Guest viewing is limited

Fusion Long ride to a successful Fusion

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hi Audrey:
I am very happy for you.
You already have great flexion for someone so soon after surgery!!
The extension will come,now that you actually have your anatomy restored!

Take it easy and take care of yourself!
Sandy
 
Audrey, even someone who had just a straightforward FIRST knee replacement would be experiencing the tiredness and shin pain you are having. So, frankly....I think you are doing FABULOUS!!! You are just a few weeks out and look at what you're able to do!!! :wahey:
 
So glad you've had such a terrific turn around, Audrey. I've worried about you so much and it's such a relief to know it's all been sorted out.
 
Audrey,

Did they put a plastic spacer in this knee replacement? My OS is making it sound like because I am a "big girl" that the knee could easily dislocate. What type of flexion are they thinking you will eventually achieve?
Sorry for all of the questions. I am just trying to figure out if they will be putting me in inpatient rehab or homebound or what. So many questions, you would have thought my doc would have answered them. He likes to talk and if you don't have immediate questions then he is off and running.
 
Hhmm....I'm not sure if they put the spacer in this time or not. I know in the first one, they did. Whereas I have these "rods" going into my tibia and fibia now, I'm not really sure how the components work now. If there isn't a spacer (the disc looking piece) that allows the two pieces to "slide" and allow for flexion, what do you think is use, Jo? .....I haven't had my post-op visit with my surgeon yet, and i know we are going to go over his prognosis and hopes for the future. My situation (because of the RSD) is a bit complex, and what one person may be able to gain in 3 months, it may take me 6 months. I'd like (personally) to get 110 degrees flexion, as that will allow me to do pretty much everything I want/need to do. Any more than that would be a gift! ....my main concern is getting the leg STRAIGHT. Zero degrees. My new surgeon told me that getting the knee straight was most important over flexion, as flexion was easier to gain. Thoughts anybody?
I think you need to tell your Dr. "WHOA" if he is rushing you. Be sure you take a list of questions and concerns with you every time. That way, you won't get flustered during the visit and forget to ask things.....AND.....the doc will see that you have a list and just might sit down and stay a little longer! BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE!!!!

I don't have a weight issue with myself in regards to the knee replacement, so I don't know what factors being "heavy" can make rehab longer or more difficult. If you are able to get into a rehab that is NOT a nursing home, you will be far better off. The skilled facilities (majority of them) are not rehab centered. You could also look into in-home rehab where your PT comes in every day and works with you. Whereas you have other issues coming into play, I would consult with your Dr., your family, and your "inner voice" as to what is best for YOU.
Do I read your op dates correctly? You've had 3 surgeries this year? WOW.....
 
Sonja, I think you're mixing up two types of spacer. The spacer they are suggesting putting in you is a big shaped ball of bone cement and nothing else. The spacer Audrey has is the one everyone with a knee replacement has which is a specially shaped piece of thin polyethylene which enables the two metal implants to smoothly glide over one another.

And no-one ever knows what flexion they will achieve. It's one of those 'have to wait and see' things.
 
Jo, he said he wasn't going to do the bone cement between the two. He didn't tell me if he planned on a plastic spacer or not, but that there would not be any bone cement except in the femur and the tibia.

Audrey, yes I have had 3 surgeries this year!:shk: It has been a looong year. The left knee replacement went so well that I thought "what the heck, why not go for the other one!" I wish I had thought about it now, but now I am dealing with it and getting ready for my 4th surgery! I look at it like this, I already know what to expect from a pain standpoint, so I can handle just about anything life throws at me!:D
 
The plastic spacer isn't a choice, it's a normal and very essential part of a knee replacement. Unlike hips, we don't get metal on metal knees!
 
Thanks Jo. I was just in shock when he turned around from the computer holding up the metal replacement. I had "assumed" I would have a cement spacer first, so I thought, "maybe that's how they make the holes in the bones with the long spikes for the cement spacers. He looked at me like I was from outer space when I asked how long that thing was going to be in my leg!:rotfl: I wish he had communicated a little better and I would have the answers, but I am going armed with a list of quetions this time, and I won't let him leave the room until he answers all of them!:D
 
As Punch said to Judy "That's the way to do it"!
 
wanttoride, I didn't have a revision, I had my 1st tkr, a rtkr. I go to Dr. Rodrigue in Falmouth at Falmouth Orthopaedics. He is awesome! He is very caring, doesn't rush you out and he did a great job on my knee. I was 30 degrees valgus, now my knee is almost perfectly straight and I'm only 7 weeks out, walking with no aids, and no pain finally.
I do still have stiffness and swelling but that's it. He specializes in the minimally invasive procedure. I myself didn't find it very minimal, ha ha! But they don't have to cut the quad tendon and he saves the pcl so that's great. My incision looks like a normal length and I don't have anything to compare the pain after the surgery with this procedure vs. a normal knee replacement, but my recovery has been fast and I am very happy with the results. I highly recommend Dr. Rodgrigue though, he did a wonderful job on my knee. I am at 0 extension (was at a month or less) and I have about 125 degress ROM and no pain. My other knee is already so much less painful since this one was done too, even stairs aren't hurting it. Yesterday I had my hands full and went right down the stairs without using the railing, once I realized what I had done I was a little nervous like oh oh, what did I do but it was ok! I'm slow and stiff on stairs still but no pain, stairs were torture for me before so to go up and down w/o pain is heaven!!! Now I'm off to ride my exercise bike and do all my exercises, then after lunch I have PT so I better get moving! :) Best of luck to you! keep me posted on your progress! :)
 
I am sooo happy for your "wrappergirl"! ....and that you found a surgeon you like. I sounds like he really took GREAT care of you! Keep up the good work....sounds like you'll be "up and running" in no time!
 
wanttoride, I hope you do well also, do you have a surgeon you like now? I've just been on the floor (still am, sitting here w/ my laptop) doing some more bending, boy that hurts like H-ll but its so worth it, I'm anxious for pt today because I think I may have gotten close to 130. My knee was so bad before the surgery I could only walk in a store leaning on a carraige and only for a few minutes, I had to put the car in park at red lights even and now 7 weeks later I can go in stores and do red lights. So even though I have a lot of stiffness and swelling still, all the rest is soooo much better. How is your recovery coming? Are you at outpatient pt yet? who did your surgery? The therapy can be painful, especially the bending but so worth it in the end. keep in touch & take care :)
 
wanttoride, I just read your post above about the pt, just keep at it, it will get better, I hope the RSD issue resolves quickly. My recovery was ok the first three weeks but after that it just took off making big leaps, so just keep at it, I bet you'll do better soon. Remember to ice it a lot too, for me that helped just as much as the pain meds. I hope you recover quickly, stay in touch! :)
 
Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've been on the forum, but you can find out all my history on my botched knee replacement, surgery, UAM, PT and subsequent 2nd TKR on the same knee in past postings. I won't go into all the details in this post. However, the 2nd TKR is failing, and the RSD/CRPS pain has never left. As of last week, my surgeon (not the one that did the botched job - he put the pieces in crooked!) who corrected the rotation of the components has put me in a removeable leg cast to try to "calm the knee and leg down from the pain" I experience every day. Again...please read old posts for details...thanks! ...anyway, I wear the cast (which goes from mid thigh to my ankle) for 8 or more hours a day, and remove it at night. The cast is set at about 10 degrees of "bend", and when it's on, the leg cannot bend or straighten. Since the knee is very "loose" and could not be tightened after the 2nd surgery (RSD issues) because Dr. was fearful that getting it too tight would cause the knee not to bend. Well...I can't bend it anyway because when I do, the looseness causes "clunking" and "thunking", thus causing pain and aggravating the RSD. We've dealt with this since last September (2010) and nothing has helped....except this cast!
Having the cast on makes my knee/leg rock solid! I can be almost free of pain when I'm in it, as there is no looseness and things are TIGHT! (Please note, Dr. says he could put a larger spacer in, but there has been so much trauma to the knee already, he's not sure that would do any good to help "fix" the looseness). I found out today that any type of surgery won't be an option until sometime next spring (2012) due to risk factors of infection, healing, etc. So...I'm in this cast (or another one, if this one gets nasty, ha ha ha!) for at least 9 months. I can honestly say, I'm GLAD! Being almost free of pain and not having to take countless pain meds just to get through the day is FANTASTIC! So what if I can't bend my leg...I'm NOT in pain!
So....I told my Dr. that I was on BoneSmart, and he suggested to find out if there is anybody out there who has had a failed TKR for whatever reason, and has had their knee fused. I am trying to get as much information as I can. The good, the bad and the ugly. Bring it on!!!! Also note, that I have not been able to climb or descend stairs now for a year and a half, and have been in a brace since Sept. 2010 (after the first TKR) I've read about people that are very unhappy after they have had their knee fused because they didn't realize what life would be like with a "straight" leg. I've been living with a straight leg now for 9 months, so this would be nothing new to me.
I'm wondering if we decided to fuse the knee, if that would eliminate the pain as well as the cast does. Obviously, I can't go the rest of my life in a cast, so something...at some point...is going to need to be done, and fusion is looking pretty good to me right now. But...I need more info. I hope there is somebody in our forum that has or knows of somebody that has had this done. THANKS to anyone who can give me more info. :doggieshmooze:
 
Wow, Audrey.....you certainly have been through a LOT since we heard from you last. I'm glad you are able to reduce the pain levels, but sorry to hear that a knee fusion seems to be the best option for you.

We have had a couple of members in the past who talked about fusion, but they are not posting now and I cannot recall anyone who actually had the procedure done and then reported on life after fusion. None of these folks are active right now. But it's possible that they or someone else who is lurking will see your thread and decide to comment.

In the meantime, I'll tag Josephine so she'll see your post quickly. @Josephine:

You actually sound pretty happy....I hope that is the case!!!!
 
Hi Wantoride,

Very sorry to hear about your experiences.

Actually if you want to talk to someone about fusion, there is an active (and inspirational) poster on the pre-op part of the forum: Damaso77. He's had a fused knee for over 20 years and still been very active in sports including icehockey, cycling etc

He sounds an exceptional person and had the fusion done as a child which could have made it easier for him to adapt, but I still think you should talk to him.
 
Thanks, Dewy...I will definetely check it out! Yes, Jamie....I am super happy! I can tell you that last week was a very scary week for me. I've been in a very deep depression for months, and (obviously) have been on an anti-depressant. Well...had to get ALL drugs out of my system before starting Amitriptylin (sp?) last night, and without an anti-depressant med in my system, ALL the pent up anger, frustration and sadness hit me...and hit me HARD. I went off like a bomb. Screamed, threw things, and just about put my fist through a wood wall. Cried for 2 days straight at the most stupidest of things, both sad and happy. I was a mess. Scared my family, I can tell you that, and it scared me too.
I think "letting it all out" was needed, but wish it wasn't to that extreme. (Yes, have seen a councelor to try to "deal with it" and talk about it, etc. etc.) I can say that I feel much better now after letting all that anger out of me!!!!
When I got the cast on, I felt like a new woman! Yes, I walk with a limp, but it's not as bad as when I don't have the cast on. I can even EXERCISE! YES!!!!!! Can you believe it? !!!!!! Just twisting my waist would cause pain, as my leg would also twist. I've gained 25 pounds since the first knee surgery (at a "not so nice" 165...not good for me) and I haven't felt like "me" for a long time. I think "me" is gonna come back!

My surgeon put me on the Anitriptyline for depression as well as nerve root pain. Took 25mg last night, and slept great for the first time in months, and I'm awake this morning not feeling like a zombie! I'm actually going out on the deck today and have my coffee...it's nice here in Maine today...for a lot of reasons!
 
Audrey-
I'm from Maine also and am curious at who you are seeing for orthopedics (or who your first one was.) I've had issues since the beginning of my right tkr and it's been a year now with no resolution, so I want to make sure that if I do have another referral that I don't see the OS who put your first knee in. You can pm me if you don't want to put their names on the board here.

I am sorry to hear of your bad luck. It makes mine seem trivial since I have not had a revision, just a tkr that doesn't want to heal.
What is your cast like? Is it a brace or actually a plaster cast? How do you walk with it?

Also, don't feel bad about the depression or seeing a counselor. I think a lot of us on here do. All I take is Cymbalta- haven't gotten much out of it so far, but I was just switched to it about 3 weeks ago after 6 months on Zoloft.

Hang in there!
 
She takes it off at night, Coachie, so it would seem it's a brace.

Audrey, what a story! You poor lass but I'm delighted you've finally found some way to arrest all that pain. Considering that, I would think that a fusion (or athrodesis) is the way to go. I actually did my training with a girl who had an arthrodesed knee and apart from her odd gait, you wouldn't really have known. She managed to cope very well with everything nurse training could throw at her! This was back in 1958-62 when we used to do a lot of knee arthrodeses as there were no alternatives like replacement. I believe that you can adapt to most things though there are some issues like getting into and out of a car and driving but nothing that can't be adapted to.

I'm glad Dewy mentioned Damaso to you as I couldn't remember the name! (think I'm going to try and keep Dewy around - he's very useful! :th_heehee:) But he's right, Damaso's fusion doesn't seem to have held him back any!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Staff online

  • djklaugh
    djklaugh
    Staff member since December 30, 2020

Members online

Total: 1,425 (members: 1, guests: 1,424)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom