Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Knee surgery - any success stories?

Tore my knee up at age 17. Got it replaced in 2018. Same scenario as you. I was pretty mobile at about 4 weeks. Took 18 months to be able to climb stairs without deliberate thought. So glad i “got ‘er done.”

Both knees replaced ,8 years ago,all good now .The P.T. was a little rough at the time,but they are fine now.

Give physical therapy all you got. It’ll hurt, but you’ll be glad you did.

Second one I had a spinal, no general anesthesia, much better results. No sore throat from being intubated, no having to come out of the fog. Southern Joint Replacement Center in Nashville gives you the option, best choice I think.

Yes, that will work very well too. It’s the “skinning the cat” thing. 😉

It took me a little over a year to heal up from a surgery like that.

I've had 3 surgeries on my right knee. I hope they have finally gotten it right.
One must do the rehab.

I have had both knees done a year apart. My doctor had me start exercises about six weeks before surgery to make sure all muscles were strong. Went home about 9 hours after surgery. Did not even need to use a walker. Was driving in a week. I had full range of motion in 2 weeks. Use lots of ice, do the PT and a lot of walking and exercise at home. I was back to normal in about 8 weeks. I am one of the lucky ones who can get down on my knees to work if I have to, just can’t stay down too long.

Tibial Plateau Fracture May of 2016 . Been having some discomfort for the last year. Saw the knee doc and a cat scan shows that the repair fell short of the goal. So the doc says when I'm ready he's ready, different doc by the way. 69 in a couple months and expect next fall is when I'll go for it. During the cooler months so I can rehab out of doors as much as possible.

I hear there are some good Doctors around Napa that do knee replacements.

Wishing you all the best.

Thanks for the mostly positive responses!

This is what I was hoping to find and I’m sure it’s helped others riding in the same boat.

Thank you for the doctors name blacktail, I'm going to followup with that. I really appreciate the referral here in our area.

Did a very unexpected knee repair at 38 courtesy of a sort of serious motorcycle accident (shattered femur, knee bones were about mid thigh). Physical rehab is your best friend in the @#%^%$# world. Do it with the sort of grim determination it requires to deal with the IRS after a trip to the DMV. It will truly suck extremely heavy, very poorly cleaned @$$ at first. Music and narcotics are your friends in this regard. Frank Zappa's "Hot Rats" and Vicodin are about right for early day sessions. Once things loosen up, all the guys telling you bikes are your friend are right.

Not watching videos is probably for the best if you don't know the details of what and why they are doing what they do. It has been said here several times and is 100% correct, DO THE PT PROPERLY AND AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!! It is the single biggest factor you can control in obtaining a successful outcome.

For those considering having a procedure like this done, do your research on the doctor and the hardware to be used. A TKA (proper name - total knee arthroplasty) can be done several ways - old school by using guide blocks to create the cuts that the new implant attaches to, PSI - patient specific implants where a custom block is 3D printed based on CT scans ad doctor's preferences for angles, etc., computer navigation where the cuts or burring tool is controlled / directed via CT scans to which the metal implant is then attached to. Then there is cemented vs. cementless implants, different finishes to the implants that have different wear resistance, ligament sparing vs. ligament replacement style implants, blah blah blah. There is no "this is better than that...", much of it is surgeon preference, some is cost vs. what insurance will cover, some is availability in your area or particular hospital. A good doctor with a mediocre old-school implant is more successful than a newbie with the latest and greatest. Just my opinion, but it is an informed one.

I should have had it done this past fall… but life got in the way.
Got injected with “gel one” on July 6 and it’s still working but I can tell I’ll need another shortly… gonna go back to the surgeon next month and have a discussion about it… the hips are burning out quick and he doesn’t know they’re bad too… he looked at the knee on a V.A. referral.

@ Cotis
When they replaced my right shoulder, I was "black & blue" from the base of my neck to my elbow! 🤯
Think they used a winch truck and a jackhammer!
The black and blue disappeared in time.
The "pain" disappeared immediately upon regaining consciousness!

Your right not for the squeamish. Quite a beating goes into the repair of that joint.

I had both knees done ten weeks apart. about 10 weeks post op on the second one, and it still gives me some pain compared to the first surgery. Have been told that no two replacement surgeries are the same.......

My specialist told me Tuesday before last Christmas I need two new knees. I have had bilateral high tibial osteotomies off him so respect his judgement and ability. I had hoped to have them done earlier this year.

Tuesday after Christmas I broke my back and had ten weeks off work, so put it off, thought I could do in November but caught Covid again end of September and they won’t operate within ten weeks of having it.

So next year it is.

Some good advice here.