My brother, who is 68, needs to have it done. What does the forum think about it? yea or nay?

I have severe degenerative arthritis in my knees. Walking is painful, but I am holding off as long as I can. Both my rheumatologist and a surgeon have told me that a knee replacement will be good for about 20 years, after which the bones into which the joint is drilled and glued start to splinter. I'm 71 now and my family genes have longevity.

I'll have to have it someday, but not now.

I've had both my knees done. Hurt like a sonofab!tch, but now I can walk again. It's a no-brainer. If your bro needs it done, he needs it done.

Absolutely have it done.

Had it done almost 3 years ago and wish I had done it sooner. I too put it off for years and suffered. I had one replaced and did not think recovery was all that bad. Others may have had a more painfull recovery but mine went smoothly. I say go for it...

I have been told by my elders here that it is best to get both done at once if that is required, because there is no way in Hell you will go back for another go.

Make sure he knows the revision rate of the phys. The devices are all basically the same. Teh phys - not so much.

My grandmother had hers done (she's passed away not) going on probably 20 years ago, each about a year apart. Had great luck with them, although she was at a dentist in her later years and failed to mention she had a prosthetic and whatever reaction can happen did and she got an infection in one and had to have it replaced. (She was starting to loose her memory and never disclosed the info).

She followed the Dr.'s orders on rehab perfectly

My dad has had his left knee replaced FOUR times, his right one twice. He thinks he knows more than the Dr's and his have been junk since day one.

My mom has had one of hers done and followed the orders perfectly and has had great success (three years now).

Another family friend had his done and much like my dad he thought he knew well enough and didn't do the rehab like he should have (hurt him too much). Consequently he walks around like he's got a peg leg.


Always a chance your body will reject any prosthetic, but moral of the story. Go through your rehab and follow the Dr.'s orders, chances are they know a little more than you.


Good Luck


I'm not even 40 yet, but I'm sure I'll have to have my right knee done in the future. Hurts like a S.O.B anytime I push it (mainly during Hunting Season).

do it and listen to the physical therapist.....they are sadistic bastards but they have a big part in getting you back to as close to 100% as your gonna get....

I told mine that if he ever pushed it flat down on the table again, I would not be back. He said that if we did not do that it would never get straight. I told him that I would rather have it crooked than to do that, again. It got straight. When he would push down on it, pain pills would not touch the pain for 36-48 hours. I couldn't eat, sleep or get comfortable in any way. I would just lay curled up in a ball sick to my stomach. When he quit that everything went good. miles

Well, I suppose everybody's experience (and Doctor's approach) is different. I had 5 knee surgeries including bilateral ACL reconstructions before having total knee replacements about ten years ago.

My doc advised against simultaneous knee replacements believing the risk of infection was considerably higher and sure to involve both knees if it did happen. "Better to have one good leg under you during healing and rehab," was his philosophy. Made sense to me.

Long story short - I had my left knee replaced in early August and was bowhunting elk in late September. Had the right one done in October and was deer hunting in December. I wasn't exactly running up and down the mountains in either case, mind you, but I was out there hunting. And I got a deer. (Thank God, my two sons were along to drag it out ;-)

Rehab after the knee replacement surgeries was a horror, but not nearly as bad as that following the ACL reconstructions. THAT was indescribably brutal.

Now - 10 years later, I'm beginning to notice loss of strength in my knees, but then I'm sneaking up on 70 years-old and suspect that some of that is just due to aging. Gettin' old sucks.

Great operation - but tell him to get lean and fit - going into it. And - tell him to take the rehab the same way a professional athlete would - that is to say - seriously.

The latest info. on Stainless Steel Knees with high Impact Plastic is that they last for 25 to 30 Years , and the Operation is now done on 40 year olds . About 20 years ago , the projected lifetimes were 5 to 8 years and my Mothers lasted 6 . I talked to a woman who had both done at once and she must have weighed well over 200 Lbs. and was pretty short . People react differently to pain , and she said it was not that bad . Neighbor lady had one done and is still having problems with pain 3 years later , but this is very rare . Go to the book store and buy the paper back entitled something like " Everthing you always wanted to know about hip and knee replacements " . This covers everything you could ever imagine to ask . Rehab is pretty bad , always take a strong pain pill about one hour before the torture .... I mean rehab begins . You can also go Online and find out the Severe Complication Rates for Knee Replacements in your area . For a small Fee , you can also get the Surgeons history on success Rates , legal Suits , etc . There was also a Site I visited where you could actually do the Surgery Online and it was interactive ( it would tell you what you were doing wrong ) . I told my Surgeon I did it twice and he said I could take over if he had a heart attack . I said : not likely ! Hospitals will get you on your feet within one day and move you home in 3 or 4 days . Try to have someone at home to help as the first few days are rough . Good Luck .

I blew out my right knee doing squats; I tore the lateral and medial meniscus. I also had just about run out of cartilage in that knee. I had it 'scoped which left me with NO cartilage. I sucked it up for 6 months, bone on bone. After that I went surgeon shopping; someone mentioned earlier that while the implants are all basically the same, the surgeons are not. I learned that lesson with both of my shoulders. I had to drive 3 hours to get to my surgeon and it was worth every mile, every penny spent on gas. I had a partial replacement done, and after 6 weeks I can't tell it's not my real knee and I can walk a brisk 5 miles with no difficulty. I'm still in rehab, but I've followed their instructions to the letter and I'm definitely getting SO much better than I was before the surgery. I expect to be fully recovered in 6 months; no pain, no swelling and a vastly increased quality of life.

Had a friend who had both knees done at 70. He never looked back and walked like nothing had ever been done.

Not knees but one of my hunting partners has had both hips replaced. At 67 he climbs mountains after elk like nobody you've ever seen. He says he'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Dad had both of his done and one shoulder after his days of being a cowboy rancher in MT. First one was done early 80's his second when he was 85 years old and NEVER limped on that one. Next year he had his shoulder replaced and kicked himself into his grave at 91 for not having things fixed sooner.
Get it done, but look for a *knee guy* if doing a knee. Ask around.
PT will suck pond scum, but do what they say it you want to function again!!!!

I'm a tad over 9 months with my right one. Train hard but do not overtrain. I figgerred PT then hittin the gym would really shorten my downtime...strained my quad, developed trochanter bursitis and tightened the ilio-tibial band. Slept fitfully a couple hours a night in a recliner for about 6 weeks many nights literally scream cursing loudly at the pain. Prolly set me back 3 months. Knee feels great and able to strengthen the quads, hams, and glutes with intensity now. Did two Co hunts within two weeks of each other recently. Get in as good a shape as you can before the procedure, follow the doc and pt's instructions to the letter and be smart. By all means do it and improve your quality of life.

you couldnt just stretch out your I-T band? after my last knee surgery mine tightened up tighter than hell and hurt bad but all it took was a stretch to get it to loosen back up....regular stretching for 5 weeks and it finally loosened up for good....something different with the replacement that wouldnt let yah stretch it?

The t-bursitis and quad strain was excruciating rattler...it was a chore to move, lie prone, and no way I was gonna lie on my right side much less do side stretches for the ITB...of course the band was also aggravating the trochanter-bursitis. I have an abnormally high pain threshold but that stuff made a puzzy out of me. Muscle relaxants, hip rotator stretches, and rubber band heel pullups from a belly down position stretches finally helped but mostly time healed it...impatience didn't help.

BTW, my wife had her left knee replaced 10 weeks ago and went back to work 2 weeks ago. She is a phlebotomist and is on her feet for 10 hours shifts 4 nights a week. She is amazing.

I had mine done in early July and hunted the whole season here in Arkansas and killed three deer. Everything worked fine except that one procedure that the re-hab guy said had to be done. I could do any other thing that he wanted with minor pain but that pushing it flat was a biggie, and as it turned out, did not have to be done for the leg to get straight. miles

I had my left knee done at the end of July.I was walking without a cane in two weeks.I did every thing the PT told me to do and she stopped seeing me after 2 weeks.I walk 2 miles a day on a treadmill.I still have pain in the knee but have had no problem deer hunting this year and have no problem climbing into a tree stand.I will probably get the other one done early this spring.I am 68 also,tell him to do it.

Should add that the best thing for me when my leg muscles start tightening up after the surgery, is to lie face down on the bed with everything from the knee down hanging off, and then do curls, letting the leg go as straight as it will for a few seconds and then curling up as far as I can and holding that for a few seconds. best thing that I have found. miles

Had both of mine done at the same time a tad over 10 years ago. Was 58 at the time and was back to work in 8 weeks. As others have said, to me it is a no brainer and the biggest thing is the physical therapy after the operation. I was extremely motivated to make things work because my surgeon didn't want to do both at the same time. He told me about three months after the surgery that he couldn't believe how I recovered from surgery. I have all the range of motion and strength I had before surgery. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!!

For me about the only downside is the hassle it causes when going through metal detecters at airports and such.

Ain't it the truth! I'm surprised I don't short out the metal detector when I walk through it. They probably think I'm trying to sneak an M-14 on board the aircraft.

Most who have had chronic knee pain before will be greatly Releived and pleased. But it can be a painful recovery with waking up in the recovery with the CPM (constant passive motion device) soon attached and working your leg.

And thats where the type of anesthesia can get you off to a good start. My partner and I do a general anesthetic with a sciatic nerve block (for the back of the knee) and a continous femoral block (front of the knee) that we run for two days. This gets patient off to great and tolerable start with their rehab which is very important.

So, yea, if you are in comstant pain, go for it, and lobby for some nerve blocks of some kind (continous epidurals work fine too if you are not on anticoagulants). You are the consumer. My best friend had knee problems since college football and then tore a ligament on an Idaho elk hunt which was the final straw. Had the total knee done and wishes now he had done it sooner. He is 63.

Make sure he has it before his health fails and he can't have it. My MIL is really suffering because she waited too long to have her hip fixed and now can't move a step without lots of pain.