TKR Reintroduce myself.

[Nyland]

Hello everyone. May name is Nyland. I registered here in 2012 before my RTKR. @Pumpkin , I REMEMBER you! @Jockette I'm not having surgery in May. I see my surgeon on 5/10. I hope to have surgery in September or October. Nice to meet you.
When I initially saw my surgeon, he told me that I that both knees were bone on bone toast and asked which one I wanted him to replace next. At that time, I had been walking with a cane for a few years. I had RTKR. My titanium knee has been so good to me. I got rid of the cane. During the past 10 years my husband had both knees replaced. My surgeon came to get me after his 2nd surgery and said to me, "Wow, I thought that i would see you before I saw him again!" I told him that I had a better memory than my husband. My husband had a tough recovery after his first replacement and was back to work in 2 weeks after his 2nd. He has been telling me for years that the surgery is different and the recovery is much easier. On Monday, I had had enough. I made my appointment for May 10th. He would have gotten me in yesterday, but I work all day and teach every Tuesday and Thursday nights. I had to wait until my spring classes were over. My thought is that I will ask to have surgery the week before Labor Day because I see patients on Mondays and don't have anyone to fill in. If the surgery is scheduled on the Wednesday before Labor Day, I won't have any patients scheduled on that Monday. I think that I could see the ones scheduled for the next Monday by telehealth.
Well, that's my plan. Thanks for having me back for my LTKR.

 

[glidefloss]

Hi @Nyland ,good to hear that your 2012 knee continues to be good ... always nice to hear about the longevity of replaced knees! Your husband's 2nd replacement sounds like the dream a lot of us wish for post-op!! Good for him!

Hopefully your left knee will hold up nicely the next couple of months prior to surgery! Best of luck!

 

[Nyland]

Thank you @glidefloss. Your LTKR is coming up! Yay, you! My right knee is bionic.
I see that you just had LTKR. How are you doing? I remember a few months after having my right knee replaced. I felt rubber bands sensations around my knee. It didn't hurt at all, I just noticed it. I remember thinking that I will have to get used to that feeling, and then poof they were gone.
My husband's 2nd knee surgery was a bluetooth procedure.
My surgeon does the ROSA procedure now & also offers outpatient TKR. I had a patient tell me that he had his hip replaced in NH outpatient. He told me that he walked out to the parking lot the same day. I was in awe! The very next day, in our weekly hospital news email, there was an article about the Rosa procedure and outpatient joint replacement. It did say that this was an option for patients that qualify. I guess I'll learn more when I go to my appointment, but not sure if I even would want to qualify.

 

[Jockette]

Welcome back to Bonesmart! Best wishes as you consider your options.

 

[glidefloss]

I see that you just had LTKR.

Hi @Nyland , I had my RTKR in Dec 2021 and will get my LTKR on April 14, 2022 ... coming soon! I can't wait to get it done as the left knee/lower back/hip are starting to complain a lot more as my new right knee and leg has gotten a lot stronger.

Yep, it's indeed amazing to think that hip replacements are becoming more of an outpatient type procedure. A couple of our neighbors have had such procedures and were up and about within days!

ROSA = robotic assisted surgery? If so, my RTKR was Mako robotic arm assisted surgery ... in a regular hospital OR setting. So will my LTKR. I plan to be discharged the same day, as I was with my RTKR.

Am looking forward to seeing your next report!

 

[Nyland]

WOW! Same day? See? That still amazes me.

I love it that this surgery is easier now.

Yes, Robotic. My right knee was the old fashioned way, so this is all new to me.

 

[Jockette]

While the surgery can be a bit easier for the surgeon, and the immediate recovery can be a bit easier, than with older techniques, it is still a tough recovery that does take an average of a year. I hope you are not thinking that things have drastically changed and therefore shortened the recovery in general. Many of our members have the robot assisted surgery, but they still can have definite challenges as they recover. We all react differently to the surgery and 2 different knees, even on the same person, can have totally different recoveries.

While it is not my intention to discourage you, I also don’t want you to go into this with unrealistic expectations, as that can set you up for a lot of frustration.

We are here to support you, whichever kind of recovery you have.

Hang out here with us, Bonesmart has a wealth of advice, information and support.
We will offer helpful suggestions,

Cheer your accomplishments

And send hugs when you are feeling down.

Best wishes!

 

[Jamie]

Jockette is right. The surgical procedures have changed a lot in recent years, but it's still major surgery that your body must recover from. It's easier for patients to go home the same day when surgeons use their newer tools like robotics or multi-modal pain management and local sedation instead of a general. But the surgical trauma is real and still there. Even people who remain in the hospital usually are up walking the same day or the next morning after surgery. But there's still lots of recovering to be done after that.

You might be able to talk with a few patients from home via telehealth, but please don't count on a full day of work. Even if your knee is up to the challenge, the rest of your body still probably won't be. You will tire easily and possible still have some brain fog. There most likely will be some level of pain and you may even still be on pain medication. That's awful early in the recovery process.

Let us know how things go after you discuss all this with your surgeon. Good luck!

 

[MistyBlue155]

Jockette and Jamie are so right about the robot assistance surgeries. My first TKR in March 2021, was very painful especially after all the modal pain meds wore off. I remember thinking, Wow I can walk out of the hospital, this is great. I also thought I did not need pain meds (Oxy). Wrong again. The information and advice I received from Bone smart helped me get through the sleepless nights of pain. I am scheduled for RTKR on June 9th, can´t wait to get my life back on track with new knees. I want to walk straight, without constant pain. Yes it will take months and months, but I can do it with the help of Bone Smart.

 

[Susie-Q]

I want to second and third what everyone else has said. I also waited 11 years between each knee and even though this second one was robotic assist and I came home the same day (first TKR I stayed 2 nights in the hospital), the recoveries were both similar and lengthy.

I'm coming up on 9 months post-op with my left knee and I have to say, the pain I had leading up to this surgery has faded into a distant memory now. I can still vaguely recall it but it's fading into the rear view mirror further each day. Good luck to you in the next few months leading up to surgery! I know you will be very happy with two new knees.