Question abpout knee replacement

[shortleg]

    Knowing how old some of us my be at this point
just wondering about how long some of you have taken to recover.
   Doc wants to do one of mine so wondering about recovery.

[GiG]

Do it now in winter and your riding season will not be affected 

[RDAbull]

I have done both of mine, one at a time.

I did mine in the summer, less chance of slip and falling on the ice and snow.

I am a rather large guy so the recovery was hard and painful, but well worth it.
The surgery and rehab pain go away, the broken knee pain never would.

Just do what the Docs and rehab specialist say, they know more than we do about recovery.
Best of luck with the process.

[WoodyFL]

Ditto on the rehab. I had both of mine done and was religious about the rehab. The more you keep at it the better your range of motion will be. I was back to work in a week or two, but I have a desk job.

[ridingron]

Investigate the doctor as much as possible. My friend died on the table but was brought back, thankfully. He is on his 5th replacement or surgery (both knees). Same surgeon. I ask him why the same guy before the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and again before his 5th. He said it was the insurance company.  Maybe warrantee work?   

[TTG53#1717]

I had really ruined my right knee just prior to replacing it with a Stryker Triathlon unit. Lots of inflammation and damaged tissue.
 I was 62 at the time and had been kicking Harleys for 45 years along with 11 years in an outside refinery job.
Surgery was 1st week of December and with great physical therapy, starting at home and then clinic, I was back at work Feb 24.
Regular schedule as “light duty” on the control board, but I took OT shifts outside in the units and had no problems doing multiple steel flights or ladders on columns and furnaces.

My right leg is 3/8” longer and that took some getting used to. Doc said that was the severe damage / inflammation on both distal Femoral  and proximal Tibial making accurate measurements that much more difficult. He has a great rep, so I’m inclined to believe him.

Retired 4 years later and still works and feels fine.



Best of luck !

[Big Rig]

Research your Doc!!! Also, think twice about teaching hospitals...

Make sure your Doc is doing YOUR surgery...

Then follow the instructions to a T....you will be back up and running (so to speak) in no time...

Best of luck.

[John Schmidt]

Check around for a dr. that will do it without the usual 10" incision down the front that cuts muscles and tendons. For example, I had my right hip replaced using a method that didn't involve cutting anything except for the access incision which is about 4" long on the front of the hip. One day of mild pain meds, walking without cane or crutches on day four, on the Valk in under 2 wks.  The guy that did the hip also will do knees the same way but not his specialty. Another dr. in the Orlando area does them using a 4" cut on the side of the knee, doesn't cut anything, recovery is similar as my hip with much less pain. I talked to him one time when happened to see him at the hosp. I had the hip done. He said initially he felt it was like trying to build a ship in a bottle but after hundreds if not thousands of procedures he has it down pretty good. One grandmother in my exercise class at the hospital had her knee done by him and was more active than me and I had just walked 30 yds. from my room to the class. Three days and she was walking with a cane.

[da prez]

 PREHAB, exercise as much as possible with proper instruction to build up the muscles.

                                               da prez

[Patrick]

Have you thought about Stem Cell Therapy ?

A friend had it done 12 years ago, no fuss, no pain. JMO, worth the money.



Guess not.
A couple more friends have had it done more recently. It works.

[bassman]

Dave.......full or partial?   Regardless......as others have said be in shape before surgery.  Find the best doctor you can and make sure he or she does the work personally and not some trainee at a teaching hospital.  Rehab/physical therapy will be both your friend and enemy - it will be challenging to go through it but the rewards will be well worth the extra effort.  Don’t be afraid to do more than required and any extra you can muster.

Good luck brother!

[Crackerborn]

Both of my knee replacements were done in February one year apart. Walked (with a cane) out of the hospital the day after surgery.  I started therapy one week later to allow the swelling to go down. I was 80% movement in 6 weeks and full range of motion around 12 weeks on both knees. I was playing golf in late April, early May, both years (as soon as the courses opened). The only pain pills I needed was the aspirin they prescribed as a blood thinner so I didn't have clots after surgery. I was bone on bone with both knees when I first visited the Dr. I didn't know how bad it was, I just knew the knees hurt after a day on my feet. I went with shots for a few years but after surgery, I wondered why I waited so long.

The downside? Now I have to get a full body scan every time I fly. And I try not to fall on my knees when I X-country ski. I go for the padded derriere now.

[shortleg]

     Looks like my  habit of hitting the gym at 5am every morning  has been the right thing to do.
 Will admit its been  hard with my hip failing  like it is,.
     Will give me  April and May to recover so as to allow me to get to Inzane.
   Hell it's  even on the coast where I live.
       Funnier yet I can make it in one day.
    As others have and some will  your 70s are a little tougher than  when in my 60s.

[Glaserbeam]

I had knee surgery, not replacement but torn meniscus, and the doc had me get one of these machines which circulates ice water around the knee to speed recovery (this may not be the exact machine you need but you'll get the idea):

https://www.amazon.com/Ossur-Cold-Rush-Compact-Shoulder/dp/B00UBOWE4U/ref=asc_df_B00UBOWE4U/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=242002247899&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9736535546886277472&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031532&hvtargid=pla-664972083337&psc=1

[Jess from VA]

My knees are great at 66.

However, I've lost most of my hair on top and the rest is dirty shades of gray and white, the best hair I have grows uncontrollably out of my nose and ears, my bald head is covered in actinic keratosis, my face is scarred from old wounds and surgery (and often has a comical look on it), I'm missing three teeth (in back) and the remaining ones that cost me a fortune to save are just hanging in there.  The eyes are clear, but I need to wear trifocals (and the DMV really insists on this).  The brain seems OK (but who the hell knows?).  

So I'm thinking about a head replacement.   Thoughts?


(you know I'm not making fun of bad knees here)