Knee replacement surgery

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kenny thomas

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I was scheduled for knee replacement next week but now gall bladder surgery has ruined that. Im getting conflicting ideas on how long to wait. 2 friends have had issues a year after getting replacement from other infections that get into the knee.
How about some good and bad of it all. I know there has got to be lots on here that have had replacement surgery.
 
kenny thomas said:
I was scheduled for knee replacement next week but now gall bladder surgery has ruined that. Im getting conflicting ideas on how long to wait. 2 friends have had issues a year after getting replacement from other infections that get into the knee.
How about some good and bad of it all. I know there has got to be lots on here that have had replacement surgery.
Click to expand...
I haven't yet, but my ole lady did a couple of years ago. It is known to be one of the most painful recoveries of all....much worse than hip replacement. But when she finally did, she said it was worth it! She even started back jogging again this spring.
 
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Kenny, you are just shot to hell, aren't you?

One of the girls that works for me had double knee replacement surgery a couple of years ago. (She said she wanted it over with and to not go through it twice.) She is happy she did it. From the Orthos I have talked to, they all say that you will know when you just have to have it.

It is important to do every bit of therapy they recommend after the surgery though. If you slack on that you can have long term stiffness and loss of range of motion. But everyone I have talked to that has had it are glad they did.

As Ken said, do the gallbladder first.
 
The one thing I have heard people say about knee or hip replacement is that they wish they had had the
surgery sooner. And as already mentioned the therapy is very important. You will be back baying up bear with
a flashlight in no time..........🔦
.......................................🐻

 
Left knee full replacement in September of 23. Right knee January 24. Both done robotically. No issues. Did 6 weeks of rehab on both. I wont be playing catcher for the Red Sox but can do all I want. Was in decent 59 year old slightly puffy shape. No infections, unlike father who had one knee, all good, then the other. Developed Mersa (sp?) long story short. Amputee above the knee. End of like as he knew it. Really sad, but rare.
 
I would wait for at least 6 months to make sure there is no infections running around in the blood stream... I had ankle done in 2020, both knees in late 2021. Yep, not wanting to go through it twice... Both surgeries went well, have some minor issues of numbness in ankle with all the nerves there, but nothing that stops me from doing anything. Surgery for knees went fine, rehab was horrible and have had some issues with them, because they did not do what they should have done in the beginning.... and am STILL trying to get back to where I want to be... Different hospitals/ different doctors .... etc.
It has been stressed upon me about no infections etc so that it does not get into the bloodstream and wind up in the area around the new joint. The doctor for the ankle way back said NO surgery for 6 months if I was having any issues with infections or anything...

So, that is my advice. at least 6 months. If you want to get it done in this calendar year, do it a day/2 after Christmas... otherwise, wait til after the first of the year....

One thing .... most will not tell you... 85-90% of knee replacement people CAN NOT kneel on their knee after all the healing etc... It gripes me no on told me that... I might have only done the worse one and dealt with the other one for awhile, since I could kneel on both before the surgery... it was the walking that was agony...
 
I know it isn't what you wanna hear, but wait as long as you can. If the new knee were to get infected or rejected, it'd be a terrible situation.

Spoke to my mom about it. She's a retired nurse with two knee replacements, one of which gave her trouble (due to Lupus). I told her of your current situation and she said you want to wait as long as they'll let you.

They takin good care of you still?

I knew a guy that got both his knees replaced at the same time. He had some terrible habits that cause him to get a blood type of infection a couple years later. Knee ended up being rejected and they had to take out and leave a temporary spacer in place. They never could get the infection to clear up for good and he ended up dying as a complication of the knee and infection. (Doubt you'd have this problem... just tossing it out as an example of how the body can get)

What are the medical professionals recommending for you?
 
kenny thomas said:
I was scheduled for knee replacement next week but now gall bladder surgery has ruined that. Im getting conflicting ideas on how long to wait. 2 friends have had issues a year after getting replacement from other infections that get into the knee.
How about some good and bad of it all. I know there has got to be lots on here that have had replacement surgery.
Click to expand...
I thought I had problems, motor is good tires are fine transmission is shot.

You have bad wheels and engine trouble.
You’re way past the check engine light.
You need two mechanics .

All seriousness that gall bladder will kill you. Got my grandma at 55 and almost got me at 55. That is some more of that you can’t outrun your DNA.
 
I am perhaps the worst source of advise for something like this as I have avoided doctors for most of my life, but that said:
I would not rush into this and make sure the gall bladder is taken care of first.
You have been an inspiration to many old timers like myself and here is hoping you can get back on the road soon,
 
i know of someone who got staggered hip replacement surgeries with little time in between each operation. The individual ended up in the hospital shortly after the second surgery and almost died from pneumonia. Being able to recover fully from a surgery is important - consider the risk of overtaxing your body's ability to heal.
 
I had a tougher time than I thought getting over Gallbladder removal surgery. Felt great first 2 days then terrible for next 5-6 days. Probably took 3 months to get back to normal again. I didn't feel terrible for 3 months just felt off.
 
I had surgery sunday morning and today has been by far the worse day. But my back is out too. Wife and i talked on the phone just now, she is a retired nurse, and she thought a 6 month wait might be better. Im not doing it in the winter so maybe next year. Except for walking a lot i do most anything i want anyway, just on a cane. Heck, years ago seemed every man my age had a cane so not a big deal. Once i get up in the tractor im pretty well ok. If i mess up and get knee infection im out with nobody to do anything.
 
My friend Dan had a knee replacement recently. He did not follow the doctor's orders post op. He's a bee keeper. For instance, someone called in a swarm, (20+ thousand of bees leave the hive with the queen looking for a new home) and hang from a tree branch waiting for the scouts to come in with reports. They are docile and don't sting at this time. They can be collected in a box, taken home and you have honey from a new hive. Anyway, ole Dan just had to hobble out and drive to Coos Bay to collect this swarm.

Dan overdid it constantly. He said I'm a tough guy. He not take his pain medicine every 6 hours around the clock either so the pain built up. Dan ended up with adhesions so bad he had to go to Portland and have a redo. Now my friend is strictly following the doctors orders and he goes to rebab a few time a week.
 
Got my right knee replaced in 2017, at 59. Had blown it playing high school football, and in 1974, they removed my medial meniscus, instead of just trimming off the torn flap, as they would do today... so... bone on bone for a long time. Was not really painful, but unstable. When they did the pre-replacement X-rays, they said, "That other knee doesn't look much better!"... but, I'd never really had any issues from it. Surgery went OK, rehab was OK... it's still not 'my knee', and I can't squat... have difficulty getting my water skis on... but it's stable! Had an issue with either an infection of the incision line, or just rejection of whatever subcutaneous suture material they used... drained and failed to heal right for several weeks longer than it should have.
During my knee replacment rehab, I had a catastrophic rupture of (what was left of) my left rotator cuff. Got a reconstruction, with cadaver dermal implant... there was nothing left to put back together. Ended up having the right shoulder done 6 months later. I don't have good use of either one, but can at least put my arms above my head now, and can sleep at night now without opioid drugs.
Got my money's worth out of my employer's health insurance that last year, with a knee replacment and two shoulder reconstructions and 3 rounds of PT, all within a calendar year, and retired 1 month later. .
 
Hurts to walk and am envious of those that can without pain. Haven't went to a doctor in years. Refuse to anymore.....
 
kenny thomas said:
I was scheduled for knee replacement next week but now gall bladder surgery has ruined that. Im getting conflicting ideas on how long to wait. 2 friends have had issues a year after getting replacement from other infections that get into the knee.
How about some good and bad of it all. I know there has got to be lots on here that have had replacement surgery.
Click to expand...

My wife had thin slivers for knee caps. You couldn't even feel them. We went to a doctor that had done a SIL's knee and she recommended. That guy said the knee cap issue was a problem and he'd just take them out, but there would be issues... We just didn't like the guy. I play poker and the guy seemed too shady. Later we found out he was a butcher... and the SIL has had problems as time has passed.

We found another guy that had a good reputation built on fixing other doctor's mistakes. During initial consultations his PA told us they would be prescribing plenty of pain meds, opioids, and if we needed more we could just call. My wife told him she wouldn't be comfortable with opioids and would rather have something else. The guy told us that if she didn't want to use them it would be fine, but she'd get them anyways just in case. And then he said something that floored us. "And if you don't use them... you can always sell them on the street."

But the surgeon was great, the knee was done very well, and the second knee was even better.

I have to say this though, after the first knee while my wife was still on crutches, we went to a farm auction. There was a woman there with shorts on and huge scars on both knees. Terrible swelling on both sides and she could barely walk. We sat there watching her and wondered if this was how my wife's knees would end up. But they are much better than expected. No swelling, no pain, scars that have faded with time... and we can hike in the mountains as well as people our age can expect.

It matters who you get to do the surgery. Do your homework. Maybe the gall bladder thing has given you time to do a little investigating.
 

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