Several years ago I went to a surgeon to have my knees examined.
His diagnosis was that both knees were bone on bone ( arthritis) and would need replacement. He injected steroids several times that seemed to help, but the effects diminished quicker each time. He then injected gel, that did not accomplish much.
I have waited until now because I had other medical problems that took center stage (poorly done cataract surgery).

As stated, I have cataracts in both eyes. A year ago I had my right(dominant eye)done with a multi-focal lens installed ( $3000 extra, out of pocket). It was horrible!
After multiple trips back to the surgeon all I heard was "nothing is wrong, you are too picky".
I finally decided that this had to be repaired.

I live in Chicago, there is no shortage of Doctors here. I wanted to see the "best" to get this problem solved.
I finally decided to drive to the Cleveland Clinics Cole Eye institute. I was blown away at the professionalism I found there. They ran a bunch of tests and within one hour I was talking to the surgeon. He immediately diagnosed the problem that two other Dr's. didn't or didn't tell me.
He said that the first surgeon removed too much eye material either when she did the cataract surgery or when she re-surfaced my eye before the cataract surgery. flaps of skin were partially clouding my vision. He was concerned that there may not be enough skin left to do another cataract surgery to remove the multi focal lens that had been installed. He stated that more than a few patients have found they cannot use the multi focal lens.
He told me there was a 25% chance that he would not be able to remove the lens, but he suggested I try and have it removed because I would never be happy with what I now had. I agreed to the surgery.
I was told that because I might have to be "put under" during surery, that I would need a ride back to my Hotel after surgery. I told the nurse I was alone, with no driver options. She said wait a minute, and checked with the DR. She came back and said the DR. swapped my first thing in the morning surgery to the last surgery of the day. She said the DR. would personally drive me back to my Hotel ( booked a Hotel on the Cleveland Clinic grounds) if I needed a ride. He would try and do the surgery with local anesthetics so I could take the Cleveland Clinic shuttle back to the Hotel. He also wanted to be able to talk to me during the surgery if he did run into a problem or thought he might have to abandon the operation. All went well!
I have decided that if ever possible I would have any medical issues performed at the Cleveland Clinic.

I would like to have my Knee surgeries done at the Cleveland Clinic. My main concern is after the surgery care and logistics.
I was told that I would be hospitalized for 1-2 days after knee replacement,then I could go home. My Wife is involved with watching our 2 grand-kids during the week for a couple days. This makes her participation in my surgery travel very limited.

My questions;
Is trying to do this alone and driving 6 hours back to Chicago a realistic option?
After release from the Hospital how much mobility will I have?
Should I just settle on a Chicago DR. because the logistics are just too difficult to travel alone after knee replacement?

What's the possibility of getting your kids to step up to the plate so your wife can look after her husband's needs for a couple days?

As for driving at all two days following knee replacement surgery, much less six hours: My knee surgeon didn't want me driving at all for two weeks following my outpatient arthroscopic knee surgery. (I compromised by not driving for a week.)

That is the obvious resolution. And no getting both knee's done, or one for that matter and driving shortly there after is not a good idea. Especially for that distance.
I like the ideal of getting it done where you have confidence. Just need to figure out logistics. Surely there are ways to make it happen. Discuss with the hospital. Not the doctor. They will have suggestions or solutions. You are not the first person to have that challenge.

Forget about driving for 6 hours as they won't recommend driving at all.

Your knee will be sore and note knee replacement surgery is much harder to recover from than hip replacement surgery.

You will be "sofa-bound" for a few days and will be using an at-home machine to bend your knee as you don't want it to "freeze".

I had TKR on my right knee (the "driving leg") and the normal rule-of-thumb is not to drive for 6-8 weeks. I drove in just under 2 weeks, comfortably and safely, but certainly not for 6 hours. My surgeon was a team orthopedic physician for the LA Lakers and is considered one of the very best at knee surgery.

I was walking within 24 hours (spent 2 days in the hospital) and did use the automatic knee bending gizmo even while sleeping both in the hospital and at home for well over a week. My range of motion quickly recovered (I'm told largely due to the skill of the surgeon). Used a walker for maybe 1 week or so. Overall, I have been very satisfied with the results.

Like others, I advise and caution very strongly against driving too soon or too much - you could undue the repair of even to very best surgeon and could also possibly endanger others while on the road!!

Good luck with your procedure and follow the physical therapy protocols diligently religiously for best results.

Chicago has plenty of competent orthopedic surgeons. Rehab and followups are involved and having it locally is best. I am sure Northwestern and Rush are good options. Do some checking. Six hours of driving after surgery is unwise.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Chicago has plenty of competent orthopedic surgeons. Rehab and followups are involved and having it locally is best. I am sure Northwestern and Rush are good options. Do some checking. Six hours of driving after surgery is unwise.

I have seen Doctors here in Chicago. The Dr. that did my injections was one of the founders at IL.Bone and joint. I lost confidence with him when he had his assistant do an injection in my knee, I thought the Dr. should have done it himself. I was going to see a prominent DR. at Rush until I read that he was disciplined because he would have several patients in the operating rooms at Rush with other Doctors doing the surgeries. He apparently would stroll the hallways and check up on the operations. Patients had no idea that He was NOT actually doing the surgery.I recently re-checked his credentials, all I read was about his wife's North-shore socializing in Lake Forest and his new multi-million condo in Lincoln Park, he mentioned his new Ferrari.
I always thought highly of Northwestern until my Mother in Law went there to die, I have never been so repulsed by what I and my Wife endured at that hospital.I would NEVER go there.
Choosing Doctors that are specialist, that you will probably only see for one medical situation to me, is a crap shoot.
I feel confident that if the Dr. works out of the Cleveland Clinic they are good to go or they would not be there.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
You have to go where you are comfortable. I was thinking of rehab after knee replacement as well. I can tell you that every hospital including Mayo and the Cleveland Clinic has poor doctors. Some hospitals will carry physicians on their staff because they generate lots of income for the hospital. Choose the doctor not the Hospital. I can tell you that ALL the other doctors know who are the competent physicians in their facility.

See these guys if you want. Orthopedics is all they do. NFL players are a big part of their business.

https://www.andrewsinstitute.c...icians/james-andrews or https://www.andrewssportsmedicine.com/

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ZSMICHAEL,

quote:

Originally posted by h2oys:
Forget about driving for 6 hours as they won't recommend driving at all.

Your knee will be sore and note knee replacement surgery is much harder to recover from than hip replacement surgery.

You will be "sofa-bound" for a few days and will be using an at-home machine to bend your knee as you don't want it to "freeze".

This is rather old school information. I work in orthopedic surgery and haven’t seen cpm machine ( the knee bend machine) in years.
You should be getting up and walking ( with the assistance of a therapist within hours of your surgery. Motion is lotion and you want to be very aggressive in therapy very last thing we want is you “ sofa bound” get up an move restored motion faster and decreases complications.

My wife had her knee done at a boutique clinic about 3 yrs ago. All they do is hip and knee surgery, nothing else. Had her walking about 4 hrs after and sent her home the next day. Therapist came by almost everyday and had her do exercises and walking short distances at first. Worked out great.

i waited 4 weeks to drive with knee replacement.

I have had both knees replaced and my left ankle, My Dr Brad Boone has it all worked out . You check in on Monday and spend 2 nights in their hospital than go home. I have always woke up with a machine flexing my knee and it goes home with me, the next weeks are filled with home health taking care of the wound and visits from physical therapist. Its all about getting your range of motion back. I did my knee replacements several years apart by the way! The TKR if done right are pain free living afterwards. I highly recommend it.

I was researching cataract surgery a couple of years ago.

One of the top surgeons told me at the time He highly recommended NOT to get mutifocal replacement lenses.

He has since said they are much better in the last year and now uses them.

This is interesting to me - TKR for my left knee scheduled for Dec 8th with the surgeon using the Stryker MAKO robot - anyone here have experience with the MAKO?