Motherbone
senior
My appointment went OK. The implant on the right is in place with no shifting and good alignment and no displacement of the repaired kneecap parts was observed. I have at least 90 degrees flexion and a little less hyperextension when walking. He was happy with the progress on that side. He then examined the ankle, which was no longer paining me, and told me that my left (unoperated) knee is becoming more "knock-kneed," (meaning it's bending inward more and more) and that I will continue to have trouble with the ankle/foot/knee joints on that side until the limb is straightened. We had a long talk about that and my prior experiences and concerns. Ultimately I decided to schedule a left TKR for July 22. He was optimistic that he could alleviate the bent-ness of my leg and indicated he will likely not do anything to my patella, given my history. I'm going to have a pre-op test for nickel allergy, which I don't think I had prior to my right TKR, at least I can't find any such results in my EMR. He mentioned the availability of some kind of nerve block injection of the nerves around the knee two weeks prior to surgery to reduce pain, but I'm not real interested in putting a needle in my knee electively and running the risk of infection or bleeding; it is optional and I will probably decline but if anyone reading this has had such a procedure pre-op, please give feedback on it. I tend to measure pain severity by the yardstick of my broken kneecap, which was agony. Compared to that, the pain of the TKR that went before it was much more manageable.
Basically I've known I would have to do something about the left knee if I want to ever have the chance of walking without a bent over lurch and a one-inch lift strapped to my shoe, so I'm reasonably content with the plan. I have a better idea of what to expect and my ambitions are modest. I did tell him I wanted to be in the driver's seat when it comes to PT. He asked only that i promise to pay attention to range of motion, which he said is the primary goal of post-TKR PT. Hmmm, that is not what was being worked on with me when my poor knee cap got pulled into pieces last October. Wish I'd known then what I know now!
Basically I've known I would have to do something about the left knee if I want to ever have the chance of walking without a bent over lurch and a one-inch lift strapped to my shoe, so I'm reasonably content with the plan. I have a better idea of what to expect and my ambitions are modest. I did tell him I wanted to be in the driver's seat when it comes to PT. He asked only that i promise to pay attention to range of motion, which he said is the primary goal of post-TKR PT. Hmmm, that is not what was being worked on with me when my poor knee cap got pulled into pieces last October. Wish I'd known then what I know now!