Knee replacement

pmanton

pmanton

Final Approach
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I'm an 84 Y.O. who's been having knee pain. The guy I've been seeing did one of my Wife's knees. He also did a knee on a guy across the street.

My wife had a terrible time of it and still has pain. The chap across the street has had several replacement knees due to infections.

The Surgeon gave me an injection ease the pain. He told me how bad my knees were and hinted that he had sharp saws and knives. The injection didn't help.

I went to the knee pain people who advertised magic injections. I pointed out exactly where the pain site was. He commented "That's where it always hurts" and injected me elsewhere. After the course of weekly injections, pain remains. (150 mile round trip for the knee shots)

I sold my PA-22 due to the knee pain when getting in and out of it. In addition with my feet on the rudder pedals the knee really really hurt. ( I kept my Forney F-1)

By now things have progressed to the point that I can hardly walk. I need to use a cane and hobble. My wife, while chatting with the neighbor across the street, finds out that he's seen a different surgeon who finally installed a knee without infection.

I make an appointment with the Dr. who's with the Core Group about 75 miles away.
He takes X rays and locates the exact pain site. He tells me that while my knee is in pretty poor shape the pain is coming from a tendon. No knee replacement but an injection exactly where the pain is.

It'll take a few days before I have any relief he tells me. He was wrong about that. I have some relief the next day. I am a happy camper.

Summer in AZ is over and it's getting cool. I'm gonna pull my Forney out of the hangar and fly. :D
 
Octogenarians would appreciate the preceding a lot!
 
Lucky you. OTOH, I had both knees replaced in the last 3+ years and am back to skiing @80. Never stopped flying before or after the operations and never had any problems.

As my surgeon said, every knee is different.

Cheers
 
X3 Skier said:
Lucky you. OTOH, I had both knees replaced in the last 3+ years and am back to skiing @80. Never stopped flying before or after the operations and never had any problems.

As my surgeon said, every knee is different.

Cheers
Click to expand...

How long were you away from flying for each surgery? I'm looking at the same surgery in the next few years and starting to gather info.
 
My ortho guy told me, “I never tell a patient when to replace their knees. They’ll know.” When I went in saying my life wasn’t worth living, we both knew. I didn’t care if I woke up or not, I just wanted the pain to stop.

Replaced them both at the same time 15 yrs ago and there is nothing I cannot do since. Since then the technology, hardware, and procedures have only gotten better.
 
Steroids take time to work but the shots usually include an anesthetic medicine that works for 2-3 days. I hope your relief lasts for the long haul!
 
It took about a month for me to be comfortable driving again after the right knee was replaced. Two weeks after the right shoulder and I was like a new man. A month after the left shoulder, and I was still having some problems turning the steering wheel, but by month two I was fine. That was when I passed my first Third-Class Medical with a great AME.

Right shoulder (July 2021)- reverse, left (November 2021) anatomical. Knee, April 2016.
 
I was driving 2 weeks after knee replacement but I waited 8 weeks before flying. No problem getting into the cherokee or flying, it was getting out of it!
Do the PT! I was lax with the PT and now pay the price...no problems walking but I won't ever ski again.

More money to spend on the cherokee.
 
Shop around for a knee surgeon that does many per day, and you have talked to some of his recent patients.

Mine did 6 the day he did mine. A friend had his done previously by this surgeon, and was happy.

I had professional therapy 3 days a week, for an hour.
I did at home self paced for half an hour before getting up for breakfast, an hour before lunch, and half an hour before supper. Occasionally, some more before going to sleep, but dressed for bed.
The equipment was mostly rubber stretch bands with a sheet of heavy cardboard under my legs, plus raising and flexing the leg.

The result of those extra hours was meeting the year end goals at 3 months. I quit needing the walker at a month, and the cane at 2.

Don't over strain, but do many repetitions at levels that are a mild challenge.
 
I've done hundreds of knee replacements. When I had mine done I didn't do any physical therapy and I resumed driving in a few days. (I didn't take any narcotic pain meds post op, even in the hospital, using just Ibuprofen for pain.) It's been over twenty years and is still doing well.

I think total hip replacement is the most successful operation available on a large scale in the world. Knee replacement has a little lower success rate and clearly has a longer recovery time to reach an end result, but as one of the previous poster's said, you'll know when you're ready for one.
 
To the OP Consider joining us in the elite and unique, 'UFO' Club aka 'United Flying Octogenarians'. If a pilot flys on or after his/her 80th Birthday as Pilot in Command, you are accepted. Google United Flying Octogenarians for info & membership. Ralph
 
FCAJR8630 said:
How long were you away from flying for each surgery? I'm looking at the same surgery in the next few years and starting to gather info.
Click to expand...
Not long, a couple of months probably. I was driving in 2-3 weeks.
 
Last edited:
UFO.JPG

Here's a selfie I took to show old farts can really still fly. :p
 
It's so nice to read happy stuff in Medical Topics for once!

Go for it, old fart or not.
 
Get a Cardinal. Problem solved. Others created, perhaps.
 
pmanton said:
View attachment 111601

Here's a selfie I took to show old farts can really still fly. :p
Click to expand...

Cool! Last week I took a fellow pilot for a ride in my plane. He's 82 and just bought himself a sport plane so he can sport pilot without needing to do the medical or basic med thing.

He handled the plane pretty well although it's a bit more more spirited than the planes he's used to flying. We had a great day flying and then went and found some bar-b-que ... :)
 
FCAJR8630 said:
How long were you away from flying for each surgery? I'm looking at the same surgery in the next few years and starting to gather info.
Click to expand...

On my way to work at three weeks I went to the hangar and climbed in and out of my Citabria to see if I could. After work I went back and went flying. That was my first knee. Don't remember after the second, but I don't think it was any longer, may have been less.
 
rhkennerly said:
My ortho guy told me, “I never tell a patient when to replace their knees. They’ll know.” When I went in saying my life wasn’t worth living, we both knew. I didn’t care if I woke up or not, I just wanted the pain to stop.

Replaced them both at the same time 15 yrs ago and there is nothing I cannot do since. Since then the technology, hardware, and procedures have only gotten better.
Click to expand...

Similarly, my ortho said, "live with your knees until you can't tolerate the pain, then come back to see me..."
 
SoCal 182 Driver said:
Similarly, my ortho said, "live with your knees until you can't tolerate the pain, then come back to see me..."
Click to expand...
That's what I did - and I'm an orthopedic surgeon. I always went by the policy of, "Never operate on an X-ray." If we somehow screened for something like arthritis of the hip and applied a radiographic indicator for total hip replacement there would likely be a burst of scheduling of procedures. There is some wisdom in timing of the procedure based on life expectancy, but even that's not particularly useful.
 
I tend to think we sometimes wait too long. I was talking with a physical therapist the other day who said that a lot of her patients have more than knee problems. By the time they get their knees replaced, their gait is irregular and it takes weeks to train them to walk "normal" again. Many also have developed hip problems from the irregular gait used to try to limit the pain from walking. So I dunno, maybe my doc telling me to wait is his version of business development?
 
Today, Noverber 1, is six weeks post op for TKR (Total Knee Replacement) of right knee. I am almost back to normal. As stated above every knee is different.
For the past few years it was becoming more painful to walk, although I could cycle for miles and climb ladders, etc.
About a year ago I started looking into options, shots, therapy, TKR. After talking with several friends I selected TKR at a facility a two hour drive away instead of a couple of more local hospitals. Takeaway point: Do your research, TKR is common now and you should be able to find several people who have had TKR to interview. This will help you find the “right” doctor.
The facility selected only does knee and hip replacements, in a way they are a production line. While they have a production line approach, I was impressed with the personal attention I was given throughout the whole process.
My initial consultation was back in April and after that I though it over for a month before committing to the operation. Due to their backlog of cases I was scheduled for September. In the months leading up to the surgery there were various prepping things to do. A 1 hour zoom meeting with a nurse went over every aspect of what to expect from prep to pre-op, to surgery, post op, therapy, to total recovery. Example, prepping includes, dental cleaning within 90 days, (they don’t want post op infections), physical exercise to prevent muscle atrophy pre-op, (don’t forget to build upper body strength), to prepping you house for when you get home.
Everybody I talked with stressed the need to do the PT (Physical Therapy) for full recovery. Once you are home try to walk as much as possible, even if it is only 100 steps with a walker the first few days, you will soon progress to crutches to a cane. Don’t skimp on doing the ROM (range of motion) exercises. And take your pain medications, I was able to get by with just Tylenol,1000mg three times a day.
All the therapists I have work with say I am healing very fast and I am now learning to walk again without any crutches or a cane. I can almost walk/climb the stairs step over step now. The longer you wait the more you will compensate with an incorrect gait, then you need to learn to walk correctly again.
While TKR is very common, during my 3rd class medical the examiner said the FAA views TKR as a nothing burger.
I had a lot of anxiety before the operation as I have never had any surgery before in my life. It may be common but it was a major issue for me.
 
A1Topgun said:
Today, Noverber 1, is six weeks post op for TKR (Total Knee Replacement) of right knee. I am almost back to normal. As stated above every knee is different.
For the past few years it was becoming more painful to walk, although I could cycle for miles and climb ladders, etc.
About a year ago I started looking into options, shots, therapy, TKR. After talking with several friends I selected TKR at a facility a two hour drive away instead of a couple of more local hospitals. Takeaway point: Do your research, TKR is common now and you should be able to find several people who have had TKR to interview. This will help you find the “right” doctor.
The facility selected only does knee and hip replacements, in a way they are a production line. While they have a production line approach, I was impressed with the personal attention I was given throughout the whole process.
My initial consultation was back in April and after that I though it over for a month before committing to the operation. Due to their backlog of cases I was scheduled for September. In the months leading up to the surgery there were various prepping things to do. A 1 hour zoom meeting with a nurse went over every aspect of what to expect from prep to pre-op, to surgery, post op, therapy, to total recovery. Example, prepping includes, dental cleaning within 90 days, (they don’t want post op infections), physical exercise to prevent muscle atrophy pre-op, (don’t forget to build upper body strength), to prepping you house for when you get home.
Everybody I talked with stressed the need to do the PT (Physical Therapy) for full recovery. Once you are home try to walk as much as possible, even if it is only 100 steps with a walker the first few days, you will soon progress to crutches to a cane. Don’t skimp on doing the ROM (range of motion) exercises. And take your pain medications, I was able to get by with just Tylenol,1000mg three times a day.
All the therapists I have work with say I am healing very fast and I am now learning to walk again without any crutches or a cane. I can almost walk/climb the stairs step over step now. The longer you wait the more you will compensate with an incorrect gait, then you need to learn to walk correctly again.
While TKR is very common, during my 3rd class medical the examiner said the FAA views TKR as a nothing burger.
I had a lot of anxiety before the operation as I have never had any surgery before in my life. It may be common but it was a major issue for me.
Click to expand...

Sounds very familiar (except in person v Zoom and location)
 
I made the decision to get TKR this summer, but then some other heath issues came up that I felt I needed to get resolved first. I've made enough progress on those now to justify getting on the schedule again.

My hair dresser told me that she has heard nothing but good about knee replacement. it sounds like she has heard from many of her customers about it. Also, her mother had one knee done but was afraid to get the other one done, for some reason. Now she regrets that decision, but has waited too long to get it done.

The guy who owns the house directly across the street from mine has also had it done and recommends it.
 
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