Knee replacement questions?

[Tom Myers]

This early cold snap has caught me in arrears laying up this year's firewood supply. Gimping around on these wobbly old "Paratrooper knees" makes for long, drawn out sessions of cutting, splitting and stacking. I am slowly increasing the ratio of supply and demand but, horsing 10" logs around for a couple of hours realy gives new meaning to the phrase - "On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain".

Finally, the VA has decided to replace my knees at an orthopedic facility of my choice in Minnesota. It would be foolhardy of me not to select one of the best available in the area but I haven't a clue about the available facilities and services.

I would imagine that any Minnesota forum members that have had knee replacements might have some fairly definite opinions concerning a choice of knee replacement facilities and I would appreciate any comments or recommendations you might care to offer about do's, don'ts , what-ifs and where-ats that might help me make a selection.

Even if you are not from Minnesota, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.

[knifemaker]

do some checking around and look for the doctor that has the best reputation for knee replacement. that was what my wife did and the knee replacement made a world of difference on her getting around and not having the pain she used to have. Also make sure you keep to the program on the physical therapy. If you fail to follow the advice on the physical therapy, you may end up not having the degree of movement you need or your healing may take much longer.

[leeggen]

I had mine done a few yrs. ago at Nashville Tn. they use Vanderbuilt Dr. Most all have good Dr. They told me that you come out with one of 2 ways after sugery, either it will hurt like h--- for a short time or you will have little pain. Mine hurt bad for a few months but not any worse than before sugery. Get ur done soon. Good luck.
CD

[wcp4570]

Knifemaker is giving good advice on both the surgeon and the rehab. My wife had both knees replaced at the same time about 6 or 7 years ago. She worked hard at the rehab at home and wound up with good range of motion and overall excellent outcome. She has had no problems with the implants.

wcp

[big bore 99]

Yup, that wood splitting and stacking can start to work on you. I sprained my elbow 3 weeks ago and it still hurts. Nothing broken but still a little swollen.
The doc who checked it out hollered at me for doing that at my age (66). No fancy splitter here, just a pair of go devils. I know quite a few people who have had their knees replaced and most of them by far are very glad they did. Like previously stated, don't lighten up the therapy. Good luck to you.

[MaryB]

Orthopedic and Fracture Center does good work, they did my right shoulder twice but they are down in Mankato and something in the Twin Cities or St. Cloud would be a lot closer.

[lefty o]

im not 100% sure on the name, but they got a dr robinson (old guy white hair /white beard looks like a thinner santa clause) that does orthapedics between mnpls, and st cloud VA. he suppposed to be very good, i'd get a consult with him before going too much further. ive not had him do any surgery yet (he wants to do my shoulder), but he's great with a cortisone shot lol.

[Col4570]

Good luck with your Knee replacements.I had mine in 2005 and it made a new man of me, after suffering for many years due to heavy industrial use and seagoing.There was a 6 month gap between the two operations.A few tips regarding the recovery period,at first you will have some discomfort mainly due to the positioning of your leg whilst resting the swelled area.I found that an ice pack (Frozen Peas) on the knee helped considerably.In bed a support under the Knee will relieve the stress on the area.the weight of the bedclothes on the Knee was a nuisance until I cut the ends out of a cardboard box to keep the Sheets off the Knee.It is important to exercise the Joint in order to build up tissue and muscle around the replacement.A short walk first then going a little further as you progress.I now carry my logs and stand using my chainsaw for hours without pain or discomfort.Go for it sir the world will be your Oyster.

[Redwoode]

My wife had both totals done same time 5 years ago. I had both partials done same time 4 years ago. They had us both up and walking some the day of surgery. Did as much walking and step climbing beforehand as we could stand. We both did our rehab at home. Great results for both of us. Cutting NO corners on rehab a key to success and satisfaction.

There are several brands/systems. Ours happen to be Biomet. They have a surgeon locator and lots of info on their website. I'm sure they all do though.

Best of luck.

[Multigunner]

A driend had a bad knee replaced some years ago, he gets around just fine now. He had used a cane before the replacement , now he still carries a cane but so seldom uses it that he often sets it aside and forgets about it.

He had mentioned cremation so I asked if I could have that metal knee when he no longer needs it, to use in making a folding stock.

[gandydancer]

had full replacement on the left knee in 2008 right knee in 2012 work just fine. no pain today on knees of any kind and I'm a hundred pounds over weight.rehab at home is a joke a waste of money. go to a clinic and work with the right tools and help. weight gain is from spine surgery in 2009 & again in 2012. knees are like new. my biggest trouble was getting off of the damn pain meds. ask around for the name of the best man for the job. that's what I did when wife was in hospital. worked out just fine. good luck. any questions pm me. Tom [smilie=s:

[Redwoode]

The gentleman from Virginia is mistaken about the effectiveness of rehab at home.
IF your surgeon is an advocate AND you attend all the presurgery rehab training AND you do it religiously home works quite well. Wife and I are 100% with our new knees. Rehab at home didn't cost us a dime. We did it ourselves.

I'm a big 'en too. Surgeon said stay under 250 at 6-3. Right now well over 300 and no knee problems.

Far from a joking matter as was said above. Goes to show more than one way to skin a cat.

[Wayne Smith]

Rehab at home works IF you are disciplined, intelligent, and have the room and equipment to do it at home. Talk to a PT ahead of time, have them come to your home and discuss this with an expert, not someone who slept in a hotel last night! Do you have someone who will get the rest of the wood in for you this year? fix that if you don't. Now is the time to call in some chips and get help.

[PB234]

Be prepared to not be able to do everything for a bit when you get home. Fill the freezer with prepared food so all you have to do is heat it up for dinner. Lots of ice packs to place on the knee for a while. If you do two at one time it will be harder to get around, but you don't have to go back and do the other one later. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. You might need a chair for the shower (about $30 at a health care supplier) and maybe a handicap height toilet or seat.

After some pain and inconvenience you will likely be very much better and walking without pain.

[PB234]

You will also need a person taking care of you at home for a while. You will be in bed for a bit and just walking very slowly to the toilet will be about it for you initially. You will want someone watching over you and getting you ice, etc. Sure you could do rehab at home if you know what to do and have the discipline to do it. My advice is go to professional rehab and make sure they are the best to go to.

It will help allow you an active life which is a lot better than pain that keeps you off your feet.

[AkMike]

It may be too late for some at this point, but I'm not at the replacement stage yet. My knees have had operations to remove some of the meniscus and they hurt afterrwards. It's degraded into Rheumatoid Arthritis. Last winter while I was visiting the kids in Ukraine I had a local Dr. there look them over. He wound up squirting a 'grease' into the joint and they felt pretty darned good for 9 months so far. It's supposed to be good for between 8 months and a year.

It's made with a synthetic version of stuff that's already in your body. Made in Germany and available over the counter there but it needs a Dr. to do the injection. The name of it is Crespine and it cost me $300 USD there. Total cost out the door was $375 or so including Xrays and exams.
As you know cortizone isn't a good longer term treatment because it degrades the joint after some time. The Dr. said that it would cost $5 USD there.

Knee replacement is another option for me at some point also but the costs here were quoted at over $100k here yet $16k there in Ukraine. Same brands of joints and equally qualified Drs. So "Medical Tourism" for me is a viable option since I don't have insurance.


edit to add; this stuff is not FDA approved cause there's not enough money in it for the medical companies and Drs.

[flounderman]

Rochester, Mayo Clinic, should be world class.

[williamwaco]

I have known several people who did it at different facilities.

The succes rate seems to me to be much more related to how religious they were with their therapy than which hospital they went to.

I know one lady who had it done 5 years ago and hasn't been out of a wheel chair since. Guess how much therapy she had?

My brother had it done about three years ago and now his new knee is better and stronger and more flexible than his old knee.

[MaryB]

USA has a version called synvisc, helped my knee for about 3 months ten it started grinding again. I am sure replacement is in the foreseeable future but for now the back/neck pain is far worse and has to be fixed first


It may be too late for some at this point, but I'm not at the replacement stage yet. My knees have had operations to remove some of the meniscus and they hurt afterrwards. It's degraded into Rheumatoid Arthritis. Last winter while I was visiting the kids in Ukraine I had a local Dr. there look them over. He wound up squirting a 'grease' into the joint and they felt pretty darned good for 9 months so far. It's supposed to be good for between 8 months and a year.

It's made with a synthetic version of stuff that's already in your body. Made in Germany and available over the counter there but it needs a Dr. to do the injection. The name of it is Crespine and it cost me $300 USD there. Total cost out the door was $375 or so including Xrays and exams.
As you know cortizone isn't a good longer term treatment because it degrades the joint after some time. The Dr. said that it would cost $5 USD there.

Knee replacement is another option for me at some point also but the costs here were quoted at over $100k here yet $16k there in Ukraine. Same brands of joints and equally qualified Drs. So "Medical Tourism" for me is a viable option since I don't have insurance.


edit to add; this stuff is not FDA approved cause there's not enough money in it for the medical companies and Drs.

[longranger]

6 knee surgeries, 2 partials. I did a ton of research and went with a Oxford trained surgeon using Biomet products in CA and SC. excellent 15-25 year life spans,very low revision rate compared to American made appliances and zero "recalls" or "class action law suits".

[starbits]

I had both knees done 4 years ago. Recommendation - get them both done at the same time. The reason is rehab is a real pain and there is no reason to do it twice when you can rehab both knees at the same time.

I agree with gandydancer go to a rehab clinic. Yes you can do it at home and yes it would be cheaper. If you are very self-motivated and dedicated do it home, but most of us, regardless of our self image, aren't that dedicated, myself included, and need a kick in the pants now and then. Besides the rehab gal always had some new painful exercise to do and who would want to miss that. All kidding aside you can have the best surgeon in the world and it you don't do the rehab you will not have a successful outcome.

One last point that they rarely tell you. As your knees go bad the ligaments and soft tissues do weird things to compensate for the unnatural motion of your damaged knees. The worse your knees get the more the compensation. Knee replacement fixes the bone problem, but it does nothing to return the ligaments and soft tissue back to their normal function. Therapy will fix some of it, maybe all of it, maybe not. The purpose of this paragraph is to say if you need a knee replacement do it, don't wait a couple years to get around to it.

starbits

[Possumcop]

I haven't had any experience with knee surgery since having torn cartilage repaired 35 years ago after a high school football injury. I've also never had a single medical procedure performed on me in the state of Minnesota. But I do have some advice that might save you a lot of pain, suffering, healing time and possibly even your life.

Before you have ANY surgery, look at the number of post op infections associated with both the Doctor AND the hospital!

You may have to dig to get the information, but as someone who spent 15 months, 5 surgeries and hours every day for more than three months taking IV meds twice a day to get rid of a MRSA bone infection, I can tell you that doing some research BEFORE you have any surgery done will be one of the best investments of time you'll ever make.

[BethelHntr]

I haven't had knee replacement done but my dad has, He was an ornery SOB for years due to the constant pain and couldn't find relief. He is till this day (78 years young) very active after having both knees replaced at the VA, His most important advise to anyone going though this is religious rehab. Don't give up!

Good luck!

[Col4570]

It is no good sitting around after Knee surgery,move it bend it try it.You need to build up that tissue and Muscle.There is no doubt it hurts during the recovery period but keep using the ice Pack (Frozen Peas) and walking as far as your new Knees will let you.I am 78 next month and rejoice that I had them done 9 years ago.

[MaryB]

I have doe all my PT at home, with a 50 mile round trip it was the only option. One visit to the PT torture specialist and they will give you a sheet of exercises and when to start each, how many repetitions, how many times each day etc. They even set me up with some specialized equipment as needed.

[MaryB]

Homemade blue ice packs, 50/50 water/92% rubbing alcohol with a little food coloring added. Put in a freezer bag then I sealed that in a vacuum bag from my food saver.


It is no good sitting around after Knee surgery,move it bend it try it.You need to build up that tissue and Muscle.There is no doubt it hurts during the recovery period but keep using the ice Pack (Frozen Peas) and walking as far as your new Knees will let you.I am 78 next month and rejoice that I had them done 9 years ago.

[Col4570]

Homemade blue ice packs, 50/50 water/92% rubbing alcohol with a little food coloring added. Put in a freezer bag then I sealed that in a vacuum bag from my food saver.
That is sophisticated,the Frozen peas worked but your packs would have been better.Regards.

[white eagle]

glad to see this thread
I just got back from the ortho doc two days ago
had my hip resurfaced in 08 and now need it revised (pain since surgery) and the bonus is I have moderate to severe arthritus in my right knee and they recommend knee replacement
I am told that no heavy lifting afterwards post surgery and I am a bricklayer so that will end my days on the wall

[Col4570]

Do,nt write your Bricklaying off,You will not want to kneel but otherwise bending from the waist and sitting is my way of doing most jobs.As for lifting, those replacements are as tough as hell.

[Char-Gar]

I had knee replacement surgery in 1999 and got a few good years out of it. I then slipped on a slick tile floor and it has been a problem ever since. The other knee is also now gone to hell, but I won't get it replaced unless it is the only alternative to a wheel chair. Mean while I just hobble on with life. You would be surprised just what you can live with and still have a good time in life. The pain we think is horrendous today, may be pretty small potatoes compared to what we experience farther down the road. Dealing with pain both physical and emotional is just part of being alive. The sooner that lesson is learn, the better off folks are. Only the dead don't hurt!

[jsizemore]

Find out who does the pro athlete's knees in your area. They don't cut corners and have access to the top notch physical therapists. If it's not straight when your done then your problems will be compounded. Good Luck

[gandydancer]

I had knee replacement surgery in 1999 and got a few good years out of it. I then slipped on a slick tile floor and it has been a problem ever since. The other knee is also now gone to hell, but I won't get it replaced unless it is the only alternative to a wheel chair. Mean while I just hobble on with life. You would be surprised just what you can live with and still have a good time in life. The pain we think is horrendous today, may be pretty small potatoes compared to what we experience farther down the road. Dealing with pain both physical and emotional is just part of being alive. The sooner that lesson is learn, the better off folks are. Only the dead don't hurt!

only the dead don't hurt! are you sure?

[Possumcop]

I had knee replacement surgery in 1999 and got a few good years out of it. I then slipped on a slick tile floor and it has been a problem ever since. The other knee is also now gone to hell, but I won't get it replaced unless it is the only alternative to a wheel chair. Mean while I just hobble on with life. You would be surprised just what you can live with and still have a good time in life. The pain we think is horrendous today, may be pretty small potatoes compared to what we experience farther down the road. Dealing with pain both physical and emotional is just part of being alive. The sooner that lesson is learn, the better off folks are. Only the dead don't hurt!

I understand that you don't want another knee replacement, but why?

I feel pretty safe in assuming that you're not afraid of the pain associated with the surgery!

If you had good results from the previous surgery until you re-injured it, why are you so strongly opposed to having the surgery again?

I've had plenty of pain in my life, but I've always figured that less is better than more where pain is concerned.

[opos]

Had a major knee injury in 1972...MCL, ACL, fractured patella, both cartlidges blown out...called the "terrible triad"...had the "latest and greatest" surgery called a Slocum procedure (only thing available except fusion or amputation or a life long wheel chair)...managed to nurse it for some 30 years...walked like a "half a cowboy"..one leg straight and one bent in an outward bow.

I did, as mentioned earlier, go to the group that does the ortho work for the San Diego Chargers..Had a full knee done at Scripps in San Diego...major problem as the old surgery scarring and bone deformity was huge..long and drawn out operation but the recovery went well and i'ts now almost 9 years (I was 69 when it was done)...doc said "it's not a God knee"..but close..changed my life...one thing...it's really important to do what they say before and after the surgery...exactly what they say. I got all sorts of advice about recovery from all sorts of well meaning folks..my doc said every knee is different and every recovery program and progress is different..I did exactly as told..often felt I should "push harder" but did as told....my result is wonderful and my life has changed for the better. It hurts but not for too long..the recovery is slow but in the grand scheme of things..not that slow...if you "go for it" good luck and enjoy the new freedoms.

[Freightman]

Hope yours comes out better than mine, pain is only a little better than the old one. They got it on crooked, like a dogs hind leg. Have to have it redone but waiting till I can't stand anymore, it has been done for 13 years .