TKR How young is too young?

[LD of Michigan]

Yes! It got to the point where I was struggling to get out of a chair or at a social events, sober, yet I looked drunk mounting or going down a flight of stairs. Not a good look. As I started research/ review surgeons etc. I informed friends, fam and coworkers I had a bad knee - needing surgery which explained my walking and obvious struggles (and the occasional cane).

The cane was mostly used when traveling and frankly I still keep a fold-up cane when I fly/ or conferences etc.

My TKR's have are fine but I'll never be a fast walker, and while healing this second TKR I'm not taking chances with rushing throngs when at the airport etc. Otherwise I don't use a cane much.

I resumed work at about five and a half weeks post last TKR (1/23). Took cane first months on-and-off having/ using it part to keep people from thinking I'd NOT had major surgery EXPECTING too much. This last week I went full-on no cane at work. That went very well.

It just takes time. I am glad I had my TKR's!

 

[BionicMama]

I just had my right knee done and I’m a month shy of being 43. I went into my co silt expecting push back but I was very prepared for that with literature that spoke about not waiting to further damage the joint and also I’m pretty realistic about my
Life’s trajectory - all of my closest biological relatives died before 60 of heart disease and I only learned of that the past few years. Perhaps I would have tried harder to lose weight and be more active past my teenage years if I had that information but alas it is what it is now. My surgeon was understanding when I told him I wanted to be able to enjoy the life I have left with my children and husband since it’s not likely I will live to far last 60 anyways. Morbid - perhaps. Realistic - 100%. I’m happy that he was supportive and wants to give me the best quality of life for as long as I can enjoy it instead of setting an arbitrary date or age when he would agree to it. If all goes well, I will have my left knee done next summer to complete the set!

 

[amber777]

I was 43 when I was told I needed them both done, and then was told I’m to young. I was 46 by the time I told my surgeon that I can’t live in this much pain anymore and my right knee was done. I went back to being told I’m to young after that. Now I’m 55 and finally getting my left knee in 2 weeks

 

[FionaW]

That’s so sad. Really, it shouldn’t be about age at all, it should be about function. It’s true that TKR is serious surgery, and some people who have a harder time afterwards than they did before probably do regret it, at least for a while. But the crucial question should be “Can you live like this?” not “How old are you?”

 

[Layla]

Best wishes tomorrow!
Will be watching for you on the healing side. Hope to see you there soon.
@amber777

 

[amber777]

Thank you. I’m first on the list tomorrow morning

 

[FionaW]

Good luck, @amber777 !

 

[InkedMarie]

@amber777 how are you doing?

Marie

 

[amber777]

@InkedMarie
I’m on the healing side now. I’m ok. Pain is worse than I remember

 

[Geno1]

I'm 65 and was bone-on-bone in both knees. Did the right TKR on May 30 and the left TKR on June 27. I have a number of observations that may or may not be applicable in your situation.

Historically the main reason knee implants "failed" after a couple of decades is that the cement holding them onto the bones crumbled. Both of my TKR's used "cementless" implants -- they have honeycombs on the end into which the bones grow. Yours may be "cementless" as well. May they last us a lifetime!

I know what you mean about the pain. Between everything that got moved around, sawed, and hammered during the procedure and all of that soft tissue adjusting to its new post-implant position I feel as if I have a hundred deep bruises from my feet to my glutes; sprains in my feet, ankles, knees, and hips; and shin splints all at the same time. The opioids they gave me to relieve pain didn't do much, if anything, for the pain but they do make my head hurt too -- perhaps the strategy is to distract you from the pain in your legs. Key observation: when they did the first TKR they (I'm sure not intentionally) inflicted acute trauma to my IT Band and/or my LCL. That gave me much more severe acute pain for several weeks. In the protocol my providers follow, no one even tried to identify and respond to out-of-the-ordinary acute pain. (I, of course, didn't know it was out-of-the-ordinary until they did the second one.) When I pressed my physical therapist, he gave me some additional stretches that helped. Cold therapy helps some, but there must be better ways to treat the pain that they're not using. I don't know what those are.

I am certain that there are a number of therapies that can speed recovery from this procedure that are ignored by corporate medicine here in the US and probably your nationalized healthcare. The most promising in my opinion involve regenerative medicine such as peptide therapy with CJC-1295, TB-500, and BPC-57. If you have the resources to access physicians and compounding pharmacies providing this kind of care, it might be worthwhile. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has shown great promise in wound healing and would probably help this kind of recovery as well. I would bet that the proper application of heat and massage therapies would help as well, but I haven't found a provider who practices them.

My only other thought is to be diligent about your physical therapy even when you don't feel like it. You have a narrow window measured in weeks to regain your range of motion and you don't want to miss that window.

Good luck and take care, @amber777 .

 

[sistersinhim]

My only other thought is to be diligent about your physical therapy even when you don't feel like it. You have a narrow window measured in weeks to regain your range of motion and you don't want to miss that window.

There is no Window of Opportunity. We have had members' ROM improve for months and even years after their TKR. Over-exercising a newly replaced joint causes increased inflammation, which causes even more swelling and lower bend. You can not bend a knee that is swollen. As it heals and the swelling decreases, the bend will naturally become better. Patience is the most important exercise in this recovery!

 

[sistersinhim]

@Geno1, how about starting your own Recovery Thread and telling us all about your experiences?

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Starting a new thread

 

[mystikfairy61]

@amber777 I am in the same place you are, awaiting my 2nd TKR on July 26th. I was 53 when I had my left done and now at 62 needing right but have also had both hips done so this will be 4 joints for me. I am having robotic assisted this time myself.

I read about the odd feeling from kneeling and that's what I have. If I use the gel knee pads from Lowes I can kneel for a few mins but it feels odd. Wish I could get past that so I could kneel if I need to. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get past that feeling that way when the new knee is done and well enough, I can work with it. Went today for my preop appt with Same Day surgery. Best of luck on your surgery and subsequent recovery. I will be right behind you. Watching for your post op.

 

[benne68]

Historically the main reason knee implants "failed" after a couple of decades is that the cement holding them onto the bones crumbled.

Would love to know your source for this statement, since I've never seen anything this definitive.

Could you please provide a link to the study (or other resource) where you found this so we have access to it?

 

[Geno1]

@Geno1, how about starting your own Recovery Thread and telling us all about your experiences?

Thanks for the link with instructions @sistersinhim .

 

[Geno1]

Historically the main reason knee implants "failed" after a couple of decades is that the cement holding them onto the bones crumbled.

Would love to know your source for this statement, since I've never seen anything this definitive.

Could you please provide a link to the study (or other resource) where you found this so we have access to it?

I may have made it sound more definitive than I should have @benne68 . My surgeon mentioned this when I quizzed him about why he thought the Stryker Triathlon Tritanium Cementless Total Knee System was right for me. It seemed logical and I really didn't research that aspect any further than to make sure the technology had been in use for a while.

 

[Jamie]

Actually, your description of how bone cement works is not correct either, @Geno1. I wouldn’t want people to think that a cemented implant is just “stuck” to the bone with some type of super cement. When done properly by the surgeon, the use of bone cement provides a very secure bond between the metal implant and your living bone tissue. The cement is mixed during surgery and at just the right moment as it begins to harden, it is forced into the crevices of your bone tissue. Once it reached the mature, hardened state, it is bonded just as well as the ingrowth that comes with an uncemented implant. This takes place quickly and the bond is complete by the time you leave surgery.

I agree with you about the interesting potential of some of the alternative treatments that are available today. However, many of the claims are not supported at this point by clinical research, which can make it difficult to determine what might actually be beneficial and what might not. The treatments tend to be expensive and are not usually covered by insurance because they are not backed by strong science. So, we tend not to encourage people to seek them out as a routine matter. Should you run across any studies or clinical trials that support these suggestions, by all means report them in your recovery thread so we can check them out. We depend on our members to help us find this information, as there is so much out there!

 

[EalingGran]

Would love to know your source for this statement, since I've never seen anything this definitive.

Agree with @benne68 I have become a bit of an ortho geek since my pkr and I have not found anything to suggest that the cement crumbles. Would be interested to see a reference.
I have been told that my Oxford fixed lateral should last a lifetime and I believe my implant has a manufacturer's lifetime guarantee.