What if my OS's office is 90 miles from me

[Amarillo19]

I will be having TKR, probably January, and my OS will be 90 miles from me. How do those who face this problem handle logistics? Should I also establish an orthopedic doc where I am and just have the surgery with the OS? What about an emergency? I know Pilot's surgery was even further from him. How to handle PT, or rehab if necessary? Or is this all something to discuss with my OS?
Thanks for your input. It's invaluable to me. BTW, I'm in Florida, so winter driving won't be an issue.

Ann

 

[brs0660]

Armarillo...
When you have your surgery, you should not drive for about 6 weeks. You will be needing pain meds and DUI is not a good idea. You will go at 2 wks, 6-8 wks, 3 mos, 6mos. If it is a knee emergency...local ER can asses you and then send you to you OS...or you can drive to where he is.

Many times you can arrange PT closer to your home than 90 miles.

Riding in the car was one of my most difficult things to do. The jarring of the car's movement and the notorious "potholes" sent my pain to intolerable. However, If you can be in the back seat and prop your leg and ice as you travel, I bet you will do really well.

Good luck

90 miles is a good distance, but if the doc is worth it...go for it.

 

[Josephine]

Don't know about the States but here in the UK if we have surgery at a distance, the local guys pick up the slack - those and one's GP. A good GP should be more than capable.

And then there's always BoneSmart for those smaller problems!

 

[Simon]

My OS is 130 miles away and this is Vermont so 1/2 that trip is on state highways which really means local roads. I had a friend drive me down the night before and I stayed at motel close to the hospital. I did my PT with a local physical therapist and I used my local PCP for pain management as that way I did not have to worry about prescriptions being mailed etc. My friend drove me to follow=up appointment till I could drive.

I went to inpatient rehab at the same hospital I had surgery and the PT's knew about the drive home. The asked about the size of the car (they wanted to make sure I had room to stretch out), then they said to stop every 45 minutes and take a 15 minute walk. They also made sure I had lots of ice packs for the drive home. They also had my friend bring a small box (filled with cans to keep it's shape) and some pillows so that I could prop up my legs in the front seat. The PT also came down to the car to make sure I could get in and show my friend how to help me in and out of the car.

It took us about 4 hours to get home but things went well.

Simon

 

[pilot1]

Ann,
Well, I am to see my doc 5 weeks after surgery, then three months after surgery and then if all is well 3 years later.
I set up home pt for first two weeks.
Now I am outpatient PT and the PT and doc communicate and work just like they are in the same city.
If you have an emergency you can always go to the hospital.
The ride home was hard but my ride was over three hours.
If I were to have complications yes would not be good.
I am glad I went to Dallas. It was worth it to get a doc that does a lot of knees.
At 90 miles you should have no problems. Discuss it with your doctor.. it will be fine and happens all the time.
Good luck
Pilot

 

[Amarillo19]

Thank you. I feel better knowing how others deal with this. I had forgotten about getting my PCP into the act. He'll be good, because he's a believer in pain relief. Now I'm just waiting for Jan. because I want to be mobile in Aug. for our anniversary and Nov. when we drive to the Midwest for Thanksgiving. Of course, then Christmas. That makes January as a target date. Needless-to-say BoneSmart will be my resource for the rest. :thnk:

 

[Jamie]

Amarillo, you'll be just fine. In todays internet world, almost all doctors are used to dealing with long-distance patients. They can coordinate with all your other local doctors and will form a team for your recovery. You just need to be proactive and ask questions, make recommendations, and communicate what you need them to do.

The only "problem" (and it's not really one at all) will be the drive for those periodic checkups. By then it will probably feel good to get out of the house a little.

 

[Amarillo19]

Thank you for all the replies and info. I feel much better knowing what to expect.
Ann