https://www.drugs.com/news/new-adva...l?hash2=1b3808ddf124b1d7e72b1b885397e947


Article about it for those interested. If you already did it it's not likely you'll care.

My wife had her knee replaced 7 months ago. She went home before lunch and did great. Her doctor gave her a block that didn`t wear off completely for 3 days after surgery. That way she was able to go home quicker, up and walking asap with much less pain and the physical therapy for those 3 days was much easier than the knee she had replaced 5 years ago.

I want a day or so after replacement to chill out in the hospital, then head home

If you got the insurance might as well use it, Hospitals now of days are like nice hotels, room service menus, nice rooms and 24/7 nurse call buttons.

And the food is usually very good now, unlike days of old.

Best or worst case scenario how long after knee replacement before back to normal? I'm concerned that this is likely coming soon.

I'm in my sixties, lightweight, and normal for me is walking wide open 2-3 miles almost every day.

Sounds like you'll do fine. Following Dr's orders and taking PT seriously is the key. My first one was at 61 and overweight. I was walking easily and driving at 2 weeks. Was doing really great until I developed an infection, then everything went to hell in a handbasket.

2 to 6 months would be my best guess......

How did you get an infection? Dental Visit?

Staff infection inside the knee. Had to go back in and remove almost everything, clean it out and leave it open for a week before replacing with new stuff. I was in the hospital 10 days and then on IV antibiotics for a few months. Almost killed me.

How are you now?

How long ago was that?

Knee hurts every day. Luckily, not on antibiotics for life like they first said, just before any dentist work.
All that was going on during Snowmagen!

How long after the surgery did the infection occur, what were the signs of the infection? Discoloration, running a temperature or pain or?

Iirc it was a couple weeks out as I was going to pt at the time. Knee swole up and was red but pt guy said no big deal. Was sitting on the toilet at home and the stitches broke open sending blood shooting across the room. Thought I was going to bleed out. Went to ER as my knee surgeon didn’t answer the phone. ER doc finally got ahold of him and just put me in a splint with some antibiotics and sent me home. Next day knee Dr (PA) closed the wound and sent me home. That’s when Snowmageden occurred. Wound kept bleeding, went back and saw actual knee Dr and he had me admitted the next day. When they opened it up, the hardware tested as MRSA. Was a very trying time to say the least.

Dang, sir. Glad everything worked out and you mended as well as you could.

Wow..........

Jimbo: I feel your pain. Had the same thing happen on a routine knee repair. Staph infection, pain and major swelling. Drained black bloody fluid out for 2 weeks. Second surgery to to clean, scrape, flush all debris. Cauterize the bleeders. The pics inside knee were disgusting. Fanny pack IV antibiotics for 3 weeks

You got any pics from the surgery?

My mother had a knee replaced over 20 years ago. 7 years ago she fell and ended up in the hospital. She was a large lady. Had a blood infection that they traced back to her knee. Apparently, when she fell, it activated the dormant MRSA inside her knee. Original knee Dr opened her up and the knee couldn't be saved. Ended up removing all the hardware and fused it straight. Only other option would have been amputation. The infection affected her brain and she died less than 6mo later.

wow Jimbo1, sorry to hear that!!!

I suspect I am not to far out from having a replacement (possibly both) within the next year or two ... depending on how long between steroid injections last, could be sooner. I was told about 30 years ago I would need my right one replaced, but back then they were only good for 12-15 years. The surgeon I saw 2 weeks ago stated they have made great progress since about 2005 to where replacements now go 25-30 years and if you were to wear out the plastics, they are replaceable now without having to remove all the metal pieces.

What is your ROM?

Going in the 21st to discuss knee replacement. Had several surgeries on my right knee, been dealing with dislocations and torn everything since 1979.
Deer hunting last month in Oklahoma, stepped out of the travel trailer at 5:45 am and dislocated it again. Just now getting where i can walk half way normal without crutches or a cane.
Been putting it off for to many years, time to get it done.

Walk, Exercise, Ride a stationary bike or get a recumbent bike and get in the best shape you can before getting knee replacement. It will make the rehab much easier.

Excellent advice!

Going in February 28th to have it replaced. Is there anything you can suggest to help with rehab, something you wish you had done differently?
What about sleep, is there anything you tried that helped, made it more comfortable?
How soon could you get in and out of your truck to drive?
I need to make the transition from home to office as soon as i can.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Mine was the left one. I could drive in a week if I really wanted to. Sister-in-law had her right one done and was driving in 2 weeks. Pain meds help you sleep even if not needed for pain. As far as rehab...just do your home PT exercises even if you don't want to. Strengthening the cut muscles is key. Have a good recliner that's easy to get out of. I did have a tall toilet installed before my surgery and that helped a lot.

Thanks.

Trying to put on shoes was a beating right off the get go, get a pair of easy to slide on comfortable shoes, they will help immensely for the first couple of weeks.
When I say easy to slide on, I mean shoes that you do not have to bend over and touch with your hands!

I got these sketchers and they worked great!

^^^^^^^^^

Also get you a stationary bike if you can, wife picked up this one pictured below off of FaceBook for $50.00. Ride it before and after surgery. Good luck!!

Yeah, slippers are a for sure deal. I have a couple pairs of Hoka's that are tied to where they slip on and have lots of cushion.

Buy one of these and use it A LOT. It will keep the pain and swelling down. Less discomfort = less medication.

Cold Therapy Machine

I would suggest buying the larger pad intead of the one for the knee

I found the knee one was too small for my knee, I had tons of swelling

My wife had both knees replaced the past 5 years. She was sent home with one of those machines both times she had surgery. They are great.

I have at least one cold therapy machine and probably two. Got the first one for the left shoulder and the newer fancier one for the right shoulder (rotator cuff surgeries). On this most recent surgery, which was the right shoulder, I started out using the machine but switched to big cold packs. Too much trouble unhooking all the hoses to get up for lunch or bathroom. I really preferred the cold packs. Easier to use and colder. You’d need at least two of the big freezable cold packs, and I’d suggest three. CVS has them.

what is a ROM? In my professional life, a ROM is Rough Order of Magnitude but I am not sure how that relates to this???

ROM is Range of motion. How far you can bend the knee towards your thigh.

ah, yeah that hit me last night when I wasn't around my computer.

On a good day, I can get slightly past 90°, when flaring up, getting to 90° is tough and painful.

What are y'all seeing for ROM after replacement?

Almost 3 years ago for me so I don't remember the #s. But my physical therapist and DR were both very happy. To this day I've never had a problem with bending, but the scar tissue never really went away and It hurts to get up almost like before my surgeries. I need the right one done too, but after this experience, I'll have to be damn near crippled before it happens.

Aren't there supposedly a number of less invasive alternatives to replacement with the knee?

Sure, I had the injections for a couple of years but that's just buying time. Ther's also the stuff they inject between the bones, but again, just buying time. When you get to bone on bone, you either live with the pain or TNR.

Graphic Picture, They had to open my knee up 3 days after replacement to remove some cement that had oozed down, I was popping pretty bad when I tried to bend knee, it fixed the pop.

The right side of pic is my upper leg, you can see the knee replacements parts

Wow , graphic yes . Glad you’re better now

Who had to pay for that?