TKR Ready for Recovery TKR Left (9 years since right)

[Dearjr]

Thanks all for the advice about sleeping and the lounge doctor
Today is post op d#8
Can't remember how much swell ing I had with other knee but I know that it lasted 6 months until it went away
With this LTKR it is still very swollen and feels like band around my calf. I can flex alright . And PT does not measure nor do I care but she says for a week out I am flexing fine and extension getting better
The blisters are still there and still closed
The negative pressure Pico dressing came off and under are the Stryker zip ties.
Anyone have those ?
My last knee has good old fashioned staples

Going to Ortho Monday afternoon for first post op visit . Expect to be examined for about 60 seconds ...lol
Will keep u all posted
Have a great Sunday

 

[mendogal]

I had to look up the zip ties.

I had a water proof thick translucent glue strip. It was cool to be able to shower after the gauze dressing atop it was removed by the ortho med assist one week postop!

 

[Dearjr]

I could shower with it too!

Much different.than staples
But to tell you the truth I like old fashioned methods ...lol

 

[Rockgirl4]

I have the Dermabond Prineo dressing again like after my 2019 RTKR. All I know is both instances have given me a very pretty scar.

 

[Dearjr]

Just curious if anyone knows I'm day #9 and still have ankle swelling and calf swelling and knee swelling
Is there a point where it suddenly gets better or is it a slow, gradual process

I don't remember from 9 years ago ...lol

 

[Jockette]

You can have swelling for months, and it will vary, depending on your activities. And yes, it will gradually ease up.

 

[benne68]

With my first TKR, my lower leg swelling lasted for weeks, @Dearjr. I remember being shocked when I saw the difference between my legs in the mirror.

I had less swelling with my second TKR, but I think that's because I iced and elevated almost around the clock for the first two weeks.

 

[Rockgirl4]

I'm on Day 17, and I can finally see my ankle swelling going down. It was much worse this time than 5 yrs ago. Oddly enough though, that's the only thing that swelled more this time. My overall leg swelling is a great deal less this time. The swelling is definitely localized to the knee itself and the 3-4 inches above/below it. It's such a relief not to have any lower calf swelling or Charlie horses.

In 2019, my entire leg was swollen from hip to foot for 3-4 weeks (which explained the fracture blisters!). I felt like my left leg was 1 big sausage that hurt everywhere. I had so much swelling in my lower leg that I couldn't put more than my toes on the floor for the first 2-3 weeks. Fully Flat-footed walking came right before I ditched the walker between weeks 3 and 4.

 

[sistersinhim]

My whole leg and foot swelled for about a month. It was so bad that my foot even peeled. It was gross. As the healing improved and the inflammation decreased, so did my swelling. But, the knee and surrounding areas swelled for at least 6-8 months, especially when I increased my activities.

 

[Layla]

Is there a point where it suddenly gets better or is it a slow, gradual process

My OS once mentioned some people have swelling for a full year, usually slowly easing along the way.
Keep up the icing and elevating and have a good week!

 

[Dearjr]

Hi all
Went to fort Post op visit with Ortho yesterday
Post op day #11
Zip ties peeled off
Some oozing in between from swelling
Knee looks good ( lol he didn't even touch it)
Motion looks good
X-rays good


Wants the PT to start to flex when they come . And that will be later today
Will let you know how it goes

Today whole calf and upper thigh itchy. Any reason why? Swelling or just dryness?

Also very stiff and band like around knee area
Hope it goes away. Don't like tight things..lol

Everyone have a great day

 

[Jockette]

Wants the PT to start to flex when they come

Don’t let them touch you. It is too early to worry about your bend. Your knee will bend further as your swelling goes down and you heal. Too many PTs think they have to bend our knee further than necessary, which causes additional pain and swelling with defeats the purpose because it reduces the bend.

 

[Rockgirl4]

I'm on Day 20, and my knee is getting very dry. I know our lower humidity here in the Midwest isn't helping. The itching has begun though.

I'm with @Jockette --- it's only Day 11 for Pete's Sake!! He said your motion looks good, which means no need for PT to push it.

 

[Jockette]

Also very stiff and band like around knee area

Tight Band feeling across the front of my knee

That tight band is caused by scar tissue but not the adhesions type of scar tissue. When the surgeon opens up the knee, he has to undercut the skin and superficial structures from that centre line to each side of the knee in order to get good access all round the bones. Part of the healing...

bonesmart.org

Stiffness/Tightness is a normal occurrence after this kind of major surgery. Your surgeon did major carpentry work and disturbed every millimeter of soft tissue in this area. You aren't tight because your muscle is underused and needs to be stretched and rehabbed. You're tight because your tissue has been disturbed and is healing...and full healing takes a full year or more.

 

[Dearjr]

@Rockgirl4 any ways did you try to get rid of the itching?
Creme or lotion possibly?

The home PT surprisingly came today and saw that my heel slides with the band helping and the assisted sitting ones on chair look like they get my knee flexed.to around 90 in her estimate
She said my own exercises will help and no need to have her flex it just to say she got to 100

She also said although the ankle is still swollen it will naturally come down but go back up if standing up and down like I will do it work

She said I should ice and elevate now 3x day and other times try to keep foot up on a rest so it doesn't swell

And good news is I originally was going to go back after 2 weeks but now I have an extra week to rest

Everyone have a great Tuesday

 

[Jockette]

my heel slides with the band helping and the assisted sitting ones on chair

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy

You will have noticed there is a significant opinion here about the potential hazards of PT. You may feel that your therapists are experts and know what you should be doing. However, over the last several years I've been here, I have observed that the more intensive the regimen of exercising...

bonesmart.org

 

[Jockette]

She said I should ice and elevate now 3x day and other times try to keep foot up on a rest so it doesn't swell

Ice (Cryotherapy) to control pain and swelling

Updated 22 November 2020 Please note that though this article primarily talks about knees and hips, the information applies equally to shoulders and other joints as well. Using ice (cryotherapy) is an excellent means of controlling pain and swelling after joint replacement surgery and it...

bonesmart.org

Elevation: Doing It the Right Way

Updated June 11, 2024 by Jockette Proper elevation is one of the best ways to help with pain and swelling following either hip, knee, or ankle surgery. Many people elevate improperly, which can dramatically lower the effectiveness. In the weeks following your surgery, make sure you elevate...

bonesmart.org

 

[luvcats]

It is my firm belief that you can't do too much icing or elevation for at least a month into healing. And also ice might help some of your itching. It can be dry skin, but it might just be angry nerves, if it is, chilling everything down will help.
I had my second knee done in September, and I think it was Thanksgiving before I moved my Lounge Doctor out of my bedroom for good.
Ice is your friend.
It's my friend too.

 

[selketine]

Is there a point where it suddenly gets better or is it a slow, gradual process

I had a ton of swelling with my January knee - it was like a fat sausage and my ankle was swollen a good bit as well. It took several weeks for that to get better. Starting back to work at 8 weeks I needed to wear a support stocking (to the thigh) on that leg or it was noticeably more swollen at the end of the day.

The September knee was oddly hardly swollen at all - nor my ankle. I was instructed to wear a support stocking on that leg which I did for about 10 days so maybe that helped? After stopping, it still hasn't swelled up and looks fairly similar to my January knee. It sure is itchy though near the incision and there's lots of dry skin there. I'm not supposed to put lotion or anything on it. I had old fashioned staples and it's almost completely closed except for a wee spot.

Glad to hear your good report!

 

[Rockgirl4]

@Dearjr I'm not going anywhere near the knee/incision to take care of that dryness/peeling yet. We have major infection fears in this family. I had a severe MRSA-infected mosquito bite on my lower abdomen a year ago. It had to be surgically excised twice in 4 days, and I went through 3 different antibiotics. I was terrified the infection would travel down that hip/leg into my TKR, as the Urgent Care Dr didn't give me a full-spectrum antibiotic at first....but thankfully it didn't spread. That was my 2nd skin infection in 2 months. Prior to that was my son's own 3-month nightmare with cellulitis/infection that put him in the hospital for 3 days of intense IV antibiotics in July 2023 (his 2nd infection of the summer). We were in the process of determining if he had an immune deficiency. Sure enough, he does, so I was glad at least one of us dodged infection THAT time. Regardless, we're super careful about everything. Thankfully we were already doing decolonization protocol in our house by the time I got my 2nd infection, as we were terrified Owen would get reinfected. They were pretty sure we were all colonizing way too much staph, and there was a long list of things we had to do in our house----many more than before a joint replacement. It was crazy!!!! We keep up most of it fairly well because you just never know. Owen has been much healthier since he started his infusions last October, and he'll have to do these once a week for the rest of his life unless he wants a little bump to take him out in 48-72 hours. He almost lost his eye in the mess last summer.

The rest of me was fair game today though!!!! I had my husband bring the bottle of lotion to the couch while I watched the news. I slathered that stuff all over my feet/toes, ankles, etc. I rarely go barefoot because of the psoriatic arthritis in my feet, but I've been barefoot since my TKR on 9/19. I don't know that I've ever had my feet/ankles get this itchy. My toes were drying out horribly, and I couldn't take it any longer. I bet I used 1/3 a bottle of lotion by the time I was done. The knee itching/peeling wasn't as bad yet, but it's building and worsening daily. Luckily I can remove the Prineo dressing in 2 days, and I can't wait!!!! I doubt I'll be brave enough to use lotion on the knee for another week, but I need to know if there's any scabbing. I'm hoping the incision is 100% closed already. I rarely have issues with that, so my fingers are crossed.