More info; I had a medial partial left knee replacement on January 27th. Had been hoping to qualify for the partial and I do feel fortunate (or will when I feel better down the road).
I chose my doctor because he specializes in partials and has done many of them. He thought I might need a full, since there may have been damage to my patella, but I awoke from the surgery to the good news of the partial.
I think the immediate recovery is similar to a full replacement. I am 70 and very active--hiking and walking and being outdoors is a big part of my life.
The first two weeks after surgery were painful, but not unexpected from what I had read. I have a list of exercises and a visit twice weekly from an in-home therapist, whom I really like and hope to have for another two weeks, and then I will go for just a short time to outpatient.
I am a big believer in rehab, but at a pace that doesn't jeopardize my healing. I think the last few days I have done way too much walking and bending the knee, and seem to have hit a plateau and setback, so I am mostly a sad-faced couch potato the past few days.
Still take the occasional oxycodone 5mg at bedtime, and when I get up, and usually another during the day. I have had other surgeries where I was able to recover using little or no narcotics, but now I am a strong believer in combating this particular surgery with pain prescriptions when they are needed.
RIght now I feel mostly just frustrated with this long haul of recovery. It's so affirming to read of others going down this same journey.