have the same range of motion as the first one. So definitely do not slack off on the exercises!

I'll have a good thought for your complete recovery going forward.

I had my right knee replaced in Aug. and the left replaced in Nov. Both were by Robotic and total.
I had the spinal done in both cases.
After each surgery I felt fine afterwords with little to no pain (at that point).

After the Nov. surgery I commented to the nurse how good I felt. She replied, "Its not always like this, I see plenty of patients after surgery screaming and patients in total melt down from pain". At the time I had a hard time understanding this. I thought my experience would be like all the others. After reading your post The nurses comments make sense.

I hope your recovery gets better,FAST!

Those are some fucked up knees. Glad you got them fixed. Sorry the last one did not go as smooth. I am still doing PT on the single I had done in Nov but I have been cleared to skate so I am getting excited to divorce my PT for a while at least. Stretches and exercises three times a day, plus an hour of brisk walking each weekday has been my program. Good luck