PKR PKR Success - 1 yr out.

[Elad1002]

@NavyGunns
Thanks for posting those pics. I've always wanted to do that trip, who knows, I might yet. Oh that traffic is awful, I agree. So glad you were able to get away and enjoy a normal vacation. I have a friend who had a TKR , he is 8 years out and he and his wife are world travelers. If fact they just got back from Southeast Asia. He had a marvelous recovery though he never stopped exercising, did traditional PT from day 1. I guess it works for some people.
I wanted to ask you once again about that sharp.pain to the right side of your knee you had at about 4 mos. Is that when you began taping? It's quite annoying.
Thanks.
Dale

 

[NavyGunns]

@Elad1002, regarding your question, yes. Taping of my knee actually first started at about week 12 or so and continued off and on until I was almost 5 months out. Haven’t taped, elevated, or iced since then.

 

[NavyGunns]

I had my official 1 yr follow up with my OS this morning. New x-rays were taken which I’ve posted below as well as the ones taken at my initial visit for comparison. I’ve also posted updated pics of what my scar looks like after 1 yr (can barely see it) as well as a pic showing how much flex I’ve achieved so far. I can actually pull it in a bit closer, but still can’t quite get heel to butt. Probably never will.

My OS never took any measurements so I have no idea what my overall ROM is but would guess it’s 0 extension and 135+ for flexion. During my visit, he focused more on functionality, asked lot of questions regarding exercises I’m doing to work on strengthening the quads and hamstrings. We talked quite a bit about the issues I had with ITB early on and my concerns about it flaring back up. He provided some minor modifications to leg exercises he thought might help which I’m gonna try. A later update will provide status on how they work.

Overall it was a good visit. He doesn’t want to see me again for 4 years (5 yrs post op). By then, he might be retired as well as me, so not sure who I’ll actually see. Main reason is to get updated x-rays to monitor the other compartments for any signs of arthritis, right now both are clean.

Pics are in the next post.

 

[NavyGunns]

Before surgery.



After surgery - 1 yr.


Scar after 1 yr.



Flexion sitting in chair without any assistance.

 

[FCBayern]

Nice!, Things to look forward to!

 

[Doupie]

@NavyGunns I'm sooo envious of you.....
I'm sooo happy for you as well, your recovery has been remarkable, and I'm still struggling everyday, now with stiffness and pain if I over do. A fellow Rotarian asked me why I was limping and I wanted to scream.....
OS says everything is fine and doesn't know how to help me, says I need to give it 18 months to fully heal....

You are Superman in by my book, your recovery was a huge success and hopefully in 18 months I can report the same......

 

[NavyGunns]

@Doupie, you make me blush as I am definitely not Superman! If I tell my wife someone called me that, she’d probably have an “accident” from laughing so hard.

My OS did caution me that it’s easy to over do it and that my knee (soft tissues, not the implant) will still rebel at times when pushed to do too much, especially new activities. He actually told me that full healing to the point of minimal risk of having issues takes a good 18 - 24 months. I was amazed as that is exactly what we all hear on BoneSmart. I asked him if he was familiar with BS and he wasn’t, but he wrote down the web site address. Maybe he’ll check it out? I didn’t tell him my role though, only that I found it very informative and very helpful, especially during the early recovery stages.

 

[NavyGunns]

Well, I haven’t been on in so long I can’t remember the last time. Between work and family, I had to take a bit of a “sabbatical” in order to get a handle on my time commitments. Things are not much better as I’m still extremely busy, but thought I would at least take a moment to capture where things stand with my own long-term recovery.


Next week will be 18 months since my PKR. I can’t say that I never notice or think of my knee, but I can say that it hardly ever bothers me. No pain at all, mainly mild stiffness and, of course, that funny feeling one gets from the numb patch in front of my knee cap. One significant positive is that my knee never keeps me awake at night anymore, especially after bowling or other physical activity. That was always the norm prior to surgery.
Appearance wise, can’t hardly tell I had surgery. The only sign is a very thin white line down the middle of my knee, even that isn’t very noticeable as it seems to have tanned a bit from the summer sun.
ROM may have slightly improved but that is only based on what I observe, haven’t been formally measured in over 9 months. I can’t sit on my left heel, but I can almost touch heel to butt it I pull on my ankle. I don’t try that too often, don’t want to push my luck.

That pretty much summarizes where I’m at. I’m hoping that work and family obligations will let up some so that I can get online now and then. I still get notifications in my email and occasionally see a post I want to respond to, but never seem to find the time. I pray that changes soon. In the meantime, I hope all my fellow BoneSmarties are doing well. For the newbies out there, keep the faith, stay positive, and listen to what your knee and body tell you. It will and does get better!

 

[kneeper]

Thanks for checking in and letting us know how you're doing.