Knee Replacement

[Luckyme4]

Can anyone let me know what happens to the patient immediately after a knee replacement operation. I am due to have this operation soon so any advice from anyone who has had this operation would be welcome. David

[Rsw1fe]

This is a second-hand account because it was my husband (82) who had a full knee replacement last November (5 weeks after the first scheduled op was cancelled the evening before).

I expect you've been warned that recovery is neither painless nor rapid, but that it's important to do the exercises which the physio will show you. It does take several weeks until you're walking really freely, but it will happen. My husband says the knee isn't quite as good as new, but we've just got back from a week in Wales where he was walking 4 - 5 miles over steep paths without any problems, which isn't bad for anyone of his age!

You MUST make sure to take the blood thinners, as you will be pretty inactive for a while. My husband was given only 2 weeks supply and... he did get a clot. We were told that it used to be 6 weeks on blood thinners. I suppose the medics follow what they've decided is best practice, but the 6 weeks would have been better for him.

Last tip: my husband has found that excercising the knee in fairly hot bath each morning loosens it up really usefully. Water and gas bills have gone up, though.

Best wishes for a successful operation!

[Masonica49]

knee replacement HAS to be the most painful and debilitating operation to have, whatever age you are !! A LOT depends on the surgeon.....some are really good and can do the op with minimal bruising etc........I was unlucky and ended up bruised and sore from my waist right down to my toes and all the way up again too, right up into my inner thigh.........I was in AGONY despite hefty painrelief and I swore I would NEVER have the other leg done. HOWEVER....six weeks later, here I am....... off crutches, allowed to drive again, the swelling is more manageable (and I think it will be very odd to have a leg that isn't black, blue, yellow and red and almost the same size as the unoperated one ....maybe I will miss it when its back to normal, and I feel weepy and tired, and fed up because I cannot do things I want to do.

HOWEVER: I would say YES...it really IS a painful operation, YES, getting over the shock of the pain is really hard, managing that pain so I now have a life has been REALLY difficult..............but I think if the other surgeon suggests (as he surely is going to soon) that I must have the other knee replaced, I WOULD agree!! The recovery has been harder than I could have expected, due to the severe pain; I would have LOVED some OT support ( but here we do not consider mere replacement patients worthy of such care !) so I'm going it alone, very frustrated that I am restricted by pain from doing some essential chores........ but I am basically OK....and I hope you are too xxxxxx

[collier in reply to Masonica49]

hi how are you getting on? I have had 2 full knee re.1 was a disaster 2 so called revision which was almost pain free and ok. left with other probs.right hip has pain no injections have work so have gone to another otho. group and await scan on it as to hoping diagnose the cause pain. its been along road from the start I was 59 at the time now 66. my problem started when they used two larger knee replacement joint .