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Bilateral TKR SusieShoes' New Knees

Susie, I'm totally in awe that your surgeon did a bilateral in less than 2 hours!! Mine took 4.5 hours and another hour in the recovery room. He said all went well and I did not bleed much at all. How on earth did your surgeon do it so fast?!! My surgeon's assistant was there, but he assured me he did all the work. I'm not sure about the stitching and steri strips though; my right knee scar is perfectly straight and it had 12 strips, whereas my left knee scar is crooked and had only 9 strips.
When I went in to ask for a bilateral I was convinced and set on it. The doctor only told me it was painful and I told him there was no way I was going through with surgery again if I could get it done in one; what's a little more pain? He didn't argue with me.
Susie, I'm also a diabetic, overweight, and fairly sedentary in activities. But, otherwise I have a strong heart, great upper body strength and large bones. I think what really persuaded my surgeon was that I had done my research, watched the YouTube videos of the surgery, understood the risks, and was completely convinced that I could come out of the operation with high motivation to get well and recover quickly. I didn't know for sure, but I had a good attitude going into it.
God gave me the strength and positive mental attitude, and without His help I would never have done so well. :prayer:
 
My surgeon told me right away that he would not do a bilateral because my knees were so knock kneed. Although I am not looking forward to the second surgery, I couldn't argue with him. My left knee especially was really crooked and as a result, I have had to really concentrate on extension. Those ligaments or whatever (I am not a nurse) had really shortened up.
 
You have had such an awesome recovery, and I think so much of it is your attitude. I feel like my recovery is worlds better this time than my previous surgery, and I attribute it to my outlook. It's about noticing the good things that are happening (because you can always find the bad)!
 
@AlaskaGrandy, I can't believe he did it that fast, either. Must have super power tools at his disposal. Plus he does 250+ knee replacements a year. He probably can do them in his sleep. But I was his first surgery of the day, so I'm banking he was awake.

And you're probably hitting the nail on the head about attitude. I too wanted a bilateral, in part because I know myself and if the first knee was difficult or hurt a lot during recovery, I would put off a second surgery until it was ridiculous. Because I "can deal with pain" and all that. I grew up in an incredibly stoic family. "Rub some dirt on it, kid, and get back on the bike." The lot of us just say "Pile on the punishment" until we can't stand it, and then we do something.

So I really wanted bilateral. I wanted to do it one and done. I told my OS that, and about all my research. Oh, did I research, and I have medical pals I can call on for good info. So I knew my stuff, and had watched the videos. I knew what I was getting into, and I wanted it anyway. I also told him I would give it my all. The only thing that gave him pause, I think, was that I said I'd done some research online. He looked rather terrified by that, poor man.
 
@sandi4213, that's the problem with Lefty, too. My hamstrings got shortened because the knee deformed so much, and I let it go too long. I wasn't knock-kneed, though. The leg was pretty straight, just had a permanent bend. But still, yeah, if the tendons can't do the job they need to do, a bilateral would be incredibly difficult recovery.
 
@JennyLynne, the bad hogs the spotlight, doesn't it? My family calls me SunnyYellow because I'm always cheerful. I don't know why, I just tend to see the best in things. That's been a plus, I think, for recovery. The bad things just slink away and stay in the background because I'm so busy celebrating the good things, like walking normally again and, look, foot over foot down the stairs! How cool is that?!? So... maybe it really does have something to do with it.
 
SusieShoes I read your entire recovery thread over the last two days. You are an inspiration and I am resolving to focus on the positives of my own recovery! I have found myself looking at what I can't do yet instead of what I have accomplished in the last eight weeks.
 
@SusieShoes - What a great report! It sounds like a terrific day. I love the independence of being able to pick up and run errands.

I had a similar conversation with my OS on doing one or both knees. I wanted to just get it done. I've been seeing my OS for years getting cortisone shots for the pain, and we had been discussing a replacement as the next option. He said I'd already shown him that I had a high tolerance to pain and was comfortable I was a good candidate for having them done in the same week.

What's different with my OS is that he doesn't do both knees in the same surgery. He does them two days apart.



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Week 8: One Week Without PT

I did six weeks of outpatient PT mostly to satisfy my OS, who wanted me to give it a try. I really like my OS and regard him highly, so I did it. If I had to use one word for PT, that would be "annoying." It was annoying to go and take time out of my day. It was annoying to do the exercises (my aversion to exercise is showing). It was annoying to have my knees, Lefty especially, get cranky for a day.

To be fair, I did get some benefit from PT. The balance and mobility exercises helped me transition from walker to cane to no devices at all. But the repetitive exercises for an hour to an hour and a half did my knees no favors. I was always stiffer afterward, once I sat down for a bit, and the stiffness lasted into the next day. It was never horrible enough to keep me off my feet, but my knees were telling me they didn't appreciate it. They also didn't need it. My ROM and leg strength, and my balance too at this point, were all good enough. My goal is quality of life, not the Therapy is Great Award for Outstanding ROM.

So with my OS's blessing, five days ago I ditched PT.

What has one week without PT done for me?

* less stiffness in both knees
* Lefty is happier and pain has become almost nothing
* much less aggravating not to have to fend off persistent PT request to do leg presses
* kind of miss a couple of the "regulars" and hearing about their progress
* more time in my day (not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I like it)

And that's about it. My life feels more "normal" without PT. I do my morning walk every morning now, which I like. I used to skip that walk, and any walk longer than a few driveways, on days I had PT. Now I set my own exercise regimen, which is... walking, stairs, maybe a few minutes on my floor elliptical machine, errands, visiting neighbors if so moved, trying to get my office into shape so I can use it again. It went completely to ruin while I was recovering. Any item Mr. Shoes didn't know what to do with ended up in there. Time to put things back where they belong or throw them out. Yep, I'm getting my exercise.

Life without PT is just fine.
 
Heehee. Like you, I'm no fan of aggressive PT. I'm on week 12, and my right knee, the newest, is coming along better without it. I've done more cranio-sacral therapy this time (to get the body lined back up from all the limping) and I highly recommend that technique. It's more like a massage than therapy, and that PT and I love to talk food and awesome products. He's a vegan who survived stage 4 cancer, so I believe whatever he says! Latest product recommendation: a pillow from NEST bedding. :)


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YEAH for life without PT! Since my OS never ordered PT outside of the CPM machine and videos on the tablet that came with it, I never had to deal with the pressure to do things I didn't want to. But boy - I was really glad to have the freedom on not being hooked up to that machine twice a day.

I agree that the goal is quality of life. My OS has never asked / measured what my ROM was. He knows I'm never going to be an Olympic athlete. What I do want is to be able to have a normal life without pain.


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I really like your morning routine SusieShoes! Like you, I never walk before PT, or do anything else for that matter. :wink:

You've done so well all along, so of course we expect you to now, without PT. Think how disappointed we'd all be if such were not the case?

@IowaNana, you are the other Bilateral presently here that has done remarkably well. What is it with you Bilats? Is there a closely guarded, bony secret for success? Is a secret handshake involved or a special uniform? You guys just rock!

Susie, I can actually *see* your office. It's right down the hall from me and looks like a medical supply company decided to open a pop-up shop. In other sections are many empty boxes from my online, recovery shopping binge. An old assortment of other stuff always seems to linger there as well; harumph. You see, Mistah works from home and he is not neat. He has many good attributes, but that's definitely not one of them. My solution to date has been to shut his office door. As of tomorrow, I think I will put in an official clean-up request. It may or may not be honored, but I'm hopeful.:SUNsmile:
 
@Pheebs52 and @SusieShoes - Your offices sound like my sewing room. It's become a mix of sewing, job search, stuff from my old job / office, and - oh yeah - a shower chair that may or may not replace the expensive sewing chair that was never really as comfortable as I would like it to be!

I will have to get it all cleaned up before the grandkids next visit, as that's where they stay.


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I invited a few friends over last weekend so that I would be forced to get rid of the "nursing home" décor. Unfortunately some of it has made its way back to the living room. I must say everyone oohed and aahed over the Lounge Doctor - well, perhaps I exaggerate -- they mostly gasped at the cost. It has been priceless for me though and will get great use if/when I get #2 done.
 
Oh Kmak, how could your friends not appreciate the latest trend of "Nursing Home Decor?" No one was interested in purchasing a spare toilet riser or shower bench? :rofsign:
 
Week 9: Cruising Altitude

Things are kind of settling in on this long flight toward functional knees.

The first part of the journey is the hardest part: take-off. Pre-surgical running around for tests and setting up things at home. The surgery itself. Those brutal first weeks of recovery, when just getting onto my feet and to the bathroom was a painful process. Tottering around on my new knees using a walker. The nausea. The being unable to sleep well. But that all gradually got better, and fell away and behind as my body healed and I got above the cloud of post-operative suffering. I got off the painkillers. I got onto my feet and started to live again.

Since week 6, I figure I've been at cruising altitude. You know, that part of a plane trip where you either sleep in your seat because, hey, what else is there to do, or read a magazine or book, or look out the window at the scenery. Sometimes you get up to go to the bathroom, or get something out of your stowed luggage, or just walk a bit. It's an interlude--a necessary one--before getting to where you want to go.

Today I walked again. That's what I do every morning, take a nice walk. I work on my gait. This morning I noticed, not for the first or last time, I'm sure, that sometimes I fall into a kind of shuffle--just like before surgery. It happens when I look at the ground and automatically I start to walk with shorter steps. Looking at the ground is protective of me. My new knees are still fresh in my mind; I want to protect them, do nothing that will "damage" them or cause me to fall. With my arthritic knees, it was that I didn't want to make any step that would hurt. Changes in elevation, for example, were painful. So looking at the ground became a habit accompanied by short, cautious steps.

When I catch myself doing this--looking at the ground instead of the houses and trees and gardens, my surroundings, and taking those "off" steps--I lift my eyes and look around me, and I lengthen my stride. My hips swing more naturally, so do my shoulders and arms. My posture is better. My gait is better. My knees also like it better.

Lefty barely hurts at all anymore when walking, a whisper of something still not fully healed tells me not to overdo it. So once around the block, one mile, twice a day. Maybe next week I will extend my walk to two blocks. Otherwise, my only exercising is doing things around the house. This weekend we made the screen porch presentable for company. I helped with cooking out. Mostly I just sat and chatted with our guests: yes, the Big Italian Family, but just a handful of them this weekend. Steaks and corn on the cob. Fresh fruit and cheesy puffs.

This morning, Mr. Shoes said, "Look at you, moving like a normal person!" And I was. Loading the dishwasher, getting breakfast for him and the FIL. Moving like a normal person.

I'm still at cruising altitude. I haven't reached my destination of pain-free knees--Righty has a bit of tightness still and Lefty actually does hurt a little with some movements, but less with every passing week--and standing for long periods (twenty minutes is about my limit), or walking for hours. I can, however, walk for a couple of miles... pretty much pain-free. I still elevate (a lot) and ice (four times a day). I look forward to the day I don't have to do that.

I look forward to landing completely on the other side. But until then, cruising altitude is a pleasant way to get there.
 
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