New knees on 9/11

Well, that’s an interesting question! Does anyone know the answer? Curiosity part of me would love to know.
 
A bilateral is two operations (two knees) but done in a single use of the operating room. My surgeon did my left knee first — opening it, removed the bad parts, put in the new parts, checked that all was working well — and left it to an associate to close the knee. He then did replacement of the right knee. It took him an hour and a half.

Whether to call it one operation or two is kind of a matter of semantics. If the replacements are done as a single event, that could be called one operation; because two separate body parts are being opened, replaced, and closed, it could be called two operations.

What is consistent is that bilateral replacement means both knees are done at the same time, during one anesthesia and one use of the OR. If the replacements are done a day apart, or a week, or a month or more, that is called a staged replacement.

You are now prepared for TKR Trivia! :heehee:
 
I’ll take BTKR for $400 Alex. LOL

@SusieShoes
I was thinking of Josephine’s response about both legs being prepped at same time so there’s no down time in between.
And it really is trivia. I’m curious like that. As long as it doesn’t kill me like a cat.
 
I’m very much the same way. Curious. Research everything. Like, literally. It’s kind of fun, and often helpful!
 
Had a physical about a month ago and they recommended that I get a (two part) shingles vaccination (Shingrix). Been putting it off until today, and had to go to the pharmacy for my wife, where they also have a minute clinic. Was all set to include that shot in my errands, but at the last minute, wondered if that was a no-no, or 'no matter' with surgery about 5 weeks away. Planning to ask the OS office tomorrow, but does anyone know?
 
Rhody, my husband just got the second of his two part vaccination. He had the first one about 3 months ago and had to have the second one 3-6 months (?) afterwards. There were 100 people on the waiting list for the second shot! I would definitely ask at the doctor's office tomorrow but regardless, you may just not want to deal with the second shot 3 months after the first. You probably won't be on pain medication by then but still....it's a very good question. Let us know what you find out please.
 
Good points, Laurenkate.
 
That's great; good to know. My husband has had a scary reaction or two to a mix of medications (even a week or so apart) so it's just better to ask and be safe.
 
Rhody..,don’t hate me. I jumped off the BTKR train. Just lefty (Louise) for now. We’ll leave righty (Thelma) until after I move.
 
I wanted to chime in with a different view, knowing now, what I wish I knew then....then being before I had a LTKR. If you are functioning well enough as I did with a knee brace and you can withstand the pain, don’t do the surgery now. If you are still questioning yourself, it’s probably not time to do it, but only you can answer that. There are no guarantees that a BTKR will return you to the life you want and you may be even worse off after surgery as in my case. I am scheduled for a revision the week before you are scheduled for your new knees and it has been a long and suffering year dealing with my TKR! I wish I’d never had it! I am worse off now than before the TKR and am praying hard the revision will fix it, but again there are no guarantees. If you can get by without having it done, that is always an option.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
@Hood1980 , I hear what you're saying, and sorry it hasn't worked out as well as you'd hoped - yet. Hopefully, it turns around for you.

@beachy - You gotta do what you gotta do! Good luck!

As for me...I'm committed to going forward with both at once. However, the timing may get kicked down the road some, due to other family health issues. I'm hard enough to take care of on good day now, so my caretaker definitely needs to be in good stead for this adventure. I hope I can stay on schedule, because this is the time of year it works out best for me, but as we know...it's going to happen by God's timing, not mine... Plan is to decide for sure by the end of the week.
 
You will make the right decision for you and your family. That's what's important.
Good Luck to you, Rhody.
 
Got the million question rundown call from the hospital today...family issues seem to be resolved..."looks like" we're a go. Seems to be getting "real"-er by the day. And of course, the knees don't seem to hurt "that bad" these days, but the clicking, grinding and crunching sounds when I walk around are a good reality check.
 
Good for you! Good luck as you prepare!
 
Thanks. So...given my hoped-for quick return to work, would like to know what is the best way to elevate both legs while sitting in a chair at a desk? I know there have to be good and bad ways to do this...pix anyone? Tips from experience?
 
My only experience for elevation while sitting at a desk was to use a medium size stability ball.
 
@Rhodyrhody for my hip replacement I used a rectangular laundry basket with blankets inside then pillows on top. It fit under my desk and keyboard tray. However it won’t have the elevation needed to reduce swelling, it will just add a bit of comfort
 
Thanks for the tip, @DLR . Sounds like a good idea...Advantage to working at home is, am only limited by my creativity (and whatever intellect I can borrow from others!)
 
  • Like
Reactions: DLR
If you're going to work from home, this might be a good solution for you. It works for me....a lounge doctor (or pillow stack) and a great little desk bought from Amazon. It's fairly lightweight, height can be adjusted and it tilts. I can almost lay flat on my back with legs elevated, knee iced and still watch a movie, read the news, etc. I can also type but probably wouldn't be able to do it at that angle for hours on end. There is a larger size available too. Last year I bought one of the bamboo desks but it's a little heavy and bulky. Use that next to me on the bed for glasses, etc.

 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

  • Jaycey
    ADMINISTRATOR Staff member since February 2011

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,167
Messages
1,596,863
BoneSmarties
39,356
Latest member
JanieMarie
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom