NFT: knee replacement surgery

a number of people who have had knee replacement surgery. For most it is a godsend. Two people I know have had trouble with the surgery. One had partial knee replacement, and she has struggled with it. Several others have had at least one knee, and in a couple of case both knees, replaced. The rehab is a challenge, but eventually they are able to function pain free. The rehab usually takes 6 weeks. The knees are good for 20 years, as I understand it, as long as you don't try to play beer league hockey or competitive softball.

I am close to having it done as well. Best advice: find a highly respected knee replacement surgeon. Do your research. That seems to be the most important factor. Talk to medical suppliers. They seem to know who the great surgeons are.

like they are check ups here in Central KY.

I have many hard miles on my knees but they are structurally sound.

That said, I had plica removal and a they cleaned up a lot of damage. In the end I'm not sure it was worth it because I ended up with edema that took too long to 95% resolve. No more issues from the plica but the rest of it is worse off from the clean up.

If it is at all possible to avoid surgery I would advise you to do just that.

1 1/2 years ago. The first couple of months were rough eventually got pain management injections. Today mostly pain free. Research the surgeons. Do as much leg strengthening prior to surgery. It helps with the rehab.

Kind of information are you looking for ? The rehab is tough, getting the ROM back is the most important part. I would say knee replacement have a big success rate and if you have debilitating pain it will great benefit you. They’re pretty low risk but there is always the risk of infection.

You will probably get 20 years max out of a replacement before you would need another one. I am a PT and Rehab manager in a SNF so I have worked with plenty of people who have had knee replacements.

Had it done at 61 years of age at HSS in NYC. One knee had been trouble since an injury in my very early 20's. Constant swelling and occasional trips to doctor to get it fluid drained.

Constant pain drove me to finally getting this done. So much better since the surgery 5+years ago.

My advice:
-Use a surgeon who is experienced and facility that specializes in this surgery. My local ortho guy could have done it but I asked and he told me he had done about 200 in his career. The guy I used (Dr. Mayman @HSS) did 900 per YEAR.
-Do the PT. A prior poster mentioned that getting flexibility back early is key to success and I agree. Always be faithful to your PT regimen. What else do you have to do as you recuperate?

Dr. Mayman told me in the pre surgical consult that for the first 30 days I would wonder why I had the surgery and that recovery is tough. He then said that after 90 days I would begin to see real benefits of having the surgery and that a year post surgery things would be greatly improved. This turned out to be an accurate roadmap.

Now almost 6 years later things are great and I'm so glad to have done this.

Good luck!

I’d recommend seeing a good PT guy and sticking to a strict workout schedule to strengthen the muscles around the knee. My dad was going to go in for an operation. His doctor said he needed it. 3 months training he didn’t need the surgery. He had tightness and weakness in the knee joint from weak underdeveloped muscles. Trust me try this route first but you need someone very knowledgeable

Originally had a Meniscus scraping in 2013 and it made things worse. Finally had the full replacement in 2020 at age 70. Wish to reiterate ---find the BEST doctor. Do not settle. Mine is the best in the area and it makes a big difference. First few days are OK and you are up and about by the next day. However, when the nerve block wears off, you had best be prepared for serious discomfort. Be careful with the pain meds - you might be better off with Advil. Actually had some withdrawal issues from the stronger medications. MOST IMPORTANTLY - you have to be very, very serious about rehab. If you are not, then the value is negated. It's a daily challenge and you need to push yourself and don't let up or take a day off. I'm not kidding.

Bottom line, I did rehab at home and as an outpatient and was able to play golf within 6 months. Do I still have some muscular soreness? Yes. Probably complicated by RA. Can I walk pain free? Yes. However, no running, kneeling, jumping - ever. Even after recovery, scar tissue can be an issue so you have to stay active - walking, stretching, etc. I would recommend but it's no joke. I just found out that my other knee is on the path toward replacement - maybe 2-3 years out. Not looking forward to it but it's better than constant pain.

Best of Luck to you.

Done, she did great with it. They are pretty good at it. Good luck.

Basically it was as bad as yours and then some prior to surgery.
Do the rehab religiously and after about a 4-6 weeks you'll be amazed with the results. Gotta get the ROM north of 120 degrees, so you have work to do. It's a challenge but well worth it.

at least one had both knees replaced. Very positive results. I think they told me that exercise is very important after to break up scar tissue.

Wife had both done at the same time. Make sure you do the rehab. I know a nurse that didn’t do the exercises and the knee locked up. She had to go back into surgery and have the knee manually unlocked because she didn’t do the exercises because it was to painful. My wife had no problems.

I decided to have it done when the pain was keeping me up at night. I did several months of leg strengthening prior to surgery and was committed to PT afterwards. Leg continued to hurt for a little over a year, but was able to resume hiking and golfing after 4 months. Pain free last 4 1/2 years. As others have posted, make an honest effort in PT and use a surgeon who does lots of knee replacements. Best of luck to you

if I needed a knee, i'd do it. Everyone I talk to that got one is happy with it but it takes some recovery time.

Regrets it now. Not happy at all.

Have certainly seen some poor outcomes but they’re rare. It’s usually do to infection or people not really pushing in rehab to get adequate ROM.

The overwhelming amount of knee replacements are successful. Painful at first but positive end results

Total knees for 20+yrs in outpatient physical therapy setting. Most of my patients are 65+ so you are on the young side but I’ve had some under 50 and they usually do quite well after a couple of months of rehab. Being younger and stronger helps. That said, if you do it, do the pre-hab and get as strong AND flexible as you can. Before making the decision, research Dr’s. They are not all doing the same level of work IMO. I have one doc, seen prob 200 TKRs over the yrs. I can’t recall a single issue. I have a younger one Ive seen maybe 10 from and have had 4 BAD experiences. And that doc runs ads constantly. He also keeps most of his patients at his PT clinic. Keep the results in house? Idk… but Ii always have a top tier. Doing some pre-Hab could get you to a local PT who knows the docs and can recommend a good one.

Now, obv nothing is guaranteed and I’ve seen some bad surgeries, but TKRs have come a long way and are often robot assisted. Most of my patients do well for yrs. Docs used to tell patients the replacement should last 15 yrs. I see many lasting 20-25 and never having a problem. You’re young, it may be a reason to wait. For most TKRs, the first month is the hardest. Most common issue…Sleep can be really rough. By month 2-3 most are back to a better knee than before surgery, but still have a ways to go. The biggest mistake I see is people stop doing the exercises and try to get back to normal exercise or doing too much too early. I had a cyclist recently who was doing awesome at 6wks. He went for a 10 mi ride and wasn’t doing awesome for the next 6 wks. Soft tissue wasn’t ready post surgery. If you do it, do the exercises even if you feel great and give normal stuff a baby step approach. Also, remember, a new knee will not bend like your original knee. Most docs will use components that will allow 130degrees of flexion/bend. Some use one that goes to 150 but I have only seen a few of them and they are from one doc. They all did well, though. It’s an easy decision for some but at your age I’d want to know it was the last option.

Finding a good surgeon is everything. This also isn’t always the most popular one or well known. But a good one makes a world of difference.

50 is young for a TKR but it all depends on what you are trying to achieve. A good surgeon will help guide you.

Throughly do your research because a poorly performed TKR can severely effect you the rest of your life- especially someone your age.

In comment 15936290 Turf Toe said:

Quote:

Total knees for 20+yrs in outpatient physical therapy setting. Most of my patients are 65+ so you are on the young side but I’ve had some under 50 and they usually do quite well after a couple of months of rehab. Being younger and stronger helps. That said, if you do it, do the pre-hab and get as strong AND flexible as you can. Before making the decision, research Dr’s. They are not all doing the same level of work IMO. I have one doc, seen prob 200 TKRs over the yrs. I can’t recall a single issue. I have a younger one Ive seen maybe 10 from and have had 4 BAD experiences. And that doc runs ads constantly. He also keeps most of his patients at his PT clinic. Keep the results in house? Idk… but Ii always have a top tier. Doing some pre-Hab could get you to a local PT who knows the docs and can recommend a good one. Now, obv nothing is guaranteed and I’ve seen some bad surgeries, but TKRs have come a long way and are often robot assisted. Most of my patients do well for yrs. Docs used to tell patients the replacement should last 15 yrs. I see many lasting 20-25 and never having a problem. You’re young, it may be a reason to wait. For most TKRs, the first month is the hardest. Most common issue…Sleep can be really rough. By month 2-3 most are back to a better knee than before surgery, but still have a ways to go. The biggest mistake I see is people stop doing the exercises and try to get back to normal exercise or doing too much too early. I had a cyclist recently who was doing awesome at 6wks. He went for a 10 mi ride and wasn’t doing awesome for the next 6 wks. Soft tissue wasn’t ready post surgery. If you do it, do the exercises even if you feel great and give normal stuff a baby step approach. Also, remember, a new knee will not bend like your original knee. Most docs will use components that will allow 130degrees of flexion/bend. Some use one that goes to 150 but I have only seen a few of them and they are from one doc. They all did well, though. It’s an easy decision for some but at your age I’d want to know it was the last option.

Turf from what I understand, between robot assistance and improved hardware, TKR could be pushing 30 yrs in next next 5-10 yrs. I saw a couple guys who just got it maybe 2-3 weeks in and they felt pretty good. Still using a Walker just to be safe but no massive pain
I understand first month can be a lot worse than a THP ( which quiet honestly after a week it’s not bad at all) but these guys were off pain meds

In comment 15935344 Tuckrule said:

Quote:

I’d recommend seeing a good PT guy and sticking to a strict workout schedule to strengthen the muscles around the knee. My dad was going to go in for an operation. His doctor said he needed it. 3 months training he didn’t need the surgery. He had tightness and weakness in the knee joint from weak underdeveloped muscles. Trust me try this route first but you need someone very knowledgeable

Completely agree. Both my parents had replacements years ago and they are still doing well. I was having similar quality of life altering pain but went the PT route. I’m really glad I was able to avoid the painful surgery (all surgery carries risk) and rehab.