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PKR Red Rider's 60k mile tune up

Right about this time a week ago I was leaving the surgery center. This morning, I walked into my doctors office, all by myself, to pickup a prescription refill. It was quite an inspiring moment.

Made the transition from oxycodone to tramadol, and pain management has been much better now.

I'm amazed at the all the bruising that has surfaced over the last few days! It looks like it was Cinco De Mayo in the operating room and my leg was the pinata. Nothing hurts per se, but my leg modeling career is on hold for the meantime.

Otherwise, I've been reading a lot and watching a lot of TV. Catching up on Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy and all the other series that have been patiently waiting on my DVR. I've been talking with the dog a lot, maybe too much. He's been a great nurse though, and keeps me company during the day.
 
Excellent report! I'm LOL at talking to the dog - I'm not even on narc's and I probably spend too much time talking to mine, as well. My husband said that our English Mastiff makes a fantastic Breaking Bad and Walking Dead viewing partner...guess I'll find out myself, soon enough. What kind of dog do you have?
 
Day 10 post-op. I celebrated this beautiful Monday morning with the usual routine: cup of coffee with my sweetheart, got her off to work, wrestled around with the dog, hopped on the stationary, then a quick check on email and BS. Quite eventful; I'm trying hard to contain my excitement.:wink:

I've been very pleased with my progress. I did a lot of walking over the weekend. On one occasion I may have pushed it a little too much, but overall my muscles are getting stronger and my stride is improving. As my knee starts to feel better each day, my biggest challenge will be to not to over-do it physically.

I can't wait to get this big bandage off that's covering my incision. Not only is it annoying, but it makes icing that part of my knee particularly difficult. I just can't get that area cold with a big piece of insulation over it.

Question of the day: I've noticed a large mark centered on the front of my tibia, halfway between my ankle and knee. My skin isn't broken but the mark resembles a scar of some sort. I'm assuming this is from the alignment tool for the implant? Has anyone else had such a marking post-op?
 
RedRider said:
Question of the day: I've noticed a large mark centered on the front of my tibia, halfway between my ankle and knee. My skin isn't broken but the mark resembles a scar of some sort. I'm assuming this is from the alignment tool for the implant? Has anyone else had such a marking post-op?
Click to expand...

Was your surgery performed using computer assisted navigation? If so, that mark on your tibia is where part of the instrumentation was attached.
I have that, too.
 
Hi @Celle
As far as I know, there was no computerized guidance involved in my procedure.

I was thinking it might have been something like this? I'm sure something similar is used for computer assisted procedures as well.
[Bonesmart.org] Red Rider's 60k mile tune up
 
I've got a scar on my shin from where computer equipment was inserted.
 
Hi @RedRider
You could be right!

When you have your post-op follow up appointment, you could ask the surgeon.
 
Hello Group- New guy here, contemplating a partial KR. My BIG question: if it's successful, will i return to 100% of the strength i have today?
 
Hey @Mbell109 welcome!

The simple answer is yes. Assuming you're a candidate for a partial, your strength has already been compromised by your injured knee. A new gliding surface will maintain the strength in your leg better than a damaged one.

If you're looking to get back to a "normal" knee, that's another story. Although it's highly possible, the reality is that metal and plastic are inferior replacements for natural cartilage and bone.

Good luck with your decision, and be sure to read as much as you can about the procedure and its outcome so you can make an informed decision best suited to your own personal "knee'ds":wink:
 
Thanks a ton RR. I have no doubt that a PKR will improve my life in general - in terms of walking and just getting around. But I'm an avid cyclist and I put a lot of torque on my knee while on the bike. (This causes no pain - it's walking that kills me.) So I'm trying to learn the impact on my cycling.
Thanks again.
 
Funny, I'm an avid mountain biker and it was my knee pain on the bike that was killing me, not necessarily walking.

You see, I had a traumatic injury that knocked a huge chunk of cartilage out of my knee (among other things wrong). At around 80-90 degree bend where this hole was, I'd get a sharp pain running up my leg. As you can imagine this made it difficult for torque and cadence on the bike.

But there's a reason that stationary bikes are the key to rehab; cycling is great for knee strength. The TKR folks do long tours and century rides without issue so no less should be expected from the partial crowd. Hell, I hopped on my mtn. bike yesterday and took a little ride around the driveway, and I'm only 2 weeks post op (don't tell my doc though).
 
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I had a very uneventful post-op appointment this morning. Not that I was expecting any fireworks or flash-bangs, but it was like taking a new car in for an oil change: not much to report, yet not much use. He looked at the x-ray and asked if I was having any issues. I didn't have anything exciting for him either. He said everything looked great, ROM and mobility were excellent and nothing was unusual or concerning. I guess uneventful is good.

I also got my bandage removed, revealing my latest battle scar. It wasn't as long as I imagined, or as big as the bandage made it out to be. Interesting note: the bandage they used was this elastic edged contraption I was told cost the equivalent of an iPad. Wow! If I knew that, I would've sold it on eBay or Craigslist.:wink:

He was very happy with my progress and gave me some general guidelines from here on out. He said my next appointment should be in a year, stating that 80% of my recovery will come in the first 3 months, and 100% in 1 year. See ya then doc!:egypdance:
 
I had my first physical therapy appointment today, and things went real well. I was skeptical at first thinking, "what are these people going to tell me that I don't already know?". Just strengthen muscle, work on flexibility and improve function right?

I learned a lot though, and got some valuable pointers. They have some really creative exercises, focusing on low impact movements to improve muscle tone and flexibility. Not once did they push me to pain (I was very vigilant from all the stories I've heard here on BS), but I will say that some of the stretches did make me uncomfortable. They did this one stretch where I laid my leg flat and they and pushed down to get those last few degrees to full extension. I had to bite my lip; it was rough.

After all the exercises, my leg was shaking like I was on a disco floor! It's truly amazing how much muscle atrophy has occurred over the last 2 weeks. It's a little saddening too, since I worked so hard to build muscle and flexibility pre-op.

I'm sure I'll be sore in the morning, but I think this regime will propel me in the right direction. She sent me home with plenty of workouts for the gym so I'm going to follow-up in a week to see how I'm progressing.
 
I am curious about your Arthrosurface Hemicap. Did you have the larger wave with a patella button or the smaller hemicap with or without the button?
 
I defined a major challenge in my recovery today.

Of all my prescribed PT exercises, I'm having the most challenge with the 2" foot drop, which is simply this: start standing parallel with my bad leg on a 2-inch platform and my good foot dangling. Then, I slowly bend the bad knee until the good one touches the floor Everything else was fine, but this particular drill gets my leg shaking like a bowl of jello.

Who knew such a simple movement could be such a hurdle!
 
Finished reading "Wild" last night, and since then I've been feeling pretty down.

I've been thinking a lot about being in the backcountry, out on the trail, and not laying here on a couch with my knee iced and elevated. I know, I know, it's a time thing, but it's still frustrating.
 
Start planning your trip for this time next year! I've got travel guides to Italy ready to go for my enforced rest - I figure planning what I WILL be able to do ought to cheer me up.
 
Flying up to visit my family in N. California today. This is my first time flying post-op and I'm a little worried about the extended sitting, walking and waiting that comes with air travel. I think I'll be okay, but being less than a month out makes me a little nervous.

Any issues with the metal detector? :hairpulling:
Any luck getting pre-boarding privileges?:yes!:
 
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