Age and surgery

[Whitegate]

A write-off? Do I I need a knee op. ? (little cartilage remains) and consultant says wait until the pain gets too severe to bear and/or mobility is more seriously reduced. I get that. BUT now question for an MDT. Soon. I'd like to know does age affect the decision- I'm 86 and in good shape apart from a pelvic lipoma (?)

[Chester1975]

Hi. Sorry to hear about your knee. My hospital refused to replace my Nannas knee age 80 unless she had it done under local and not general anaesthetic. This was due to the effects of a general anaesthetic on the brain, as she was told that it could cause onset Alzheimer’s. This was 15 years ago. So be sure to ask these questions when you see the specialist. Good luck. 🤞

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Chester1975]

If you get an option on having it done by local - they give you sedation as well so you really don’t know anything about it - my husband had his hip replacement done that way and recovery time is amazing. He woke up feeling great. The knee is a more complicated operation when it comes to recovery.

When a friend had her second knee done she discovered she could hire an ice machine and that made a huge difference to her - she actually extended her hire time. For her first knee she was using bags of ice and ice packs which was more difficult.

Hopefully your consultant will agree and you can become a new man - bone on bone is no joke.

[stbernhard]

If I were in pain all the time and my overall mobility is restricted by it, I would press for a TKR asap. The waiting lists are very long, so get in there now. Good luck.

[helixhelix]

I would push. Your body, your choice. I think they “may” be being a bit ageist and cautious about a major op.

[Runrig01]

I worked as a ward sister on an elective orthopaedic ward. We had many patients 80+ have hip and knee replacement. I even had a lady in her 90s, who worked part time in a nursing home preparing meals for the “elderly”, which made me laugh, as she was older than most of them. So age isn’t a barrier, as long as health wise you’re able to cope with the surgery.

99% of these ops are done under nerve block, with a light sedation. Most patients have no recollection of the surgery, and don’t get the dreaded nausea post-op. I would say weight is the main barrier to surgery, and that’s because the knee 1.5 times your body weight. This can put too much pressure on the knee, so many will advise weight loss, before proceeding.

I would urge you to do exercises to strengthen your quadriceps, as that helps take the load off your knee, and puts you at an advantage when recovering from surgery.

[Whitegate in reply to Runrig01]

Thanks, Runrig. R.

[Numptybrain]

I’m 62 but at 59 had spinal surgery and was classed as high risk then. My spine needs surgery again but I’m now very worried as last time my BP dropped to dangerous levels and a week later I developed sepsis. It’s my lungs that’s getting inflammation make me high risk. You are older but healthy so if it is your choice, I’d also previously had a brain hemmorage but they still did it!

Take care

Wendy xx

[Slinkyminx]

hi. I had both my knees replaced as no cartilage in both knees. I had spinal block plus something to make me sleep. The recovery time was really good. I brought an ice knee pad which really helped. Having the spinal block was much less stressful on my busy. I’d go for it. I couldn’t walk at all and now I’m nearly back to normal. Just can’t kneel that well. Good luck

[Whitegate in reply to Slinkyminx]

Thanks v. helpful