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TKR New knee for me !

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Good afternoon to all my bonesmart friends, just a quick update today I went to my first out patient therapy and I have to say it was a very pleasant experience. I explain to the therapist about my concern on my $40 co payment and she immediately offer to give me a schedule of exercises to doat home every day at and that I could go once a week or once every two weeks , what ever I could do so that was great!! second on the paperwork they let you know they wont push you beyond discomfort !! I got measured and my numbers where 0-125. not bad , she was really impressed . So far I'm a happy camper they address all my issues she did told me to start working on my scar massaging it to get rid of the scar tissue.
I have started walking 1/2 a mile every day or almost every day (depending on how I feel) and it feels great being able to walk!! its incredible. Therapist told me only use the cane if I go outside , not to use it at home since I'm doing good with my walk. I think that is all my news for today, I wish all my friends a great afternoon. And I will be looking for your updates also!! thank you thank you for all the support.:thankyou::flwrysmile::dancy:

Lili
 
Lili, I am so happy for you! It sounds like you are doing great! What do you think has helped you the most to achieve your success? I also will have a $40 copay! Good to hear you can do this on your own.
 
lili, sounds like you are making good progress. As far as your co pay goes, does your insurance plan have an out of pocket maximum? Very often after a surgery and hospitalization many plans reach the max and begin to pay additional claims for the rest of the year at 100%. I know when I had my first knee done I hit my maximum It's worth a call to your insurance carrier to get a better understanding if you are unsure
 
Great report @Lili, so good to hear you have a very sensible PT. I cannot wait to get to the point I can walk around again!!
Good for you :thumb:.
Had my first Hibiclens shower tonight, 2nd one tomorrow. Am a bit on edge but your progress report is very encouraging.
 
Hello everyone!! I have a couple of questions in regards to the incision, im 6 weeks post op and my incision has strted to feel like is shrinking or to be more precise when I bend my knee I feel my incision stretching any kind of hurts on that or is that normal? Has anybody else experienced this? In physical therapy they told me to massage my scar every day to hit three times a day to break up the scar the shoe which I have been doing but since then my scar hurts . I want to avoid scar tissue but I want to do it the right way is there anything online that I can see , anybody can help me out with this? I'm doing good on everything else I'm walking and of course the more I walk the more my knee hurts it doesn't hurt a lot , pain is minimal I think it's normal but I can't walk very good with no problem . Also if you can see on the picture my scar looks very good except for one little part where you see the white tissue . That is taking longer to close . Should I be concerned ?

[Bonesmart.org] New knee for me !




Thank you !!!

Lili
 
Hi @Lili. Your incision looks good. You could get something called steri-strips and put on across that one area. Your therapist my have some or any drug store. Leave that on until it falls off. I felt the same s nation of 'shrinking'. Try putting a good moisturizer on your knee but not over the incision itself. It did seem to help me. The things to look for if there is a problem is seepage from the incision, it becomes red and hot or if your temp hits 100 or more. I would then call your doctors office. I hope this info helps you. If in doubt you can always call it the doctors office.
 
OH and don't hit your knee it wouldn't help. You can just gently massage it.
 
Lili said:
In physical therapy they told me to massage my scar every day to hit three times a day to break up the scar the shoe which I have been doing but since then my scar hurts . I want to avoid scar tissue but I want to do it the right way is there anything online that I can see , anybody can help me out with this?
Click to expand...
Hi @Lili Your scar looks just fine. It's a bit dry, that's all. Once all the scabs have fallen off, you can apply something like baby oil to it, but don't do that until it's completely healed, with no open areas or scabs.

As for the advice to massage it, "to break up the scar tissue" - that's just rubbish! Scar tissue is normal. That's what forms naturally, to hold your wound together. You don't want to break it up, or you'd open up the wound again.

When your PT talks of scar tissue, she's actually meaning adhesions. They aren't going to cause any problems in your wound. Mother Nature is pretty good at healing you without that intervention. All the lumps and bumps will gradually flatten out, without any help from massage. So, leave the scar alone.

Josephine has explained it all very well, here:
Scar tissue and adhesions - what's the difference?
 
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You are doing great..I am doing well but can't walk as far as you. What is your goal for rom? Seems like you are there!

Theresa 9/21/15 left knee
 
Here's my scar and yes I feel the pulling on the scar too. I am without cane most of the time..when I go out I carry just in case. I'm impressed with how far you can walk. I still have a bad knee. Next surgery Nov 30. My rom is 112. I tried to push some and am paying for it.. 3 days of pain. Learned my lesson.
T.


[Bonesmart.org] New knee for me !


Theresa 9/21/15 left knee
 
:flwrysmile::flwrysmile::flwrysmile:Hi @theresav , your scar looks great. It looks awsome !! :cheers: I think Im developing a little keloid scar because i see the scar raised and red. What can I do about it ? You think one of our nurses will know if there is anything I can do? My ROM is 125 and Im good with that Im trying to push it a little to see if i can get any better but I dont over do it . I have started to kneel on top of my bed jut to practice . Im also going to try to walk a mile but I have not started yet . Still on half a mile. Im sure when you get you other new knee you will also be able to walk more . Think that now you still have one bad knee. Mine was only the left my right knee is good so far. Keep us updated on your progress and on your next surgery!! Soon you will be walking more than me!! Hugs . :loveshwr::loveshwr:

Lili
 
@Lili youre doing great!! I really don't even know why you still need PT. I'm not sure why you want to kneel on your knee though. My surgeon doesn't want us to knee at all on the knee for at least 6 months!! If the part of your scar is red and hot if might mean and small area of infection. A keloid scar is a large abnormal growth. Your surgery is very recent and it is still healing. It may go through several changes but eventually it will all fade to the color of your skin.
 
Yes. I had a little area that took longer to heal. I didn't have staples..looks like you did.

Theresa 9/21/15 left knee
 
@newlybionic , Im only going once a week but I think like you , I dont think I really need PT. so I think I will do the exercises on my own . What do you think of my scar? Im only trying to kneel very lite and very careful onmy bed , I do a lot of gardening so I don't know if Im going to be able to kneel any more, im just curious. But I really appreciate your concern, I will not try it again until i ask my dr . :bignono:

Thank you !! :thankyou:

Lili
 
I think it's just going to take some time. I'm 3.5 months out and you can't see the bottom of it at all unless I point it out to you. The top recently looks like a red line. I'm not sure which website I saw it in but it was a surgeon's website that stated you are still healing until your scar has faded to the same color as the rest of your skin. You have to remember that there are stitches inside your knee also. So it all has to heal.
 
I would recommend not putting any lotions or oils on your incision scar until every bit of scab has fallen off. The reason for this is that lotions can become contaminated with bacteria, and you don't germs getting into your incision. Also, I don't know why, but some PTs seem obsessed with massaging scars, however from everything I have read here and elsewhere it simply isn't necessary. For one thing there is usually lotion involved (a no-no until fully healed), also someone else's hands (more risk of infection). I went through all of this last year after my first TKR- my PT insisted on massaging my incision, which at the time contained a "poker" (a painful stitch sticking out), and it really hurt whenever she touched it. I finally had to put my foot down and not allow her to touch my scar at all. I do understand about it feeling "tight", however that feeling is entirely normal and there will be plenty if time for you to massage it yourself after it is fully healed. Really, the amount of pressure you apply yourself will be perfect and self-limited, and in my opinion is what nature intended.
 
@Lili I still think your scar looks good. There is a small area where the skn hasn't healed yet, that's all. The colour will gradually fade to a paler and paler pink and, finally, to white. That's when it is completely healed - it takes as long as a year.
I don't think it's developing a keloid area.
Leave it alone and let Nature do its thing.

I do think, though, that it's too soon to be trying to kneel on it, even just on the bed.
 
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