OT: Total knee replacement - anyone?
- Thread starter RUfubar_rivals
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I've had two knee replacements and one hip replacement . I'm 67 but had the knees done 3.5 and 5.0 years ago. The hip was done end of April 2018. I highly recommend the procedures. My knees have been fine but the hip replacement surprisingly has given me more problems in the recovery. I live in Boston area so I had it done by Dr David Mattingly ( cousin to NY Yankee Don) at the New England Baptist Hospital, one of the finest orthopedic specialty hospitals in the US. A comparable NYC hospital is the New York Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. It's really important to go to an orthopedic surgeon and hospital that specializes in this surgery because the risk of infection is a primary concern. USNWR does have a very respected listing of top hospitals for various medical procedures and issues , including orthopedics. The key to knee replacement is the rehab afterwards to regain flexibility and movement. Hospitals have really cracked down on opioids from when I had my first knee replaced. Suggest strongly that you get a nerve block during the procedure. Lastly, if need both knees done , don't do both at the same time. Big mistake IMO.
SI had a great article on Gale Sayers finally getting his knee replaced.
Found it: https://www.si.com/vault/2010/08/23/105974714/part-iii-the-icon
Found it: https://www.si.com/vault/2010/08/23/105974714/part-iii-the-icon
One of my friends had both knees done in early Dec. Started rehab a few days later and went home. He's doing great and went back to work the end of Jan. He's looking forward to golf in the spring. The rehab wasn't fun at the beginning, but got easier week by week.
The Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. Don’t even bother goin anywhere else. Pick any guy there that does a half dozen a week and you’ll be fine.
My wife had a good experience at Rothman. The doctors don't tell you in advance that there will be a lot of pain in recovery and rehab. Still, judging from my wife's example, going through the procedure is well worth it.
Friend of mine, 52, just had hers done there January 23. She is already walking up & down her block.
Shouldn't have waited as long as I did. Had left TKR at 54 at New England Baptist. Kill the PT/rehab and it will make a huge difference.
Physical therapist here. Yes, there are alot of good doctors at HSS. But what a lot of people don’t realize is many of the local doctors have trained at HSS. Rehab is key, and how soon you can get into outpatient rehab is even more key. Some doctors will send you to an inpatient rehab for a short time, then have a therapist come to your house. If you can get to outpatient sooner than later, your outcomes are usually better faster. It’s an uncomfortable rehab, but many doctors require a pre op education class which tells you everything you can expect. Good luck.
This is the absolute key right here. Take advantage of everything you can get from PT, ask them to lay out what you can do at home on your own, how much and when.
My dad had inpatient rehab and greatly benefited from it: it really depends upon how people deal with it. He saw others in there who just sluffed through it and got little benefit.
I have seen plenty of people with mostly knee replacements and some hip and shoulders.
Most of them are playing pickleball with me and my wife. We play at a fairly high level and speed and I am always amazed at how some of them play like they never had a replacement.
Obviously, every surgery is different and there are a lot of moving parts, but I think if you have an established doctor do it and you do what you are supposed to do in rehab, you will be a better person for it. Good luck.
Most of them are playing pickleball with me and my wife. We play at a fairly high level and speed and I am always amazed at how some of them play like they never had a replacement.
Obviously, every surgery is different and there are a lot of moving parts, but I think if you have an established doctor do it and you do what you are supposed to do in rehab, you will be a better person for it. Good luck.
I'm 64 and had both replaced last July by Dr. Seth Jerabek at the Hospital for Special Surgery. I had both done at once because I am self-employed and wanted the least amount of down time. Was back in the office (part time) 15 days later. If both are done together you can get inpatient PT, which I did for 9 days at Kessler in Saddle Brook. HSS is the best and you want a doctor who does many of these procedures. It takes a full year to completely recover but I am already swinging the golf clubs.
TKR (The Knight Report) also stands for Total Knee Replacement.
TKR (The Knight Report) also stands for Total Knee Replacement.
Just wanted to say that my wife's ex-husband (now-deceased) had shoulder surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery, and had a great experience and oucome.
Well, Father Time has caught up to me. I am having my left knee replaced on May 13th by a Physician who has done over 20,000 of these.
My question to you knowledgeable friends, how soon could you get around? How soon could you walk up or down stairs? How does your new knee feel now?
I am not a runner, but I do want to walk without pain again.
I start physical therapy on the 17th and I will be religious in attendance and devoted to exercises.
My question to you knowledgeable friends, how soon could you get around? How soon could you walk up or down stairs? How does your new knee feel now?
I am not a runner, but I do want to walk without pain again.
I start physical therapy on the 17th and I will be religious in attendance and devoted to exercises.
Good luck to you. PT will have you up and walking with a walker the same day. I have had a handful of patients (I'm a PT) who had their knee replaced on an outpatient basis, and started outpatient PT within 3 days, although most spend overnight in the hospital and start OPPT within the week. Compliance with PT is key. It is probably one of the more painful orthopedic surgeries, but early motion usually helps to lessen that. Everyone is different in their healing, but usually you are off the walker in a week or two, transitioning to a cane. You will be negotiating stairs one a time for a few weeks until your range of motion and strength improve, but a lot of it is trusting your new knee, especially descending stairs. Best of luck.
I had total knee replacement in September. Morristown Hospital and Dr Levine (Rockaway). Great result, should have done it years ago. I had been exercising and I started rehab before surgery so that helped with recovery. I was walking 3 hours after surgery. Used a walker for 2 days and a cane for about a week. One week after surgery they had me doing 30 squats in PT. I hadn’t been able to do one squat in years. Great job with incision, scar barely noticeable after 8 months. Was cleared to do most things after a month. Now only thing I’m not allowed to do is jump and kneel. Before operation I could barely walk and forget about stairs. I would recommend hospital and doctor.
Good luck with your surgery and hope you do as well as I did. My doctor wanted me walking up and down stairs immediately. Here is what I was my recovery.
3 hours after surgery - walking the hall at hospital
1st day at home - used a walker to get around house; able to walk short distances with no aid. My knee bend before surgery was 60 degrees. Next day after surgery it was 100 degrees (after 2 weeks of PT 116 degrees)
1st week - used a cane when outside the house, walked through out without assistance including steps
by second week no assistance needed. PT during 2nd week had me doing 30 squats (couldn't do one before surgery). Also riding stationary bike and doing leg weight exercise on machines
After 1 month cleared to do anything except for jumping and kneeling (still not allowed after 7 months)
With regard to stair climbing, I have evolved to going up 1 step at a time crab-like because I couldn't bend and put weight on one of the legs. Now I can walk up 3 flights of stairs normally without holding the railing.
From a pain perspective, it was one of the least painful surgeries I have had (I've had 13 including 4 on knee). Knee actually didn't hurt (all plastic and metal now). It is he muscles (quad, calf, etc.) that hurt due to the trauma of the operation. This is where PT comes in getting the muscles to work again and getting rid of the pain. Additionally, your kneecap will be sore so try not to bump it during the first month. For the pain, I was prescribed oxycodon, Tramadol and Tylenol. Only needed Tramadol for first two weeks and Tylenol for 1st month, solely for muscle pain. Also given blood thinners (potential clots) and a nerve medicine.
Couple of things I hadn't thought about before surgery. One, I had to relearn how to walk properly, heal toe. I had evolving to walking on my toes with my left leg. Also, I had been putting most of my weight on my right leg so had to conciously focus intially on distribiting weight evenly. Lastly had to retrain my brain. At times I would start to do something and my brain would say no, that's going to hurt. It doesn't anymore.
So hope all goes well and you will be back to doing your normal things within a month. Be diligent with the PT and continue to exercise after PT stops.
Lastly, ask your doctor how he plans to close up the incision. My doctor did not use any staples or stitches. Used internal dissolvable sutures and glue with a mesh. After 8 months, scar is almost not noticeable. Also, my doctor continues to remind me recovery is at least a full year. So even if you are back to most of your normal stuff within a month, you are still in recovery.
Hope this helps and reach out if you have specific questions.
Adding an edit - Most difficult thing was sleeping at night if you don't sleep on your back. When sleeping on my side I would put a pillow between my knees first couple weeks.
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My middle Sister who is 84 just had her second hip done in Baton Rough La.
She was high risk because of clotting issues. So stayed in rehab for 1 week.
Feels fine, she never has to live with the pain again. Used several local rehab/pt people for their
"who would you use if you needed hip done" and this was the guy.
Last year on a Sat PM, before Wuhan went crazy in NJ, Mary Anne and I were walking the Spring Lake Boardwalk. Guy with a cane and woman on the other arm was walking towards us. Turns out it was an ex-NJSP Trooper that I knew. He had just got his second hip done at Hackensack-Meridian Hosp. Checked in Fri AM, hip done Fri PM, Discharged Sat AM, on the boardwalk Sat PM !!
My family is prone to hip/knee replacements. My shoulder hurts more than either hip/knee so far.
She was high risk because of clotting issues. So stayed in rehab for 1 week.
Feels fine, she never has to live with the pain again. Used several local rehab/pt people for their
"who would you use if you needed hip done" and this was the guy.
Last year on a Sat PM, before Wuhan went crazy in NJ, Mary Anne and I were walking the Spring Lake Boardwalk. Guy with a cane and woman on the other arm was walking towards us. Turns out it was an ex-NJSP Trooper that I knew. He had just got his second hip done at Hackensack-Meridian Hosp. Checked in Fri AM, hip done Fri PM, Discharged Sat AM, on the boardwalk Sat PM !!
My family is prone to hip/knee replacements. My shoulder hurts more than either hip/knee so far.
I had my hip replaced in November 2020. Years of running took its toll, sharp pain on the inside of my right leg near the groin. Trouble putting my right sock on. Got it done by a relatively young doctor who had had his knee replaced, also from too much running. He does a ton of knees and hips. Didn't need any prescription pain meds. About a week of in home rehap and then out patient therapy. Worst thing was sleeping at night. But very glad I did it. Have being going hard on the Peloton bike for a few months now. Can run but doctor said it will wear out the replacement and that I should focus on swimming and biking. He also said knee rehap is tougher than the hip which surprised me.
Knee replacements are pretty routine these days but there is still some uncertainty with the outcome, especially if you’re not with a top hospital/surgeon.
Here in FL a woman friend had std knee replacement, but the surgeon nicked a couple of veins and significant internal bleeding occurred. They finally stopped the bleeding after 12 hrs in Recovery but there is now poor circulation in the leg along with some numbness and pain.
As a result, her husband, a golf buddy, is considering not doing his knee replacement because of his wife’s experience. He’s in pain and gets cortisone shots quarterly.
Go to the best and commit 100% to the rehab. You’ll be glad you did.
Here in FL a woman friend had std knee replacement, but the surgeon nicked a couple of veins and significant internal bleeding occurred. They finally stopped the bleeding after 12 hrs in Recovery but there is now poor circulation in the leg along with some numbness and pain.
As a result, her husband, a golf buddy, is considering not doing his knee replacement because of his wife’s experience. He’s in pain and gets cortisone shots quarterly.
Go to the best and commit 100% to the rehab. You’ll be glad you did.
Had 2 knees and 1 hip replaced. The knee PT is much harder than the hip, they are more concerned with getting range of motion back with the knees while the hip PT was more about just walking a lot and not dislocating the new hip joint till it fully heals. My hip PT was virtual (due to covid) so that probably also made things easier.
PT is so important. After my rotator cuff surgery (full tear), I did my PT religiously at my PT location, as well as doing regular exercises at home every day given to me by the PT staff. I was back playing soccer (keeper, where a healthy shoulder is critical) in under 4 months.
I'll also make the comment that I was diagnosed with a C6-C7 bulging disc about 12 years ago and my orthopedist, who is very conservative with recommending surgeries, recommended PT (largely traction for the neck and neck strengthening exercises), which worked wonderfully (I was in serious pain for weeks before that). I've since had to go back two more times for a month of PT after pain flare-ups, again with good success. 12 years of avoided surgery so far.
I'm actually in PT now for my other shoulder for a partial rotator cuff tear, which will likely require surgery (PT can't repair a partial tear) if I want to continue playing soccer, since any collisions will set me back to square one - this is PT for boxchecking purposes, driven by insurance companies hoping to avoid more expensive surgery - I get it conceptually, but the outcome is almost certainly going to be surgery. And I'm in PT for a sore knee (chondromalacia patella), which my doc and PT guy think have a good shot at working - it's working well so far.
If anyone is interested, my PT guy is Alex Ivashenko at Professional Physical Therapy in Edison - he's fantastic, with a doctorate in PT and 30+ years experience doing PT, including for a ton of RU athletes over the years and the support staff are excellent. And he's a huge RU fan and a really nice guy with a great sense of humor, so going to PT is like hanging out with friends (except for getting beaten up, lol).
My mom had a hip replacement and both knees done and did well. The hip was actually rather complicated as it was fused resulting in one leg being shorter than the other due to rheumatic fever when she was 18 in Italy in 1945. She had the hip done at NYU in 1991. She had kne knee done about a year later and then the second a couple years after that. Late 2011 she started having problems with one knee and needed a revision. She had it done by the same surgeon locally in NJ and the surgery itself went fine. They sent my mom to inpatient rehab but I think she had it in her head it would be just as easy at age 81 as it was 25+ years before. She basically refused to follow the rehab protocol and subsequent developed an infection as well as C. diff. In and out if the hospital and rehab and she never really recovered. She ended up with sepsis, dialysis, etc. and passed away in early 2013 from various complications. The point of the story is how important rehab and post op care is….unfortunately my mother was very stubborn and just wouldn’t accept that. Good Luck!!
so how is a left knee replacement on the golf game, vs the original left knee that will no longer take much weight? (right handed player).
Can now take normal stance with knee bend, put weight on both legs rather than 90% on right leg, I can swing and follow thru without torque on left knee causing pain and I can walk the course. Downside is no longer have a excuse for bad score.
My Mom's first hip was done decades ago at what was Columbia Presbyterian Hosp.
She got serum hepatitis from a bad blood transfusion back in the day.
She always was mad when in later life anyone doing a blood workup on her would ask how bad her Alcohol problem had been. Mom was a strict Methodist from Asbury Park and Ocean Grove. Alcohol DID NOT touch her lips. Plus she was one of the original followers of Al Anon.
She got serum hepatitis from a bad blood transfusion back in the day.
She always was mad when in later life anyone doing a blood workup on her would ask how bad her Alcohol problem had been. Mom was a strict Methodist from Asbury Park and Ocean Grove. Alcohol DID NOT touch her lips. Plus she was one of the original followers of Al Anon.
thanks for the reply.
do you have any lateral range of motion with the replacement, or is it just a hinge?
I have full range of motion. I can twist my foot and feel no discomfort in knee.
PT had me doing 30 squats a week after surgery. Haven’t been able to do 1 squat in years.
Mad Dog just texted my that he did squats last night for the first time in 27 YEARS.
He is training with the X-3 band system alongside his 11 year old Son. He has degenerative discs and is avoiding/putting off surgery.
Our Buddy, Joel of the old Belmar Nautilus/Iron City Gym is semi retired in Florida and uses this system for himself (after a heart transplant) and some of his clients, who are not body builders by a long shot.
I'm a candidate for replacement, diagnosed with moderate arthritis (can't imagine what severe feels like) did cortisone in dec. Helped about 3 weeks.
Did a Rooster comb gel in March. Better than it was, just changed duration to pain and quicker recovery. But still get large doses of screaming pain depending on how much I use it.
My question is has anyone had one knee done prior to robot surgery then the other with robot surgery?
Did a Rooster comb gel in March. Better than it was, just changed duration to pain and quicker recovery. But still get large doses of screaming pain depending on how much I use it.
My question is has anyone had one knee done prior to robot surgery then the other with robot surgery?
I had one cortisone injection in my hip. Same thing, helped for about 3 weeks. I viewed that as kicking the can down the road so went ahead and had the replacement done. Needed to fix the problem. Glad I did as I'm very happy with how things went.
I had my left hip resurfacing done by Dr Edwin Su at HSS last January I am playing squash basketball and of course golf I was walking a mile with the cane 4 days after surgery he is the best
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