TKR TKR after tibial plateau fracture

[Ayse]

After discussing things with the surgeon I'm sure it's going to be more functional and less painful than it is now, but he can't guarantee all the problems will be fixed.

Well this is the case for literally every procedure. There is always a risk that something can't be fixed. But in most cases our members come away from surgery delighted with the outcome.

I haven't been able to walk properly for 14 months and have been in constant pain.

So your biggest challenge post op will be patience! You already know the impact that results from not being able to move around correctly. It can take awhile to correct your gait. Slow and steady does it.

What is your surgery date? We will put the information in your signature for you!

Many thanks Jaycey. Yes, hopefully my gait will improve. At the moment I'm like a drunk 90 year old orangutan! Yes, I agree it's the same for every procedure. What I meant was it's not a normal TKR because of arthritis, there are other problems there. Surgery is 9th Feb, fingers crossed!

 

[sistersinhim]

After discussing things with the surgeon I'm sure it's going to be more functional and less painful than it is now, but he can't guarantee all the problems will be fixed.

My surgeon told me right up front that I wouldn't be pain-free, and I'm not, but he said I'd be better, and I am! That's really all I expected. Some days I am pain-free and don't even think about my knee. On other days, it lets me know that it's there. I pray that you get a lot of relief with your tkr!

 

[Ayse]

After discussing things with the surgeon I'm sure it's going to be more functional and less painful than it is now, but he can't guarantee all the problems will be fixed.

My surgeon told me right up front that I wouldn't be pain-free, and I'm not, but he said I'd be better, and I am! That's really all I expected. Some days I am pain-free and don't even think about my knee. On other days, it lets me know that it's there. I pray that you get a lot of relief with your tkr!

Thank you so much. I'm glad you do get some good pain free days. Hopefully I will too. I think I could cope with the pain more if I had a more functioning knee and could at least walk properly.

 

[Susie-Q]

At the moment I'm like a drunk 90 year old orangutan!

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this! Hoping your surgery improves your life ten-fold!

 

[Ayse]

At the moment I'm like a drunk 90 year old orangutan!

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this! Hoping your surgery improves your life ten-fold!

Thanks so much.

 

[Ayse]

@Jaycey Could admin please change the title of my thread to From tibial plateau fracture to TKR? I will then post an update

Many thanks

 

[Jaycey]

Could admin please change the title of my thread to From tibial plateau fracture to TKR?

Done!

 

[Ayse]

Thanks Jaycey. It's still showing the old one for me but maybe I'm doing something wrong.

 

[Ayse]

So, I had my TKR on 9th Feb and am now 3 weeks out. At the moment I still have a lot of different bits of pain in different areas which I guess it to be expected. Knee is still pretty swollen (I can't even see where my knee cap is right now). I'm icing/elevating for half hour with ice machine then waiting an hour and doing it again. I can straighten fully and got about 110 flexion. Had my staples out Friday but there was a small area that superficially hasn't closed up so have got some butterfly stitches on for a while longer. There is still some looseness with side to side motion that the surgeon thinks will get better as my leg strengthens (I hope so! Did anyone else have this and it improved?). He also advised the clunking will ease as my leg heals/strengthens. I thought having the staples out would ease some of the pain where the incision was but it feels like there's barbed wire in there!

I know everyone's different but it's hard to know what's normal or not. At the moment my knee still feels unstable. Not just the side to side motion but also when trying to walk it sort of gives way frontwards when pushing off a bent knee. This may be because my leg is still weak and needs to heal and strengthen. I hope so but haven't seen anyone else mention this so has anyone else had this issue?

I still can't put full weight on the leg because of pain and instability and swelling. Did anyone else have this issue early on? I'm using one crutch inside and 2 to go to the clinic when I needed to. I walk round the house 5-6 times a day but can only manage 5 mins at a time. I can't really stand on it for more than 5 mins and can't sit with a bent leg for more than 5 mins. And to top it all I've now strained a ligament in my good knee so got two painful knees when walking! Doh!

Been having a bit of a down week as was hoping the pain/stability/walking would've improved a bit by now. But then looking at some other people's posts today it makes me think this is OK for now? Maybe I'm just hoping for a bit of reassurance.

 

[Jaycey]

It's still showing the old one for me but maybe I'm doing something wrong.

When you refresh the page you will see the change.

I'm icing/elevating for half hour with ice machine

Ice for 45-60 minutes per session. No need to wait an hour between sessions. Many of our members ice around the close in the early days.

There is still some looseness with side to side motion that the surgeon thinks will get better as my leg strengthens

At the moment my knee still feels unstable.

I still can't put full weight on the leg because of pain and instability and swelling.

All these issues are very normal in these early days. The soft tissues need to firm up around the new implant. Once you are healed you can work on increasing the strength in that leg. Don't worry about ROM now - just get that swelling under control. It is causing the pain and limiting your ROM.

 

[Ayse]

Thanks so much Jaycey. That's really reassuring to know.

 

[EalingGran]

Have just read through your whole post.
Sounds like you are doing well given how complicated your problems were pre- op.
Your ROM seems great and if your surgeon feels the bit of instability will settle with healing/ strengthening then I would be reassured.
I think feeling down is normal at around 3-4 weeks post op. I certainly felt that way.
The immediate trauma is over and just getting through the first couple of weeks- but it still seems like a very long haul ahead. Even a straightforward replacement is a hard journey and you have had extra problems. So it is understandable that you feel anxious about your recovery.

 

[Ayse]

Thanks so much EalingGran. He did tell me it would be a year long recovery and that it wouldn't be easier than a regular TKR due to arthritis. But of course it's hard not to be anxious as you say. After all this time and pain I'd love to just get on with previous active life and feel like me again but I know that's a long time coming which does really get me down some times. It's nice to get such nice messages though to give me a lift.

 

[EalingGran]

If you want a bit of encouragement, read @JusticeRider posts. She is a couple of months further on than me at 6 months and really starting to come out the other side after a longish recovery. She is riding again and getting out a lot more.

 

[Susie-Q]

You'll get there, @Ayse , don't worry. This is still very early days for you. It takes time and a heck of a lot of patience, which is sometimes the hardest part. Keep checking in here to let us know how you are doing.

 

[Ayse]

Thanks so much SuzieQ. OMG, patience is definitely hard. At the moment it just seems an impossible mountain. Before my accident and then researching this site I never imagined how hard a knee replacement would be. Previously I'd only heard about friends of friends who were walking miles and playing golf in a really short time. God knows how! They must've been very lucky.

 

[Ayse]

If you want a bit of encouragement, read @JusticeRider posts. She is a couple of months further on than me at 6 months and really starting to come out the other side after a longish recovery. She is riding again and getting out a lot more.

I will. Thanks!

 

[Susie-Q]

Previously I'd only heard about friends of friends who were walking miles and playing golf in a really short time. God knows how! They must've been very lucky.

Or, they were stretching the truth, which is the more likely explanation. Those friends of friends stories get changed in translation oftentimes. There are those who recover quickly but they are in the minority. Most people fall in the middle with an average recovery that usually takes a full year.

Hang in there, @Ayse, it may feel like you are scaling a huge mountain but before you know it, you'll be feeling much better!

 

[Ayse]

Previously I'd only heard about friends of friends who were walking miles and playing golf in a really short time. God knows how! They must've been very lucky.

Or, they were stretching the truth, which is the more likely explanation. Those friends of friends stories get changed in translation oftentimes. There are those who recover quickly but they are in the minority. Most people fall in the middle with an average recovery that usually takes a full year.

Hang in there, @Ayse, it may feel like you are scaling a huge mountain but before you know it, you'll be feeling much better!

Thanks so much. Have to try and keep my positive head on!

 

[Jockette]

Looking at your signature, you’ve had 4 surgeries in about 15 months. That a lot of trauma and re-disturbed tissue in your leg in that time period. Be gentle as you recover and rehab, and hard as it is, try to be patient. your leg is trying it’s best to heal.

Regaining our ROM does not require forceful bending or painful exercises.
Regaining our ROM is more about Time than repetitions of a list of exercises.

Time to recover.
Time for pain and swelling to settle.
Time to heal.

Our range of motion is right there all along just waiting for that to happen so it can show itself.

In the general run of things, it doesn't need to be fought for, worked hard for or worried about. It will happen. Normal activity is the key to success.