Bilateral TKR SusieShoes' New Knees

[SusieShoes]

Nine Months: Dancing with Wonder Boy

First, thank you to everyone for the heartfelt condolences on the death of FIL. He had a long and amazing life, and the funeral, while sad, was filled with generations of fond memories. I won't go into details of the Big Italian Family funeral, but it was epic.

My highlight was dancing with my three year-old grandson. He's incredibly musical (plays dozens of songs, including Fur Elise, on the piano and is learning the violin) and he grabbed my hand and wanted me to dance with him. A tarantella, I think. Something Italian that FIL had loved. The whole family is musical. And so I danced. And the knees were perfect. I had to dance with them bent, to start with, and had to go even lower to do a dance cheek to cheek. It was... interesting. I was glad to be wearing a below-the-knee dress. But the knees never hurt, not even a little, and they never swelled, and I have no complaints at all about how well they performed.

This was the first time many of the relations and family friends had seen me since my surgery and some had, literally, never seen me move like that. Ten years ago, when I married into the family, I limped down the aisle. I'm serious. All the hard work leading up the the wedding aggravated my left knee, and I limped.

"Hey, heard you got your knees done. How did that turn out for you? Because my doc, you see..."

"My wife needs hers done but she's scared, you know..."

"Does it hurt? That's gotta hurt..."

"You're kidding me." Because, apparently, I don't walk like someone who's had surgery. I was asked a few times to lift my hem to show the scars.

So I talked to the cousin, and the wife, and many other people. There's a lot of apprehension out there about knee replacements, and a lot of need.

I told them about the upcoming Joint Replacement Awareness Day (JRAD). There's a link to the event in my signature below. I can't think of a better source of good, solid information. Go right to the experts. I told them about BoneSmart, too, and also put in a good word for my surgeon. Just returning the favor; he did a top-rate job.

But mostly I danced with my grandson and thinking that THIS was why I got new knees.

 

[sistersinhim]

You make my heart fill with joy reading your posts! It's what we all want!

 

[jboles]

What a wonderful post. I second what @sistersinhim said...

 

[rubyyarn]

Hiya, Susie!

It was sad to hear that your father-in-law had passed. Alzheimers is crueller than cancer in many ways.

But your knees are doing fantastic!

When I was getting my knees done, you were one of my mentors, offering inspiration and reassurance throughout. You were an example of patience and a good attitude, things that I believe help achieve a good outcome.

Thank you

 

[MSgirl]

 

[SusieShoes]

Thanks, @rubyyarn. Your recovery has been pretty amazing! I’m glad this thread was able to inspire and reassure. I had mentors, too! I figured if I could show a normal recovery, that would be a good way of paying it forward. As it turned out, my recovery was more on the better side. What you say about patience and a positive attitude may have something to do with that. Both help create a good environment for the knee(s) to do their healing thing.

 

[Polkadot]

Hi, @SusieShoes, I have just caught up on your thread after being mostly away from BS for quite a few weeks--holidays, and flu, and some family hospitalizations; you know, the usual! Reading about your FIL's death and you dancing with new knees after his funeral, with a pint-sized human, no less--well, those things made me think about the circle of life and how lucky we all are to be able to participate in it. Thanks for your reminders that life goes on, that life can be both sad and sweet at the same time, and that knees don't have to be stoppers in the game we call life.

 

[kmak81230]

"Dancing Queen . . . " Congrats on being able to cut a rug with your grandson Susie. I was sorry to hear that your FIL passed - it has been a journey for you all and I'm glad you were able to be together to celebrate his life. We're about 9 months in, eh? Sounds like you are doing really well. Today a tarantella, tomorrow the twist or a jitterbug!

 

[newlybionic]

I’m glad you’re doing so well that you were able to dance. You inspire the rest of us. I’m sorry of the passing of your FIL.

 

[becticu]

@SusieShoes, I’m so sorry about your FIL. I lost my MIL a year ago to dementia and it is a horrible disease. I loved your dancing story. I’m not on here much at all anymore as life is mite important than knees are now! This is a new phase of life you are entering, best wishes for you!

 

[AThom10731]

@SusieShoes, so sorry to read about your FIL’s passing. My FIL was diagnosed last spring. Hoping for good reports on your progress!


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[yesyvonne]

Wow, @SusieShoes, I feel like I've been reading your recovery thread for ages and now here I am all caught up. Really delightful to read all that you shared so well, even the tougher parts and the sad part at the end. Condolences for the loss of your FIL and I'm happy he had such a long and full life. It is reassuring to know how well your knees are doing now and that you had not such a bad time of it over all. Helps me greatly to feel more confidence and somewhat less trepidation heading into my own soon. Many many thanks.

 

[SusieShoes]

I feel like I've been reading your recovery thread for ages and now here I am all caught up.

You (and anyone else who reads this whole thread) deserve some kind of award! It's a very long thread.

It is reassuring to know how well your knees are doing now and that you had not such a bad time of it over all. Helps me greatly to feel more confidence and somewhat less trepidation heading into my own soon.

Thank you! The whole point of my recovery thread was (I hoped going in) to show first-hand what it was like to recover from bilateral knee replacements --though of course single knee replacements can take the same journey because bilateral are really two singles going on at the same time in the same person. Two for the price of one!

And you're right. I didn't have such a bad time of it! Not at all, really. In fact, my recovery has been remarkably problem-free and fairly rapid. I chalk that up to two things: 1) having read BoneSmart ahead of my recovery, so I knew ahead of time what to expect and that I could set the terms of PT so as to not feel like I was a failure if my knees didn't like some kinds of exercise, and 2) having a naturally laid-back and optimistic disposition that tends to find something positive in just about any situation. Even excruciatingly painful new knees.

 

[yesyvonne]

Even excruciatingly painful new knees.

I hear you loud and clear. Not expecting a walk in the park and a picnic... but since every day my knees seem worse, I know it's time. And I'll get through it. Very much looking forward to walking more normally again! Sooner or later.

 

[Doreen1063]

My mom has dementia and just transitioned to Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Turned all care over to my brother so I could do my knee. Hard to watch and I’m sorry for your loss.

 

[SusieShoes]

Thanks, @Doreen1063. I put my knee surgery off for over a year because Dad moved in with us and I didn't know what to do, whether I (we) could handle both him and me being out of action during recovery. As it ended up, I had the surgery anyway while he was living with us and... it worked out. These things tend to.

You have my deep sympathy for your mother. It's a tough thing for all involved. Doing the right thing sometimes feels like the wrong thing. You will get your mother back when all is done, and remember only the good times.

I hope you're doing well in your recovery!

 

[sistersinhim]

Alzheimer is such a cruel disease. My mom had it, too. It had the dementia for at least 15 years, then the last 3 was full blown Alzheimer. It hurt so bad when she didn't know me anymore.

 

[SusieShoes]

Ten Months: My Hypertrophic Scars

Recently another member asked about her hypertrophic scars and what could be done about making them flatter and less painful. That brought to mind that I've talked a lot about my recovery, but not about this.

If you read my thread, you will encounter a post at around 2-3 months where I talk about my beautiful incision. My incisions really were rather nice-looking, as incisions go: straight and clean. I found it amusing when people would admire them because I knew they wouldn't stay that way.

You see, my skin doesn't scar like most people's. My skin floods the healing incision with extra collagen and produces what are called hypertrophic scars. Hypertrophic scars are wider, darker, and thicker than normal. The scar remains within bounds of the original incision. I've attached photos of Righty and Lefty as they are today.

I first learned I would have hypertrophic scars in 1979, after an open gallbladder surgery. The scar for that surgery became red, thick, and wide. It was not a skinny scar and it never became skinny, but it did become pale as the years went by. Still, my love of wearing cropped tops and bikinis was over. With each abdominal surgery, it was the same story: the scar would start out nice and skinny, and I would be hopeful, but in the ensuing weeks and months they became thick, wide, very visible strips.

So I knew my knee scars were likely to become hypertrophic. Oh sure, I was hopeful these would be different. Maybe knee skin would heal differently than abdominal skin? But as the weeks passed and the scars grew wider, that hope flew out the window.

A hypertrophic scar on a knee is different from one on the abdomen in a couple of important ways. There is less fat between the scar and the hard surfaces of the knee (versus the large fat deposits and soft organs of the belly), and the resulting scar is rope-like in dimension. Knee skin moves and stretches lots more than a belly. Also a knee scar is generally more likely to be seen depending on how one chooses to dress. The only time my abdominal scars are on public display is in a locker room at the gym. My knees get a lot more air time, especially in summer.

The first issue --being in a location with less cushioning-- matters to TKR patients. A hypertrophic scar is thicker. It is also stiffer, so resists bending more than a normal scar. Because it is thicker and rope-like it can be a cause of pain. Though the common wisdom is you don't need to massage creams or oils into your incision/scar, those things actually help a hypertrophic scar by making it a little more mobile. When my knee feels tight across the incision line, something that still happens even now at 10 months, I massage it using cocoa butter with vitamin E. This always helps it feel less tight.

There are other treatments for hypertrophic scars, designed to keep them flatter and less rope-like. Flatter scars don't cause as much pain. Laser treatments. Silicone sheets. Injections and creams. I didn't do any of these for mine. I know my skin very well. My scars aren't painful and will flatten on their own in three or four years, become paler and less visible. Also, I know how to dress to downplay my scars if I want that. One thing knee scars have all over abdominal scars is that they are interesting. I've had people ask about knee surgery because, let's face it, one look at my knees and it's pretty clear I had that.

I've had a rocking recovery from BTKR, so I guess being a walking advertisement isn't the worst thing. My scars, while not lovely, don't hinder me in any way. I never talked about them before because hypertrophic scars, though not rare, are not all that common. Mostly I didn't want to scare readers by raising yet another thing to worry about. Mine give me no trouble. Compared to infections, MUAs, and revision issues, hypertrophic scars are small stuff. They're just a less cosmetic kind of scar.

I can live with that.

 

[Eeek]

Wow. Thank you for that info. The scars don’t look bad at all, really. Mine might tend toward that as well. Seems like a small price to pay for mobility.

 

[SusieShoes]

You’re right, mine aren’t bad on the scar scale. Just a little fatter and redder. I remember with my abdomen asking my dermatologist if it was because I gained weight, so stretched my scars. I was blaming myself. He said no, that this was just the way I scar and, by the way, I’d lost weight after that surgery.

If you look at the thread at the top of the recovery page, where people show off their scars, it’s really interesting. You see all kinds.