TKR Everything Comes to She Who Waits

[patient 99]

My Mother had a huge 3 inch diameter of skin removed

People have to endure so much. It is all new territory for me - well 15 months and 2 days old to be exact. At the hospital yesterday there was on old boy with no hair on his head whatsoever. As a result he looked quite OK after the tumor was removed from his head. A little blue dressing that was all. He was tucking in to tea and biscuits provided by the nurses. He was cheerful and chatting to folk. Then there was me. Hair smeared in blood and sterilizing solution, crying my eyes out and being told by the nurse that my blood pressure was very high and I should see my doctor urgently. And my knee hurt.

What have I ever done to deserve all this besides push to the front of queues, bags the best seat in the restaurant, buy good wine for myself and not so good for my husband, park in disabled bays without a badge and generally adopt a me first approach. I tell you Chris its just not fair.

 

[patient 99]

Do you have a date for your
2nd opinion yet ?

Diana this is England. The National Health Service has our money. There is no incentive to move quickly. I don't know how long it will take. So you've got me for a while yet

I forgot to tell you when I was waiting to go in to have the tumour removed I starting reading a magazine. It was last year's. The first 2 pages were given over to an advert for Massachusetts. It made me smile and think of you. A coincidence or was it something else. xx Carol

 

[71Beetle]

It does seem unfair doesn't it @patient 99. You are obviously a very strong woman to endure all of this. My thoughts are with you for a speedy recovery!

 

[turtle68]

Good morning Carol. Happy you enjoyed the goop pictures, and I would have loved to see your skullcap picture. It sounds like a good plan to work on your stretching exercises and I'll be very interested to see if it helps. What kind of stretches are you doing?

We have 3-day weekend here (Memorial Day), so we're getting out of the "commune" tomorrow and going to see some friends, then picnic Monday. xoxoDorothy

 

[new knee in June]

@patient 99
Dear Carol,
I am so sorry you were crying in the waiting room No one does anything to " deserve"
Pain & unhappiness The main thing is you are taking care of this & you are going to recover.
You are a strong woman & should never forget this
I was happy to hear you thought of me, We were right there with you all along
I hope you are feeling better today,
Thinking of you always,
Diana

 

[patient 99]

What kind of stretches are you doing?

Hi Dorothy, living in what you describe as a `commune' has a bang up to date ring about it - so much better than living in a plain old street. One thing I have sometimes wondered is what happens if commune members fall out. It must happen. It must make things a little awkward?

The main exercise I'm doing is with my little pedals. I bring them as close to me as I can to increase the bend. I've been doing it for short spells all day, but there's no change - give it time.

Its a holiday week end here too. But I can't leave the house - give it time
I'm still alive though - give it time

As always, best wishes. Carol

 

[Celle]

Hi Carol, @patient 99

Sounds like you need a hundred hugs! - those, times a hundred! ((((((((((Carol))))))))))

So sorry you're having such a rubbish time right now!
What more can I say, except that we are here for you? We'll listen and send you all the positive vibes we can.

 

[maryo52]

@patient 99 All I can offer you is my opinion, which is based on the arthroscopy photos when they took out my scar tissue. This stuff is very fibrous, like gristle. If you can break the adhesions (I'm told doctors used to break adhesions during office visits under sedation), it hurts like all get-out.

I know of no body process that discards or removes this tissue. In fact, fibrous tissue often is built by the body to provide strength or splinting in an area. I know that since my arthroscopy, my body has laid down more scar tissue and it's starting to get to me. However, my ROM is still good.

This is a situation that has defied nearly all attempts by experts to find a "cure" or satisfactory remedy. What pushing harder does is cause all those areas that are adhered to pull on healthy soft tissues and create more pain.

Your surgeon's note shows that he has hit his limit as far as being helpful to you. This happens once in a while, and, yes, a new doctor who is not daunted by this situation is needed.

 

[maryo52]

BTW there is no magic stretch that works better than any other stretch. I had a period of looking incessantly for the magic stretch that would make my knee bend. If there truly is a heaven, I will get to have a magic wand when I'm there.

 

[Toothfairy]

Hi Carol,
I hope you are starting to feel better after your recent surgery.
I will keep my fingers crossed for a very good result for you.
Love and hugs, Toothfairy x

 

[patient 99]

All I can offer you is my opinion,

I fully understand that Mary. I truly am not expecting you to give me the answers that surgeons cannot - although you could have my life's savings if you could Just wanted your views on a few things. Perfectly understand if your response is `Sorry Carol I don't have the faintest idea'.

If pushing harder causes the scar tissue, adhesions and general fibrose gristle to cling harder to the soft tissue, why on earth would my surgeon suggest I `work hard at stretching to get a few more degrees of flexion'. The man surely is no fool????????? But I have to say working little and often on my pedals and doing various other stretching exercises does not seem to be helping.

I know that since my arthroscopy, my body has laid down more scar tissue and it's starting to get to me.

This would tend to support my surgeon's view that further surgery is not the answer. But where does that leave people like you and me? Further surgery is out as is `pushing harder'. Does the knee continue to get tighter and tighter as it steadily fills up with all this unwanted gristle? This means that instead of things improving given time that they are actually getting worse. A scary thought.

As I sit here writing to you I have just moved my leg back a little. As a result the whole knee is encased in a vice like grip. I have to fight that grip with every step I take.

I am desperate to get a second opinion. Common sense tells me there is probably little he can do, but I must stay positive. Carol

 

[maryo52]

why on earth would my surgeon suggest I `work hard at stretching to get a few more degrees of flexion'.

You have to step back and think: what is it that needs to be stretched? Muscles are individual components with a slippery covering, like a fish. What allows our limbs to move is the the ability of muscles to stretch independently each othe. They are attached to bone only the ends. They have to be able to slide alongside each other and the bone. When they are adhered to each other and/or other places on the bone, limb movement is restricted. I think, my dear, you have stretched and stretched. The problem isn't stretch but adhesions, I suspect, although it's possible the knee installation has a problem.

This would tend to support my surgeon's view that further surgery is not the answer.

I disagree. Remember that my arthroscopy rescued my knee from ROM of 10/70. It's now 0/135. But I have "recurrent synovitis" which triggers more scar tissue although I don't know that for a fact. It's not scar tissue that's impacting my bend but rather scar tissue that's filling up some of the space around the joint. Again, this is a topic that many surgeons struggle to get a grip on.

I remember wringing my hands and racking my brain endlessly over my knee's mysteries. I felt so utterly hopeless. Yet I am tireless in searching for answers, and my surgeon fortunately is patient-centered rather than expert-centered. We resolved the matter working together. You need a surgeon who does that for you.

 

[Pumpkin]

my surgeon fortunately is patient-centered rather than expert-centered. We resolved the matter working together. You need a surgeon who does that for you.

Carol, I could not agree with Maryo52 more, and am so glad you have a second opinion arranged.
You need an answer to your knee problems, then you can move forward.

Hope you scalp is healing up, took quite awhile for my Mothers scar to mature, amazing how well she healed up at 91.

 

[Dabber]

@patient 99 I missed the second op sorry

Hoping it heals well.

 

[patient 99]

I remember wringing my hands and racking my brain endlessly over my knee's mysteries.

Thanks very much Mary for taking the time to respond in such an informative way. I will push like mad for that second opinion, but it will take a while. That's the way the NHS works. I haven't the money to go private. I could probably afford the first consultation, but the follow up would cost too much.

In the meantime are you suggesting I stop the stretching exercises? Walking, although uncomfortable, doesn't seem to increase the tightness so perhaps I'll do more of that. I think its probably wise to use my legs so as to keep the muscles strong.

It's not scar tissue that's impacting my bend but rather scar tissue that's filling up some of the space around the joint.

And I guess if you have even more surgery to remove it, there's a chance it may make things worse? Being able to have a proper discussion with your surgeon must help enormously. Carol

 

[patient 99]

Hope you scalp is healing up,

Yes Chris, its coming along fine I think. The dressing comes off on Friday. To be honest my attention is not on head, but on my knee. Everything takes so damned long to get sorted.

I've just come back from your thread. Looking good

 

[patient 99]

I missed the second op sorry

Well you better stay behind today and catch up <wink>. Reconstruction seems to be fine. They took the graft from my neck of all places. I'd hoped they would take it from somewhere less obtrusive. I've a dressing on my neck too which makes it hard to straighten my head. But everything seems perfectly normal - and that's just dandy in my book.

I popped over to your thread recently, but there were no updates. How you doing? Is Paris still an option? xx Carol

 

[patient 99]

@bottomshollow Could you give me the link to check revision surgeon profiles. Can't seem to find it. Thanks. Carol

 

[Dabber]

@patient 99 We decided not go to France and I've had a rough day today, I don't know what's wrong but may postpone my appointment on Wed with my OS as I like to be on topish form or top as I can be for these appointments. It may be the maintenance therapy or something else, I seem to have developed a gluten intolerance also.

 

[patient 99]

I like to be on topish form or top as I can be for these appointments.

Hi Sue, You know best of course, but I would have thought it was even more important to keep the OS appointment if you feel rough rather than postpone it. Carol