Going through this surgery on 6/19. Anyone have advice, comments, etc. ???

How old are you? How active are you? And what do you want to get back to?


Axiompt.com

It will take 3 months to get to 80% and then a year to get to 100% recovered. The first 3 months are going to be pure recovery. You'll have to avoid high impact exercises as they put too much stress on the replacement but can still be quite active. Most folks don't need PT. It's just about moving.

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How old are you? How active are you? And what do you want to get back to?

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I currently do a cardio/weights bootcamp for 1 hour 4x per week.

I just want to get back to semi mobile ASAP to be able to climb stairs, drive, etc.

Right now, stairs are a pain and I need a hand rail just to slow move up/down them.

I have a family tubing trip on the Comal River 4 weeks after my surgery. I just need to be able to walk down some stairs, get in my tube, get out of my tube, and walk up some stairs.

Get a good ice machine. Amazon options are fine. If you got a the change, rent a game ready. Not at all necessary, but it's an option.

Push hard weeks 0-4 to get that range of motion. 0-120 degrees ideally. 4 weeks of pushing to make a much better quality of life for years to come.

4weeks tubing trip may be unrealistic. Ask your surgeon if they are even good with you from an infection risk standpoint. Then remember they cut your bone off and 4 weeks that bone growth is just starting to get good. You are at a high risk of fracture if you slip and do something dumb at that point in recovery.

My dad had a knee replacement a few years ago. It went well, he recovered well. DO THERAPY. It helps you recover and rebuild the muscle you will lose while your leg is not able to be loaded or used, and helps restore range of motion.

He was pretty limited for a good while so the scars and tissue would heal up. I'd say a month in you will still be having surgery openings healing back and won't be able to get in water. We did a trip to lake Travis a while after my dad's replacement and he had to stay out of the lake on shore while everyone else went swimming and boating.

The repair should be quite strong. Last year he took a bad slip and fall and the repaired leg got pinned and twisted, and the femur partly snapped about 1.5" above the knee replacement but the replacement itself held up fine. He had to have a plate put in and is now back on his feet after 3 months.

It won't be fun to miss the trip but unless you can keep the wounds 100% dry and out of the water they'll strongly discourage you most likely.

Yeah, at 4-6 weeks you should be starting to do well, but tubing always involves some sort of uncertainty on footing when getting in, getting out, and if there are any spots where it has to be walked. Just think how sick you'd feel if something goes wrong there. The Comal has the tube chute which commonly dumps people out, then heavy current and very wonky footing. It can be walked around, but a decent little walk hauling a tube with a wonky leg

I had a total knee replacement done about 7 months ago( 52yo, great shape etc.) Definitely go to PT for as long as you can!
Ice, ice, ice and take ALL your prescribed meds on time daily. I ran into the problem of doing too much too soon, which caused a set back, so please follow the advice of your surgeon and PT.
I would not recommend even getting close to river water! You DO NOT want to risk infections (or a fall). Benefit doesn't out weight the risk, IMHO.
Good luck, you will feel so much better afterwards. Totally worth it.
Just my 2 cents.

Worried about my MIL. She had a knee replacement on 6/4 and we have an international trip on 9/4. She's not an active person.

I have massive concerns with her mobility on this trip coming up if she doesn't stay on top of rehab

I'm one year post TKR. There are Facebook groups which taught me every TKR is different. Some people are playing golf in 1-2 weeks and others not so lucky.
Use ice on and off, not too much, elevate, use pain meds to preempt pain not to stop it and do exercises to maintain muscle and preempt adhesions.
Good Luck

My 71 year old dad just had knee replacement and got range of motion very quickly. He credit Journavx for pain as a big reason. My mom had both knees done a few years ago and struggled big time for a couple months. Now my dad was also an idiot and went to a job site 2 weeks later and tried to trek over a mound of dirt with a client and fell and sprained his knee and tore his stitches, so don't push it at the river. Like someone else said, infection would be my main concern there. Also as mentioned, ice machine for swelling is key.

Definitely recommend the game-ready at least for the first week or two; can even be used in hospital and then take with you. Easy to use and gets a nice even distribution of the cold. Keeping the swelling under control is super helpful to getting off to a good start. Stock up a cooler with bags of ice to keep by the game-ready, so super easy reload - then the wife can reup on bags every couple of days.

My doctor recommended this cold + compression therapy machine which I will be using after my surgery. It's doesn't require ice.

https://getnice.com/products/nice1

One hack to the ice machines that has been really helpful for us (my mom has had 2 knee replacements, dad has had 1, and my step kid has done both ACLs and just had a meniscus) is to take 8 water bottles and freeze them. Instead of going through bags of ice or using the hell out of your ice maker, put 4 bottles in with water to the machine. Melts slower and reusable and you always have more in the freezer when you need them.

Another good pain relief option is an iovera treatment. It is cryo-shots that freeze the nerves for about 3 months. You have to get it done about 2 weeks before the knee replacement. It's 100% covered by Medicare, but generally not for private insurance. Without insurance, it's expensive....about $1000 last time we checked.

PlanoAg98 said:

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Going through this surgery on 6/19. Anyone have advice, comments, etc. ???

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Update? I need to have this surgery soon.

I had my total knee replacement on June 19 (right knee). I checked into the surgical center at 5:30 a.m. and went into surgery at 7:00 a.m.

I had spinal anesthesia, which numbs you from the waist down, but I was also given an IV "cocktail" for sedation. I don't remember anything about the surgery and didn't wake up until I was in the recovery room. After I was able to meet the basic discharge requirements and demonstrate adequate movement, I was discharged around 5:30 p.m. the same day.

The first two days were actually easier than I expected because the nerve blocks were still working. I used a walker and had very little pain. By the third day, as the nerve blocks wore off, the pain increased, but the prescribed oxycodone helped keep it manageable.

Each day, my walking with the walker improved. By the end of the first week, I felt like I could probably walk without it, but my surgeon and physical therapist advised me to continue using it until my quadriceps strength returns and my gait is more stable.

I wouldn't plan on doing anything very active during the first week. After that, I was able to be fairly self-sufficient around the house.

So far, I'm very happy with the results. My knee already feels better when I walk than it did before surgery. The biggest challenge now is regaining my range of motion and flexibility. I'm attending physical therapy three days a week and doing my prescribed exercises at home on the other four days, and I'm continuing to make steady progress.

Sound good!

Keep at it and get better soon.

I'm scheduled for surgery 8/24.

Checking in. How was your progress since then?