Ten days ago I went into hospital for surgery to replace my entire right knee. I injured it last early last year and over the months it became increasingly obvious that it was not going to get better without surgery. For the last four months up until the day of the surgery there was not a day or night or even an hour that I was not in severe pain even though I took very strong painkillers to combat the pain.
So It was deemed that the only way that I would be without pain as well as having movement in my knee that had swelled to twice what it should have been was to replace the parts in my knee that were coursing the trouble and that meant that I would be having a full knee replacement.
I entered hospital at 7am on the 27th February where I saw various people that would be present at the operation people such as the surgeon who would be doing the operation along with two young surgeons who would be assisting him.
The Anaesthetist came around and we talked of the different methods that they could use to put me under and we opted for both an epidural and a general. It was explained that the epidural would give me at least 8 hours of free pain when I came back from surgery and that they could give me more or less pain-killing drugs by doing it this way and the general anaesthetic was needed as it was going to be a three hour operation and it would not be fair to expect my upper body to lay still for those three hours, and did I really want to actually hear and see the equipment that they would be using.
The operation went well and I awoke to a nice nurse asking me if I felt sick and if I would like a sip of water and seeing as my mouth was as dry as a desert due to the fact that the last drink I had was at 5am that morning and it was now 6pm I thankfully took a few sips of water that instantly tasted like wine.
I had a peaceful night back in my four-bedroom ward when I came back from three hours recovery, although it seemed every time I went to sleep a nice nurse came along and woke me up to administer blood pressure tests and to make sure that I had not succumbed to an infection they did this every two hours.
I was worried the next day as I now had feeling back in my right leg that had been operated on but not in my left leg and my waterworks seemed not to be working properly either, They had to change the bed three times during the morning and I could not get out of bed as my left leg gave way, but I have to say I was surprised that my right leg that had been operated on was fine I had no other pain other than the cut that was a bit sore, I had been told that after the operation on a knee replacement people are wracked by the pain and here I was no pain at all which was really nice.
Late Tuesday afternoon they were still a bit worried that still had very little feeling in my left leg and that my waterworks were still not working properly and they concluded that it was the epidural that was the problem, they had little by little reduced the drugs that were flowing into my body during the day in the epidural and they came and took it out and gave me a shot of oral morphine that instantly made me quite happy.
I went to sleep that night and had the best night sleep for a very long time, no one came and woke me and I awoke at 6am with all feeling in both my legs and my waterworks although not quite right were far better than they had been the day before.
In most UK hospitals the nurses come around and get you out of bed around 6.45 am those that can shower, shower those that can’t are given means to wash themselves while all beds are cleaned and bedding changed. They came and got me out of bed at this time and I told them as I had not seen the physiotherapists who usually get people like me out and walking it would be better if they got me out. The nurse just took one look and said if you think we are waiting for them to come and get you out of bed sir your sadly mistaken now get up we will help you. So I got up with the aid of two nice nurses sat in my chair and felt far better for doing it.
After breakfast I decided to have a walk around so I got hold of my two crutches and went walk about, where I met my physiotherapist who took one look at me and gave me a good old fashioned telling off, to which I told him seeing that we are looking at the stairs that I was about to go up before we met and that they will be the stairs that you will want me to walk up while we are here why not watch me walk up and down them and then you can put in your report that I am ready to be discharged. He shook his head in frustration but had to admit when I came back down the stairs that if everything else was OK such as X-rays and blood there was no reason to keep me in hospital.
It took them all day to do more tests but at 7.30pm I was discharged and I came home.
Since then I have had four sessions with the physiotherapists at my home and four sessions with what we call district nurses who come out to homes to treat people and to make sure that the wound is still clean and free from infection, and today they came to take out the metal stiches and to redress the wound.
I have very little pain anymore just the pain of my knee and leg swollen from the operation and of course the wound, I can bend my new knee to a degree of 87 which I believe at the moment is very good and have been told that when the swelling goes down I will be able to bend it even more.
I had a shock when I went down for my x-ray I could see what they had done I have a metal ball that is my knee and that is held in position by a spike that goes in to my femur and a something that looks like a metal flat surface and again it is held into place in my tibia with another spike, it was not the ball or the flat metal surface that shocked me but the length of the spikes that went into the bones.
I am now on the road to a full recovery although today as the nurse took out the stiches she noticed that the leg around the wound was a light red and as a precaution she prescribed a few antibiotics to be taken four times a day just in case I have an infection, my next visit by her will be on Tuesday morning where I hope that the swelling will have gone down quite a bit.
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Comments: 46
Best wishes to you for a perfect recovery.
Had my hip replaced on Nov. 7th (minimally invasive surgery) and had two PT sessions before I came home the next day. Live in a two story but could get up and down the steps w/aid of a cane.
Having my total knee replaced on 16th (minimally invasive surgery - 3-5" incision) but no screws. The ortho surgeon caps the arthritic surfaces within the knee, using intricately contoured metal and plastic caps anchored to the lower end of the femur and upper end of tibia, and the back of kneecap (patella) using thing layers of bone cement. An attempt is made to preserve quadriceps tendon. Special surgical table, (half million bucks) has a foot and lower leg holder which permits the surgeon to bend the knee to varying degrees of flexion at special stages of the procedure. In this way, shaping of the bones is achieved through the smallest possible incision. Once bones are precisely shaped, a thin layer of bone cement is applied to the bony surfaces. Each implant is then impacted firmly against the bone while cement solidifies. Plastic drain in the knee for about 12 hrs so blood from contoured surfaces can drain, thereby optimizing the flexibility of the knee. Standard knee surgeries here require a 'machine' which artificially moves the knee for several hrs for several days. However, that will not be necessary with this MIS but will be encouraged to bend the knee as much as possible.
Anesthesia consists of a spinal anesthetic w/supplementary intravenous sedation. Post-op pain control, two continuous nerve blocks - one femoral and one sciatic block housed in a canvas bag worn around neck during PT. Undergo two or three PT sessions on the day of the procedure, objectives include ability to transfer from bed to chair, to walk with a walker (crutches or cane) and to perform bending and strengthening exercises for the knee and leg. Generally home the next day using crutches or walker, and a week later, a cane. Knees are more difficult than hips, so we will see if this is as smooth as the MIS hip!
ALL these details are taken from their comprehensive booklet received before surgery.
The booklet on the hip was spot on. BTW, they have a system to save and filter one pint of my own blood, given back to me in recovery. No significant blood loss in the drain.
This procedure takes years of specialized training by the doctors and not available everywhere, but more docs are in training so it should be more readily available across the U.S.
Shadyside Hosp. (a UPMC Hosp) in Pittsburgh, PA, utilizing a special surgical table. Only one doc in this Ortho group does this MIS and to my benefit, has 10 yrs experience.
I was extremely happy that the anesthetic is local and not general anesthesia.
I don’t know how they did mine other than what was explained to me by my surgeon. He was one of the best in my country and I was advised that when I went in on the day of the surgery to find out as soon as possible if it was HIM that was doing the operation and if for some reason he was not doing the op to get up and walk out and have it done at a later date.
I am actually walking about the house with just metal walking sticks and I can walk without them. Today I went shopping with my wife to one of our large supermarkets and managed to walk around with her without any trouble at all but was advised to use my crutches, which I did.
Exercise is the key to getting better from a knee surgery, four times a day I do a set of exercises that involves bending my knee all from either lying down or sitting on a table chair. The sitting on the table chair is a doddle I am doing that exercise as I write on the computer. I have a plastic bag that I slip my foot into and while I am sitting typing I draw my leg from a strait position up to the edge of the chair so that it is like the left knee that is bended. I do that as many times as I want or until it gets a bit saw. Another one I do twice a day is, I go to the bottom of my stairs, place my foot on the bottom stair and push forward until my knee is bent and leave it there for ten seconds and then straiten and then do it again at least ten times.
Good luck on your surgery I am sure you will feel quite different in yourself when you have had it done, I know I did. Let me know how you are when you come out.
The second one was not as successful, she still has quite bit of pain from the new hip but not as much as she had with the old one. After the first op I fetched her out after three days and the second after just two days.
The best bit about my new knee is that for six weeks I am not to drive my car I have to be driven everywhere and believe you me that's a blessing.
Because of severe arthritis of the knee, this surgery was necessary. Other knee is bad too, but he didn't recommend getting both knees done at the same time. The reason being, he said in his ten years experience, getting the full benefit of the knee was achieved with early and dedicated exercising. If not done in the early stages, cannot be accomplished later.
Local ortho is known for doing both knees at the same time... So, I take this doc at his word with 10 yrs experience in MIS knee surgery and will go back for the other in a few months. I can't wait to get back on my bicycle!!!!!
Was going to have my knee done first, but MOST pain was in my hip, so we did that first. Happy found THIS doc and MIS before any surgery!
If you keep doing the exercises they recommend, w/o ANY excuses, am sure you will achieve your goal. As I said, my doc said the early and rigorous PT sessions are the most important.
I am so glad you’re feeling OK now Janet, they do say that replacing your knee is one of the worst operations for pain after the surgery, and I was expecting far more pain than I had and I was surprised that when all the epidural drugs wore off that all the pain I had was the pain from the wound and a little but not much soreness around the leg. I went for an x-ray and I asked to see the x-ray of my knee so I could put to rest the nagging feeling that for some reason they had not done what they had said they had done as the pain was so little, but it was there in black and white. The person opposite me in my ward had had the same and he was in a little more pain than me and one more person had been in over a week and we could hear him moaning every time he had to get out and walk, it seems it not the same for all people and I suppose I was one of the lucky ones.
No don't do that Audrey have that operation, my wife has had two hip replacements and although the second one was not as good as the first one her quality of life is far much better that before she had surgery. She was a little worried before the first one( who isn't) but she is so glad now that she had it done. So I urge you to get back the life that you had before when your hip was alright, everything will be OK its great what they can do now.
Thank the gods for the NHS, eh?
The military section of that hospital has had to come on in leaps and bounds because of the various recent wars and 'excursions' that has meant so many new cases of maimed and injured military personnel requiring specialist services.
QEH is a wonderful little bit of innovation where everyone who goes there gets the best treatment available a mixture of civilian and military care all coming together as one. They have civilian doctors and nurses working side by side with military doctors and nurses and it works very well indeed, each side learns from one another as they go a long so everyone benefits.
Happy St. Patty's day!