I am a 58yr old male,I damaged my left knee playing inthe Police football team some 20 yrs ago. I had the cartlidge removed but over the last 5 yrs started to get arthritis in the knee. To be fair i get occasional pain but not excessive. the knee feels very unstable and clicks when moves. If I walk a lot playing golf or cycling then it is painful but arthretic 75 tablets help. I dont want the knee to get too bad before considering a replacemnt. I have restricted movement in it and its very swollen. At what point should I even consider having it done?
knee replacement
- Thread starter andy long
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Hi Andy, I am a 58 year female who had both knees replaced on Jan. 9, 2007. I would say to do it sooner rather than later. I was in fairly good shape ( strength wise) before the surgery, so I think that that is helping me to heal faster. Actually I hope i am healing faster that most. Around 1995 I had the ACL replaced in my right knee, 2 years later had miniscus repaired in the same knee. Last Jan. 2006 I had the left knee scoped to remove loose cartilege and torn miniscus. That one did not do anything to help. I decided to have the replacements about 3 monthe ago when I could not walk downstairs, ( I could if I walked sideways), could not walk down a slight decline and was tired of the pain and swelling. The recovery is not easy but I am glad that i did it. Even when I bend my knees now that scraping sound of bone on bone is gone, that makes me very happy. I hope this helps. kati
I would wait as long as you can i.e. when it is really interfering with your quality of life. I am a 46 year old female and have had degenerative osteoarthritis in both knees since about the age of 25. I now can't stand stand for any longer than about 5 minutes or walk beyond 10. The minute I put my feet on the ground I am in pain. I have learnrd to live with the disability to some extent(don't know if that's neccesarilly a good thing!!). I'll avoid situations that I think will increase the pain. I'm needing a bilateral knee replacemant as I'm now 'bandy', have no cartilage (bone on bone) and developing spurs consatntly due to the deformity in my knee joints. The thing that concerns me is that knee replacements only last so long and when they do get replaced, they are never as good as the first. My surgeon told me that they could even do it a third time but every time they go in they have to remove more bone and this is why they prefer to wait until you're older. I am at the stage that I now need to seriously consider this being done but it's not an easy decision to make as there are so many potential risks. Yes my quality of life has totally changed but I still work full time (a more sedenatary job but it's still in my profession) and I still manage around the house and garden with aids-my philosophy in life is never 'stand when you can sit' but at my age is that really the answer?? I'm realyy having to consider getting this dine now and it's not an easy decision to make but I think you have to look at how it's affecting your quality of life and it's ultimately your decision.
dids
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About how long the prostheses last:
Thing you have to bear in mind is that surgeons will always err on the side of caution when giving this information. The basic is that the current prostheses have only been around for about 15 years or so, so the reality is that no-one really knows HOW long they're going to last in actuality.
In hip replacements, the biggest problem is that the plastic cup lining wears away and has to be replaced. In knees, there is also a plastic liner but the wear ratios on that have not had anywhere near the data collected as yet but so far, it doesn't seem that they wear quite a much as hips. So the end result is that they COULD last a lot longer than 20 years! And the possibility is that it could just be the plastic liner that needs replacing anyway.
The legal requirement for surgeons is always to state the worst case scenario so the patient cannot then come back with a law suit saying "You never warned me about this".
(The information provided here is an opinion of the site monitor and should not be construed as a medical opinion. The site monitor has 40 plus years experience as an orthopedic nurse.)
Thing you have to bear in mind is that surgeons will always err on the side of caution when giving this information. The basic is that the current prostheses have only been around for about 15 years or so, so the reality is that no-one really knows HOW long they're going to last in actuality.
In hip replacements, the biggest problem is that the plastic cup lining wears away and has to be replaced. In knees, there is also a plastic liner but the wear ratios on that have not had anywhere near the data collected as yet but so far, it doesn't seem that they wear quite a much as hips. So the end result is that they COULD last a lot longer than 20 years! And the possibility is that it could just be the plastic liner that needs replacing anyway.
The legal requirement for surgeons is always to state the worst case scenario so the patient cannot then come back with a law suit saying "You never warned me about this".
(The information provided here is an opinion of the site monitor and should not be construed as a medical opinion. The site monitor has 40 plus years experience as an orthopedic nurse.)
bushstreetkid
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- May 7, 2007
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Hi Andy. Your doctor will be able to tell you if a knee replacement is necessary by looking at your x-rays. I am 56 and had my replacement 9 weeks ago. It has been good for me. I would do it again. Diane
United KingdomAndy - when it's time to have it done, you won't be asking that question!! Prosthetic joints are never as good as your own natural joint and so long as you're getting fair use out of it, go with what works!!
I found that an arthroscopy that washed out all the debris was well worth the effort. An alternative to be considered.
(The information provided here is an opinion of the site monitor and should not be construed as a medical opinion. The site monitor has 40 plus years experience as an orthopedic nurse.)
I found that an arthroscopy that washed out all the debris was well worth the effort. An alternative to be considered.
(The information provided here is an opinion of the site monitor and should not be construed as a medical opinion. The site monitor has 40 plus years experience as an orthopedic nurse.)
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