Aaaarrrrggghhhh! Time for a knee rebuild.

Balrog

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Well, my warranty has well and truly run out. Time for an overhaul to get a bionic knee.
knee.jpg


Has anyone else done this? Tell me about your procedure, rehab, etc.? How has it affected your martial arts training? I'm trying to educate myself as much as I can.

Thanks in advance!
 

Tony Dismukes

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I haven't needed this yet, but my wife has had both knees replaced and is super happy with the results. She got back full strength and mobility and got rid of the arthritic pain that had plagued her for years.

One thing that made the difference is that she was absolutely dedicated to doing all her daily rehab exercises every single day. As a result, she recovered her full range of motion months ahead of schedule. We had another friend who went through the same surgery shortly afterwards who was not so disciplined and did not have such good results.

Main elements of rehab: she had a machine which pumped ice water to cool the affected joint which she wore most of the time that she wore most of her waking hours for several months. She had another machine which moved her leg through a specified range of motion (gradually increasing over time) that she used for something like an hour per day. She also had physical therapy and a bunch of exercises that she did on her own every day that she didn't have physical therapy. She also had pain medication, but less of it for the second surgery because that was when everybody started cracking down because of the opioid epidemic.

It helped that she's not employed and I work from home so I was available to fetch and carry for her in the first few months of recovery. I think it would be much harder for someone living on their own.
 

Xue Sheng

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Well, my warranty has well and truly run out. Time for an overhaul to get a bionic knee.
View attachment 29842

Has anyone else done this? Tell me about your procedure, rehab, etc.? How has it affected your martial arts training? I'm trying to educate myself as much as I can.

Thanks in advance!

Been there, done that, and it is not fun. But with that said how you react and recovery is different with just about anyone. For me it was a but rough and to be honest almost 3 years out it is still not right, but it works and I trust it so it is what it is. Others, a good friend of mine actually, had great success and had both knees replaced.

I may have to get the other one done and one thing I will never do again is do this as outpatient surgery, I got surgery in the morning, was home regularly passing out until the following day, when I got an ambulance ride to the ER. The pain meds they gave me were knocking my blood pressure down to about 70 over 40.... therefore, everytime I stood up, I passed out. When and if I get the other done, it will be done as inpatient surgery, I will stay overnight in the hospital. Outpatient for meniscus repair is fine, for a total knee, IMO, it is a very bad idea.

So day 3 I was off pain meds.... then rehab started PT (Physical Therapy). I will say this, especially after talking to others about knee replacement rehab, it is not something you want to do without pain meds. It will hurt no matter what you take for pain, it will be worse without, especially when they grab your leg and force the 90 degree bend. Also should say my coworker stopped his pain meds because he felt mentally impaired taking them, however I do not recommend his solution...he started drinking Scotch :)

They wanted me to use a walker, I couldn't do it, I ket falling over, so I went to crutches, I did much better then. But most do fine with a walker. They want you off of the walker/crutches as soon as possible, then on to a cane.
I fired my first PT person and went to another office, the 1st PT person would have done great in a medieval torture chamber, also forced me to walk across the room day 2 of PT and got upset when I had trouble putting full weight on the leg. The second group also hurt me, alot, but was much less aggressive and just plain nicer and to be honest, less sadistic. The length of time in rehab is very dependant on the individual and how well you follow the PT persons instructions.

Also, which knee? right knee, like I had, means you will not be able to drive for quite some time. left knee, unless you drive a car with a standard transmission, you will be driving sooner.

If things do not recover fast enough you may need a manipulation like I did. This is back to the operating room, where they put you under anesthesia and then force your leg to bend in order to break up scar tissue. Not everyone needs this and my friend and a coworker did not need to get this done. Just mentioning it to let you know

Doctor followup visits: If at all possible ALWAYS see the doctor, do not see the PA if at all possible. Nothing against folks who are Physician's Assistants, but they are not the MD and the MD just plain knows more, and that is VERY important. The PA I had was a nice enough guy and was knowledgeable, but let me tell you a story

Afte rmy manipulation I was still having some issues and the PA, after measuring my range of motion and checking a few other things told me it looked like I needed a 2nd manipulation.... I was rather depressed by this and asked for a day to think. Happened to run in the teh MD in the hall on the way out, he remembered the date of my surgery aand asked me hour I was doing, asked me to stand ion it, asked me to bend it and asked me the range and then said..."Greay, you are further along than most at this point, see you next time" All my appointments after that were with the MD

Another thing from the MD to note. I ran in to all sorts of people telling me how it only took them a few weeks or a few months to recover, when I told the MD about it he said. He has no idea why but almost everyone who has knee replacement forgets how much it hurt and how long it took to recover, Also don't let anyone fool you or tell you otherwise, full recovery from knee replacement takes about 1 year.

If there is anything else you want to ask me , post it here or PM me,
 

Wing Woo Gar

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Well, my warranty has well and truly run out. Time for an overhaul to get a bionic knee.
View attachment 29842

Has anyone else done this? Tell me about your procedure, rehab, etc.? How has it affected your martial arts training? I'm trying to educate myself as much as I can.

Thanks in advance!
I have assisted in well over 200 total knee, and unicondylar arthroplasty surgeries. I can’t count how many total and hemiarthroplasty of the hip. I recommend doing thorough research on the surgeon, the facility, the brand of implant they plan to use, etc. Recently, the best results with the shortest intraoperative time tend to be the implants that are 3D printed to fit your individual needs. These types of implants preclude the need for fitting which reduces the need for additional cuts and already accounts for any adjustment due to varus/valgus angles. Be certain of your commitment to rehab and physical therapy. Most issues are related to noncompliance with these. Again, research your team and the device(s) they plan to use. Find out about the outcomes at the facility and of the surgeon in question. Be certain that your orthopedic surgeon is board certified and has plenty of experience with the implant. If you have more specific questions, I’m happy to help.
 

isshinryuronin

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I recommend doing thorough research on the surgeon
My wife had both shoulders replaced by two different surgeons. One was recognized as one of the best in the USA (worked for our Olympic ski team and the NFL) - turned out quite well. She also had a knee done by a colleague of his that went well. The second shoulder was done by another guy (we moved) and it has never been right. I should have suspected something - he wore a bow tie.
 

HighKick

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Well, my warranty has well and truly run out. Time for an overhaul to get a bionic knee.
View attachment 29842

Has anyone else done this? Tell me about your procedure, rehab, etc.? How has it affected your martial arts training? I'm trying to educate myself as much as I can.

Thanks in advance!
I am rehabbing my right knee after a Stryker-Mako robotic replacement as we speak. Make very certain you get a Total replacement.
So far so good. My left knee had a traditional replacement 2-years ago so I am curious to see if I can tell any difference down the road. I can tell you the robotic replacement was much more painful post-surgery and the swelling has been worse. It is hard on the calf and ankle regions.
Like my left leg, I could tell the bone-on-bone pain was gone on the day of surgery when they got me up to walk.
All the best with yours.
 

Taiji Rebel

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Were your knee issues caused by your years in martial arts?

There are a great number of regular exercisers I know who have had knee and hip issues and replacements. Many more did zero exercise and have never had any problems with their joints whatsoever - therefore, asking the question is just me being inquisitive.
 
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HighKick

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Were your knee issues caused by your years in martial arts?
It was from a number of things, MA's competition being one of them. My right leg got pelicaned in a tournament and tore pretty much everything but luckily did no cartilage damage. Just required a minor kneecap resurfacing and has held up well after some cadaver ligament/tendon repair.
I would call my left leg an outlier because it was destroyed in an accident. It had a partial knee first just so there was a joint there to allow repair the lower leg. Then a few years late a full knee. The difference between the partial and full knee were night and day because there were alignment issues that could not be resolved until the lower leg healed. Hurt like hell. 12-years later, it got the 2nd full knee. I simply wore out the original.
My right knee carried most the load for a long time so it also finally wore out.
 

Wing Woo Gar

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My wife had both shoulders replaced by two different surgeons. One was recognized as one of the best in the USA (worked for our Olympic ski team and the NFL) - turned out quite well. She also had a knee done by a colleague of his that went well. The second shoulder was done by another guy (we moved) and it has never been right. I should have suspected something - he wore a bow tie.
Shoulder replacement is a more difficult surgery. Part of the reasons for this are that the humerus bone is already under spiral tension. It is physically difficult to manipulate and reduce proximal humerus fracture (referred to as knocking the ice cream off the cone) as a result. Introducing the implant adds another level of complexity. Even soft tissue shoulder surgeries for subacromial decompression involve a lot of rehab and pain. The hip is by far the easiest and least complicated of joint replacements, particularly when performed with anterior approach.
 

Wing Woo Gar

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My wife had both shoulders replaced by two different surgeons. One was recognized as one of the best in the USA (worked for our Olympic ski team and the NFL) - turned out quite well. She also had a knee done by a colleague of his that went well. The second shoulder was done by another guy (we moved) and it has never been right. I should have suspected something - he wore a bow tie.
Surgeons are a mixed bag. You never know by personality the skills set they possess. Some of the biggest assholes of all time have incredible skill, and the opposite is also true. The vast majority have some sort of personality issue. Ego is common, but not necessarily a bad thing in a surgeon. I agree that a bow tie might catch my attention the same way cowboy boots would. I would expect to see either of these in the southern states. I worked with a very skilled surgeon of Chinese descent who had no front teeth, wore alligator cowboy boots, and had a deep southern drawl. He was wonderful in personality and had great skills.
 

Earl Weiss

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Shoulder replacement is a more difficult surgery.
I submit that the difficulty of the surgery is but one factor in the post op process. The weight Bearing issues accompanying leg surgeries make the recovery a different ball game than the arm shoulder surgeries. Pre Hab- - getting both legs strong before the surgery will help make walking etc. a little easier post op.
 

skribs

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I think I dodged a bullet in BJJ last weekend.

20230606_154120.jpg


That's my knee earlier this week.

20230608_144110.jpg


This is yesterday's picture.

I took a bad fall. And by that, I mean I took someone else's fall onto my knee.

Or, as I've been telling my fellow students, "I used to be an adventurer like you, until I took a blue belt to the knee."
 

Wing Woo Gar

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I submit that the difficulty of the surgery is but one factor in the post op process. The weight Bearing issues accompanying leg surgeries make the recovery a different ball game than the arm shoulder surgeries. Pre Hab- - getting both legs strong before the surgery will help make walking etc. a little easier post op.
Well I was only speaking to the difficulty of the surgical procedure itself, I am not involved in the recovery process unless it requires additional or revision surgery. Pre hab is very important if possible. Unfortunately, many people will already have lost significant mobility and conditioning prior to actually having the surgery.
 

skribs

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Update on mine: you know it's a good bruise when nurses go, "Good lord!!! What did you do???!?!?!?"
 

Xue Sheng

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Update on mine: you know it's a good bruise when nurses go, "Good lord!!! What did you do???!?!?!?"

Yup.

I was in the ER once after hurting my ankle doing Shaolin Long Fist staff. Doctor asks me, "so, how did you creak your ankle the first time?"

My honest response was.."I broke it before!?"
 
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Balrog

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Thanks to everyone for the responses. We're going through all the pre-op stuff. My doc is great. He's told me that it will be a robot procedure, and that seems to give better results overall.

I'll keep y'all posted on my adventures.
 

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