parents and knee operations

margaretclare

DH has had both done. Knee (1) was done in 1999, 10-year review absolutely no problem. Not even noticed nowadays.

Knee (2) - a long story. 3rd revision in 5 years blew up an infection which went to septicaemia and nearly killed him. That was in 2008. A further revision/replacement in 2009 has never been really satisfactory. It doesn't help, being Type II diabetic, even though he does his darndest to achieve good control. Further infections resulting in at least 3 or 4 courses of antibiotics this year, now on another one. I can really see, next thing will be above-knee amputation of that leg.

I agree about the physio, leg muscle strengthening, mobility etc. Get up and walk, every hour on the hour, even if it's only walking into the kitchen and back. Don't become chair-bound!

Also stay well-hydrated. Many older people don't drink enough. And I agree about the smoking.

red_devil

onlyroz wrote: »

My husband is on his third knee after a motorbike accident in his 20s. My understanding is that a knee replacement is more complex than a hip replacement, but it's probably easier if the replacement is required for general wear and tear/arthritis, rather than if it's required due to an accident.

How old is your relative? Replacement knees and hips do not necessarily last forever, and it might need doing again in 10-15 years. But these days it is a fairly routine operation and most outcomes are successful. You can expect your relative to wear a brace for a number of weeks/months, and to need crutches. Getting around the house can be difficult with crutches, making it difficult to carry things - so ensuring that the house has a good layout where (e.g.) a cup of tea can be carried to the table in stages will be helpful. Also getting a grabber thingy to pick things from the floor will be useful.

relative is 82.

moneyistooshorttomention

Is she expecting her knee to be back to normal afterwards?

It literally never occurred to me that a knee replacement wouldn't mean "That's sorted - now as I was..." until someone who had had a knee replacement (and believes it was the right thing to do for her) said "Oh no...you don't get back to normal. Ever. You just get a lot better than you were. But you wont be able to bend the knee as you've been used to and there might still be the occasional mild bit of pain".

That came as a shock to me to hear that - as I hadn't realised. It is just as well that I did get told that - as I'm now determinedly working on getting my knees back to normal myself (ie chiropractor/being more careful what footwear to use/its an extra incentive to lose weight/etc).

margaretclare

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Is she expecting her knee to be back to normal afterwards?

It literally never occurred to me that a knee replacement wouldn't mean "That's sorted - now as I was..." until someone who had had a knee replacement (and believes it was the right thing to do for her) said "Oh no...you don't get back to normal. Ever. You just get a lot better than you were. But you wont be able to bend the knee as you've been used to and there might still be the occasional mild bit of pain".

That came as a shock to me to hear that - as I hadn't realised. It is just as well that I did get told that - as I'm now determinedly working on getting my knees back to normal myself (ie chiropractor/being more careful what footwear to use/its an extra incentive to lose weight/etc).

It's definitely an incentive to lose weight. It's an engineering problem really, the amount of weight put through each hip and knee joint transferred from one leg to the during normal walking. Any weight lost is better than none.

About how long replacements last - well, it's uncertain. You can't say 'oh they last 10 years...' etc. I have both hips replaced. I wasn't even 50 in 1982 when the first was replaced and that has been revised twice since then but seems to be doing OK at present. The second was replaced in 1987 and is still going strong. As I said earlier, DH has both knees replaced. The first has been great, no problem at all. The second, a long long story. Complete contrast between the two.

boots_babe

My mum had one a few years ago, but there was a problem which has left her with lots of pain, constantly on a very high dose of liquid morphine, and with a knee that won't bend at all so she is constantly in a wheelchair with that leg elevated straight out in front of her.

She's been back to the consultant (multiple ones) and had it reopened twice but to no avail. She saw someone again very recently but they said nothing can be done :-(

On the other hand, my dad had one a couple of years ago and it went fantastically well, no issues at all thankfully and almost has a full bend on it. He needs the other one doing soon so fingers crossed that one goes as well.

missbiggles1

My friend had her's done a couple of months ago and she had quite a bit of physio before the op to build the muscles up in preparation.

Murphybear

Knee replacements are generally very successful but some people do have problems. I had mine when I was 58 (5 years go) but it is still painful. Mine was not wear and tear but badly damaging my knee 30 years ago (3 knee ops then). This makes a lot of difference.

Best advice is, as others have said, exercise before the op, lose weight if necessary and do the physio religiously. This last cannot be emphasised enough.

I was on crutches for quite a long time but found everyone really helpful, especially shops/supermarkets. Our local Morrisons gave us a note for the car so we could park in the disabled area which was nice. I couldn't bend my knee very much so needed the extra width in the car park space to get out of the car.

Hopefully the above will be helpful and wish them best of luck:)

red_devil

update all well. Op was in December the first few days. Now back to driving.