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Posts: 66
Location: North Central, Indiana | Going under the knife in 2 weeks to have double knee replacement. I was wondering how many of you musky guys have had this done and how long it took you to get back in the musky game. Hopefully it wont take all season to get strong enough to do what we all love to do.
Thanks
Dennis
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Posts: 299
| Make sure you get a very good Continuous Nerve Block catheter to get through the first few days of post-operative pain. A very good "adductor canal" or "femoral" block will help tremendously!!! Depending on your area and hospital some Orthopedic Surgeons and Anesthesioligist's programs are very aggressive and proactive to treating post-operative pain. Getting you into Physical Thearpy right away and out of hospital sooner are all pluses. Bi-lateral knee replacement is a good way to get them both done at the same time so you don't have to go through it again. Good luck, take you PT serious and you'll be bounce back!! | |
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| With water fairly calm, I probably could have been standing throwing lures at 4 mo.
For me it was the rehab that was painful. | |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | I had both knees replaced at once in June 2008. It wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. Now the repair of the ruptured patellar tendon I sustained in rehab three weeks after...THAT was a B%&$h.
One piece of advice I'll give you, and I know a LOT about this, is to not take the rehab people too seriously. Certainly you have to work hard in rehab--I'm not saying otherwise. However they make it sound like if you cannot bend your knees 100+ degrees in 2-3 days after surgery, you'll NEVER recover. That's complete and utter BS. Tell them I said so, and have them call me to discuss. I've got the permanent nerve injury/pain to prove it.
Trust me. Work hard, but work smart. YOU are the one to know how much is too much. But be honest with yourself, and listen to their advice. PM me if you're interested and I'll shoot you a phone number to chat. I wish someone would have told me what I'm telling you, before I had it done. Don't be too worried though, in terms of the pain. Does it hurt? Yes. Is it unbearable? Not at all.
Looking back, I am quite surprised at how (relatively) little pain I had after having both knees replaced. It was nothing compared to the pain of having the tendon rupture, and then the repair--but keep in mind that is a VERY rare complication, and you shouldn't give it much of a second thought. My left knee was a very complicated replacement, which made it more likely to happen...and happen it did. I just wish I hadn't pushed it so hard in rehab, because that is undoubtedly what exacerbated the problem. But the rehab people scare the bejeezus out of you, in order to get you to work hard. It's the old Jedi mind trick, and they got me with it.
I'm sure you'll do just fine. Shoot me a line if you want to chat more offline.
Edited by tcbetka 4/22/2013 8:03 AM
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Posts: 1220
| Hey Tom,
My plan is to do one this year after the season and one the next year. I remember that you were laid up pretty good doing them both at once and did not want the discomfort of that. What is the real odds of doing them one at a time instead of both. I figure that if they eff it up, I still have one of my own---it hurts like a "mother" but it still gets me from the parking space to the boat???? Marty Forman | |
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Location: Pewaukee, WI | Do yourself a favor and rent an appliance that continually moves your leg while you are bed ridden at home. Many medical supply places carry them. It has adjustable controls for increasing the amount of bending at the knee. It's uncomfortable, but will greatly reduce your downtime and generally increase your healing process.
Only one other thing I can recommend to you is to spend a lot of time on a stationary bike to build up your leg muscles prior to the operation. Your recovery period will be much shorter and easier if you do that.
Also, do exactly what you are told to do by your doctor and rehab folks. They have your best interest at heart. | |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | @Marty: Well, that's more up to your surgeon that to you. Most surgeons will NOT do them both at once. In my case, it was better to do them both at once, and that first surgery worked out fine. I guess it also depends upon when you're going to have them done, and how much time you can devote to recovery. Recovering from bilateral knee replacements is more difficult than recovering from one, so if you have a choice...only get one done. But again in my case I didn't have that choice. I wouldn't be too concerned with the surgeon not doing a good job though. In most cases these guys are doing 100+ replacements per year, and they pretty much know what to expect before even opening your knee. So that's not a real big concern in that sense.
If your knees are both bad but you can identify one that is noticeably "worse" than the other, then I'd have that one done first. One other thing to keep in mind though is that if you have them done separately, then you have to go through the whole process twice: Two pre-op work-ups, two pre-op blood donation courses, two separate exposures to anesthesia, two exposures to complications (blood clots, etc) and two rehab stays. You'll technically have the same risk of post-operative infection or poor wound healing because you have two knee replacements, irrespective of when they are actually done. But you'll also (potentially) have two insurance deductible exposures to pay. So for some people, they'd rather get them both done at once and get it over with.
So there are a number of reasons why a person would want to get both knees done at once; but first and foremost of which is your surgeon. If your surgeon doesn't want to do both at once, then you're committed to going through it twice--if you want to use that surgeon. As I said many docs don't want to, or won't, do two knees at once. The patient generally has to be MUCH more committed to hard work and post-operative recovery when both knees are replaced simultaneously, so you can certainly understand why surgeons would be hesitant to do two at once.
If I had it to do all over again (and had a choice), I'd do one at a time. Not due to the pain--because that really wasn't that bad at all. But simply put, you just don't have a leg to stand on. I know it sounds like a bad pun, but I'm being completely serious: Having two bad knees is a huge PITA when it comes to doing rehab. That was tough...and the pain of both knees was by far the easiest thing to deal with.
TB
Edited by tcbetka 4/22/2013 10:48 AM
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Location: Green Bay, WI | bigbite - 4/22/2013 10:28 AM
Do yourself a favor and rent an appliance that continually moves your leg while you are bed ridden at home. Many medical supply places carry them. It has adjustable controls for increasing the amount of bending at the knee. It's uncomfortable, but will greatly reduce your downtime and generally increase your healing process.
Only one other thing I can recommend to you is to spend a lot of time on a stationary bike to build up your leg muscles prior to the operation. Your recovery period will be much shorter and easier if you do that.
Also, do exactly what you are told to do by your doctor and rehab folks. They have your best interest at heart.
Actually, most surgeons I know no longer use the passive range-of-motion (ROM) device any more. I'm not sure why, other than they've told me that the literature shows that the results aren't any better than *not* using it. Loosely translated that means that insurance won't pay for it, lol. But that was never even offered when I had both of mine done.
The other thing you mentioned is excellent advice though: Pre-operative conditioning. I busted my hump in rehab for 4-5 MONTHS prior to the surgery. I was swimming in a rehab pool 30-45 minutes three times per week. I lost 10-15 pounds and improved my flexibility tremendously. It made a big difference too. So that is excellent advice, and I'm glad you mentioned it...
TB | |
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Posts: 66
Location: North Central, Indiana | Thanks guys. A lot of good information. I have been riding the bike and stretching. Hopefully i will heal quick and get back out there musky fishing soon. | |
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Posts: 67
| I had my right knee done in 2004. The advise about preop conditioning is right on. Also, if you are overweight, loose as much as you can before surgery, and try to keep it off. As to physical therapy, push it but don't overdo it. In this case more isn't always better.
You might be out after the Muskies by the 4th of July if all goes well. Or sucker fishing might be more realistic.
Good luck | |
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