TKR both knees

[RestAssured]

You have an appointment at Mayo though don't you? That would be great for you!

 

[KayeKaye]

Yes I still have that appointment so we'll see what they say as well. I can't believe what variance I've gotten though, it just freaks me out. Such opposite points of view. Who do you believe. I will wait and see what Mayo says.

 

[KayeKaye]

LOL, I found the thread if you would like to read it. This is part one, and there is part two and part three.

"My Thread is called the Story of my Knees. If I knew how to make it a link I would but sometimes my brain doesn't compute!"
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/the-story-of-my-knees-part-1.6913/

 

[KayeKaye]

I just want to ask again what anyone thinks of such differences in opinions of these two doctors I saw.
bottomshollow; Josephine;

Dr. B. said I had Osteoarthritis and Meniscus tears.
Dr. JB said I don't have Osteoarthritis and no Meniscus tears.

Dr. B. showed me the tears on the screen.
Dr. JB searched both the MRI and Xray showing me that there was no meniscus tears and that my knee showed no signs of pitting or calcification which signifies Osteoarthritis.

The screen's images had my name on them both times, I could tell that they were mine and not someone else's. And my real name is so unique I have never met anyone with it, so it's not someones name mix up either.

The one thing they DID agree with was they both want me to wait 10 years!

I am left to conclude that one doctor is a flat out liar and charlatan, or incompetent and one is right. And I don't know which is which.
I am SOOOO frustrated.

In any case my knees are killing me and ALL I do is sit and hurt day and night.
He gave me a prescription for Methylprednisolone, a tapered dose to try and control side effects. From what I read it is a strong and dangerous drug.

 

[Lori-M]

I am SOOOO frustrated.

In any case my knees are killing me and ALL I do is sit and hurt day and night.
He gave me a prescription for Methylprednisolone, a tapered dose to try and control side effects. From what I read it is a strong and dangerous drug.

KayeKaye, I'm so sorry for your difficulty finding a reliable doctor and that you're suffering such pain!
I can't recall who posted it about checking with the surgery administrator of the hospital but I think that's an excellent place to begin. They can give you the doctors' stats but to get an idea of how a doctor communicates and relates to his patients you might want to contact the orthopedic nurses at the hospital. They'll have daily contact with the surgeons and may be able to share their experiences with them. Someone else said that surgeons aren't the most patient-friendly (or something to that effect) and it's true. My first husband needed back surgery while we were still married. His surgeon was quite skilled but he wasn't the most communicative. He wasn't outright rude but he barely spoke when he came to the waiting room following the surgery. I think it may be a gene or perhaps it's a class they take while they're in medical school. Sigh.

 

[Josephine]

I've said it before, get a number of doctors in a room and that's how many opinions you'll get.

It rather depends upon the experience and expertise of the two doctors. By which I mean were they both experienced knee surgeons?

How about posting the xrays on here and letting me look at them? Uploading a Picture in a Post (use the thumbnail version)

 

[KayeKaye]

I've said it before, get a number of doctors in a room and that's how many opinions you'll get.

It rather depends upon the experience and expertise of the two doctors. By which I mean were they both experienced knee surgeons?

How about posting the xrays on here and letting me look at them? Uploading a Picture in a Post (use the thumbnail version)

Hmm, the images are on a CD and my computer is not opening them. They are Unix Executable File and when I try to open them I get this: "cannot execute binary file". I'm on a Mac if that makes a difference. I will try to upload the thumbnail file.

 

[KayeKaye]

Ok that won't work, the images are all greyed out and not able to be uploaded at all. The CD says "PC AutoPlay DICOM Viewer" So my Mac can't do anything with these images. Dicom might be a software I don't have will have to look into it.
Thanks anyway...

 

[Roy Gardiner]

...
Dr. JB said I don't have Osteoarthritis and no Meniscus tears.

....

In any case my knees are killing me and ALL I do is sit and hurt day and night.

Well, clearly you are a hysterical female who doesn't know her own mind and shouldn't bother her pretty little head...

Er, OK.

You are in pain. It is real. You obviously, as you've identified, can't sit around all day. As Lori-M says, you could go to the hospitals where they work and wander around the orthopaedic wards, "Excuse me, nurse, I may be coming here for surgery, may I ask you a question...?".

I went to one desk and enquired about admission then brought up the question of two doctors ("...my insurance seems to be referring me to different people..."). The replies were "Oh yes Mr X is very good, but Mr Ireland, he's just excellent." or something like that.

I am surprised at the variety of opinion you got; all the docs I consulted agreed, pretty much. Sorry, that doesn't help -- maybe you need more opinions?

 

[BJ Mac]

Hi KayeKaye, I am glad to hear that you have taken this doc off of your list. Keep looking, and asking questions and becoming informed.

 

[kneeper]

I just want to ask again what anyone thinks of such differences in opinions of these two doctors I saw.
bottomshollow; Josephine;

Dr. B. said I had Osteoarthritis and Meniscus tears.
Dr. JB said I don't have Osteoarthritis and no Meniscus tears.

Dr. B. showed me the tears on the screen.
Dr. JB searched both the MRI and Xray showing me that there was no meniscus tears and that my knee showed no signs of pitting or calcification which signifies Osteoarthritis.
.

this seems very odd. Can you get ahold of the radiologist's report? We have a "mychart" feature with my insurance, so I always can see the writeup from the reading radiologist when I get xrays. I would imagine you could request them. I would think the radiologist has no stake in your knee one way or the other and you'd get an accurate report.

but I think telling you that you have to wait 10 years is nonsense. iirc you are 60ish?

 

[KayeKaye]

Thanks guys, it is nice that someone understands.

I have another doctor to see Friday. Then also Mayo clinic next month.

One thing I see is they all really want me to wait ten years. How absurd. I can't imagine living like this or ten years, what's wrong with them? I think I would be stark raving mad in ten years living like this. They all say the same thing, "This operations is wrought with problems and is not what you want to do until you have exhausted all the other options of shots, cleanings, etc." Why go through all that if it's, in their own words, "inevitable"?

 

[bottomshollow]

KayeKaye, maybe you should ask them if having the surgery and recovering from can possibly be any worse than what you're going through now! What is wrong with these people? I really though doctors were supposed to have some concern about the quality of life. I am so, so sorry that you are having to go through all of this; it is so unfair and unnecessary. Take care, keep us posted, we care.

 

[Lori-M]

Thanks guys, it is nice that someone understands.

I have another doctor to see Friday. Then also Mayo clinic next month.

One thing I see is they all really want me to wait ten years. How absurd. I can't imagine living like this or ten years, what's wrong with them? I think I would be stark raving mad in ten years living like this. They all say the same thing, "This operations is wrought with problems and is not what you want to do until you have exhausted all the other options of shots, cleanings, etc." Why go through all that if it's, in their own words, "inevitable"?

Wow, I didn't realize how blessed I was that both of the surgeons I saw were agreeable with doing a replacement even though I'm only 55. One of them leaned toward trying to buy me some time before I had to do it but he never said he wouldn't do it. I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this $&@+ while you're in so much pain. Best wishes for the upcoming appointments! I'm sending positive vibes out that the earlier disappointments will be overshadowed by a wonderful doctor taking on your case on your terms!

 

[KayeKaye]

Thanks again. Well I going to drag my body down to the beach and forget about it for today. 95 and sunny!

 

[Josephine]

To suggest you wait another ten years at your age is unconscionable. These guys were obviously NOT proper knee surgeons as a proper knee surgeon would know a) that 50 is a prime age for doing knee replacements and b) would not be suggesting this "This operations is wrought with problems and is not what you want to do until you have exhausted all the other options" rubbish. Anyone who thinks this is not even a poor knee surgeon! Are you sure they weren't rheumatologists or something? It's the kind of thing those guys come up with all the time. Did I suggest you read this Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis

 

[Josephine]

To suggest you wait another ten years at your age is unconscionable. These guys were obviously NOT proper knee surgeons as a proper knee surgeon would know a) that 50 is a prime age for doing knee replacements and b) would not be suggesting this "This operations is wrought with problems and is not what you want to do until you have exhausted all the other options" rubbish. Anyone who thinks this is not even a poor knee surgeon! Are you sure they weren't rheumatologists or something? It's the kind of thing those guys come up with all the time. Did I suggest you read this Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis

 

[AbbyGirl2010]

KayeKaye, I'm so sorry for your difficulty finding a reliable doctor and that you're suffering such pain!
I can't recall who posted it about checking with the surgery administrator of the hospital but I think that's an excellent place to begin. They can give you the doctors' stats but to get an idea of how a doctor communicates and relates to his patients you might want to contact the orthopedic nurses at the hospital. They'll have daily contact with the surgeons and may be able to share their experiences with them. Someone else said that surgeons aren't the most patient-friendly (or sometHomehing to that effect) and it's true. My first husband needed back surgery while we were still married. His surgeon was quite skilled but he wasn't the most communicative. He wasn't outright rude but he barely spoke when he came to the waiting room following the surgery. I think it may be a gene or perhaps it's a class they take while they're in medical school. Sigh.

Thank you so much for the info you gave to Lori M.....it is very useful to me. Tomorrow I am going to call the hospital, Albany Medical Center and find out as much as I can about the doctor who wants to perform TRKR surgery on me. I still have not gathered all the information I need to find so I can make an "Informed" decision where or not to have the surgery and if so, what doctor to choose. Right now I am seeing Dr. Paul Hospoda in Albany. I may go for a third and final opinion with one other doctor and this time before I go to the doctor I will investigate him on line or ask here on this forum.

KayeKaye, I'm so sorry for your difficulty finding a reliable doctor and that you're suffering such pain!
I can't recall who posted it about checking with the surgery administrator of the hospital but I think that's an excellent place to begin. They can give you the doctors' stats but to get an idea of how a doctor communicates and relates to his patients you might want to contact the orthopedic nurses at the hospital. They'll have daily contact with the surgeons and may be able to share their experiences with them. Someone else said that surgeons aren't the most patient-friendly (or something to that effect) and it's true. My first husband needed back surgery while we were still married. His surgeon was quite skilled but he wasn't the most communicative. He wasn't outright rude but he barely spoke when he came to the waiting room following the surgery. I think it may be a gene or perhaps it's a class they take while they're in medical school. Sigh.

 

[AbbyGirl2010]

What are the right questions to ask about TKR surgery? Does anyone know how to check out a doctors stats; how many procedures he has done; how many complaints; success rate; etc. I ask this because I had reconstructive surgery on my left foot for which I had very little pain. I mean I had pain in my foot on and off for months, but I was still able to walk on it and go barefoot. A doctor told me I had a ruptured tendon and needed surgery to fix the tear and reconstruct the foot to keep it from happening again. He is a doctor with a big practice and I had no reason to doubt him. That was two years ago, I am in pain everyday with that foot, I cannot walk barefoot and I was told by another doctor the operation was totally unnecessary and all I needed was a prosthetic for my shoes. He said the damage cannot be undone and I will never be able to walk barefoot again. So, before I have any type of operation again, I want to know all I can in order to make the right decision and go with the right doctor. I am so afraid of going through this operation and then find out it did not work and I will always be in pain or I will by scared for life with no chance of repair. Anything and everything anyone can do to help me would be greatly appreciated. I live in the Albany NY area and the doctor I am seeing now is Dr. Paul Hospoda who is affiliated with Albany Medical Center. Does anyone here on this forum know him or know his work?

 

[Debbie_joints]

AbbyGirl, wondering if what is wrong with your foot is the same thing I have. Mine is called posterior tibial tendon dysfunction. All of a sudden one day my foot hurt like crazy and my arch went flat and even bulged out. Had an MRI and said there was a torn tendon and I could have surgery to repair it. Well, I would have been off my foot for 2 months then months of rehab. So decided to go the orthotics route and a brace too for when I work out, or am on my feet for a long period of time. Guess I just didn't hurt enough to go through that. Doc said if it ever ruptured the rest of the way I would be ready. For now, orthotics for me. Sorry about your foot.