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TKR Trailspud Recovery thread

trailspud said:
Early morning day four and feeling pretty good. Pain has been very manageable. Last night my whole leg tightened quite a bit, but thankfully it's a bit less so now. My ankle is actually the location of my worst pain and I hope to make progress on it today. My flexion is probably less now due to more swelling, but I think I still have 100. I"m pretty close to full extension if not already there. My big task is going to rehab my strength and while retaining full flexion as it has been a quite a few years since I had a straight right knee.

I see my doc on Wedneday a.m. then hope to ride home afterwards (350 miles of interstate highway w/lots of walking breaks). I only saw him on the morning after then his PA visited on the 2nd and 3rd mornings. I have some additional questions to clarify what happened, but I think I have a basic handle on it. Life does not always work out as planned and this is one of those cases. I certainly would not have traveled out of town for my RTKR had I known the custom implant would not function. I will say there was something in the back of my mind that troubled me about how little range of motion I had going into surgery. My doc did tell my sister immediately following, and myself the following day, that he made a judgement error in thinking he could make the iTotal work. He said he has done about 140 iTotals and this was only the 2nd case in which this has happened. I wish I had a little more insight about the my PCL functioning (lack thereof) before surgery.

Best wishes to all the August patients. I will try to reply to other threads soon.
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Thank you for being so candid. I, too, would be irritated that I traveled so far for what ended up being the traditional knee replacement. I am scheduled for the ConforMIS on 9/8/14 and you brought up some very good points that I need to ask my surgeon, such as: What is Plan B if the ConforMIS isn't the perfect fit due to the degradation? I never thought to ask that! Thank you again!

Robyn
 
@MotownGirl66
My right knee, the 1st one, had quite limited ROM by the time of surgery...est. flexion 90/extension 20. My PCL may have been compromised before the surgery or it became so during surgery...no matter, the iTotal requires a functional PCL so if it was already a bit frayed, probably better that it wasn't used.

My left knee, 2nd one, was much more functional at the time of its surgery...130/5 est. I really like my surgeon...he's the team doc for BYU. When I first learned of him, I was skeptical that a Mormon guy in his 60s would be a cutting edge surgeon. But, research of his history showed a pattern of being at the forefront of new innovations. I'm due for a visit and we'll probably talk more football than knees. I'm a big Boise State fan and our teams have a decade long series ongoing.

I doubt your PCL will be an issue. I don't think its too common for it to lack function. Best wishes.
 
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Trailspud, my ortho said my ROM was very good so I don't think that will be an issue. You made me laugh re: your observation that a Mormon in his 60's would be a cutting edge surgeon. Funny!
I've torn my right knee's meniscus twice and my left knee once, so far. The ortho hasn't mentioned my PCL or any other ligaments, bit I personally think mine have too much laxity, which is what I believe is causing my meniscus tears. We will see when my surgeon gets in there!
 
Injury time...first since my 2nd recovery (which I helped make a mess of). Not a knee, however, but my it's my left ankle. I've been hiking 1-2 times per week this summer and usually throw in a few run repeats (uphill only). While my hiking is good, I think so many years off from any running have left me w/some weak spots. A couple weeks ago, I noticed this pain on the medial side of the left ankle a couple days after hiking. I took a week off before my last hike four days ago...about 3 hours on a hot, smoky day. I did a few more uphill run repeats (5*180m; 5*75m) than I had before, but w/o pain and felt really strong...almost like my past life. My ankle didn't feel any different for the next two days, but yesterday afternoon...pain and tenderness worsened. So, no hiking for a few days until we head to the Colorado Rockies and no running for awhile and then rebuild slowly.

No complaints. This has been a great summer after the last one. Cheers.
 
So glad you are really enjoying it! That is the best part of the tkr - a chance to be normal a little or a lot longer than we could have been. Happy vacation in the Rockies! You must be ecstatic!
 
Hiked to 12,000' in the Indian Peaks Wilderness today (Colorado). Only a 3 hour hike, but 2,000' of climb and I had not been above 10,000 in four years. I was most pleased with my descent...some steep rocky pitches and I did okay and better than I thought when climbing up. Trekking poles are like having 4-wheel drive.
 
You are a real success story. Very inspiring! It is so good to read about recoveries like yours. A lot of members need to read what is possible with these knees! If you are able to post some pictures.
 
I tried to upload a photo on our summit from my iPhone, but the file is too large. I usually save photos on my PC and use a program that allows a smaller file size.

I just changed my avatar photo to one from today...11a.m MST off trail on a divide in the Indian Peaks.
 
[Bonesmart.org] Trailspud Recovery thread

A bigger pic from last Saturday. Unfortunately, it was my only alpine hike in Colorado, but I cycled and did some shorter hikes/walks w/my wife on our trip. Visiting relatives cut into the mountain time, but I'm headed to the Sawtooths (Idaho) soon.

I hope to go back next summer and hike w/my old friend (we met 50 years ago in 1st grade) and do some longer treks in the Indian Peaks and Rocky Mtn. Nat. Park area. I did balk at crossing one pass that had a canted (slanted) trail w/ a lot of exposure (about a 1,500' drop). I need to get my alpine bearings back intact. So, instead we hiked off trail up a broad knoll around 12,000' where the photo above was taken.
 
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Raining here at 5,000 ft, snowing in the Mountains, hoping to snowshoe this season.
 
Pumpkln said:
Raining here at 5,000 ft, snowing in the Mountains, hoping to snowshoe this season.
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Snowing at the local resort this afternoon...guessing our snow level is around 5,500 and should drop at night. Maybe I'll get up to the high country on Sunday. Cheers.
 
I didn't read the weather forecast correctly. Snow levels popped up to 7,000' overnight. Mushy conditions in the nearby mountains today. I just got back from walking my old dog in the driving valley rain. It's supposed to get cooler tonight and through the week so maybe I'll get up once before Christmas. Mountain temps are forecasted from the teens and 20s at night with mostly upper 30s to low 40s for highs so it will be a get up early drive for decent conditions.
 
@RestAssured

When I retire, I'm going to have time to stay up in the mountains. For now, I have to fire up one of my AWD Subarus and drive about 70 miles one-way with about half on winding mountain roads. I'm as safe as can be...thanks for the concern. And, great to hear from you. I had not been on this forum for awhile, but hope to stay in touch more.
 
It's been warm in this neck of the woods as well (at my folks house in N. Calif. that is). Snow level has been around 7k here as well and the resorts are not too pleased with it. My best friend was at Granlibakken (north shore Lake Tahoe) and noted the cross-country conditions to be pretty rough, even for all the moisture we've been getting. All we need is a cold front to get the party started. As soon as it comes through I'll be sure to send it out your way @trailspud.
 
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