Next Step, Knee Replacement

[JEBar]

Hang in there.

absolutely .... part of it is most certainly age, part physical condition, part nature of the operation .... given I don't heal up as quickly as I used to, the recovery from this surgery has been the most difficult so far .... the physical therapists says that is true for most folks with a knee replacement

[Les]

Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be 3 weeks since my TKR. The scar is healing nicely, but the knee is still quite swollen. I have really been pushing myself on the exercises, and I've found that I'm beginning to get back to almost the point I was at before the operation, (but obviously without the bad knee joint).

It is definitely a worse operation than a hip replacement, in terms of post-op mobility and pain, but I'm definitely beginning to see the wood for the trees.

Hang in there, JEBar ...... it will definitely start to get easier.

[JEBar]

good to hear that yours is going well .... my incision seems to be healing nicely .... thankfully, I've not had much in the way of drainage or swelling .... its still pretty stiff but after a couple of steps it loosens up and seems to be doing OK

[RanchRoper]

Do they recommend Rem Oil or Hoppe's lube on the new knee? Is it a toggle link system?

[JEBar]

not that I know of but I believe Ballistol might be worth considering ..

[Les]

Do they recommend Rem Oil or Hoppe's lube on the new knee? Is it a toggle link system?

I had a grease nipple fitted to mine so I can just repack the joint whenever it starts to get too stiff.

[BrokenolMarine]

About six or eight years after my tkr, the knee was swollen about the size of a grapefruit.
It had happened slowly, over time, wasn't particularly painful, just a feeling of pressure, and you could push in, and the skin slowly came back.

Went to see the ortho doc, and he said he needed to drain the knee. Slowly, over time, the "plastic" kneecap sheds minute particles of itself into the area around the knee, and the body surrounds them with a coating to protect itself. This forms the "water on the knee effect" we see here...

He poked my knee. The nurse brought in a tray, with a huge syringe on it, fitted with a long 6" horse needle. The surgeon had been my guy for more than a decade at that point, and he knew me. He knew my attitudes and pain tolerances.

Rather than a major production, just wiped on a topical anesthetic, Miss T moved in for a closer look, and he pushed the needle in the side of my knee. When he started his draw, the liquid was pale green, and like syrup. "Yup, that's the stuff!" He said, and grinned. He pushed the needle a little farther each draw... the nurse looked green. "I will get the wraps," she said, and was gone. He gave another light push, and the skin on the far side tented. "There she is!" He said... and pulled back on the syringe. He drew enough liquid out to nearly fill the body of the syringe, then injected back a small amount. "Lubes the joint." He said.
(The stuff he pulled out and sent for testing, just in case, looked just like the stuff we bought for the kids to play with, called - Slime. Remember it? It came in a small trash can, and stuck to the wall when they threw it.)

As he drained the buildup, we watched the knee deflate, and with only a topical, I could feel the pressure drain off. The procedure really wasn't painful, and didn't have to be repeated. The buildup had begun again, but the revised the replacement, (rebuilt it,) at the 14 year mark.

[BrokenolMarine]

So... at least you have that to look forward to.

Nah, nah... just kidding.. I went back to patrol after my knee replacement...

[JEBar]

in about 30 minutes I'm due for my last in-home physical therapy session .... my first post op appointment with the surgeon is a week from today .... we already have selected the place I will be going for 2 or more weeks of in-office therapy .... the care I've received so far has been top drawer and I have no reason not to expect that continue .... the therapy has brought me a long way in 2 weeks but I most certainly still have a long way to go .... the biggest difference noted so far has been a transition from pain prior to surgery to hurting now .... I'm sure most folks understand the difference between pain and hurt ....

[JEBar]

I'm happy to say that a little while ago, I reached a long pursued milestone .... when we go shopping, my traditional job is to push the cart .... it has (literally) been several years since I have been able to push a cart through a store with a hard (concrete) tile floor without pain .... that is truly a wonderful thing ...