Partial knee replacement

[stengun]

Howdy Everybody,

I busted my knees up while I was in the military. Back in Oct. '07 I had arthroscopic surgery on my rt knee to repair a tear in my medial meniscus. I was off work for 2 1/2 months.

Now I have another tear in my medial meniscus plus osteoarthritis and the doctor wants to do a partial knee replacement.

Has anyone had this done?

Somedays my knee hurts so bad that I can barely stand it, and that's on the good days. Rt knee hurts 24/7. When my rt knee hurts and I limp, then my lt knee hurts. Lately, my rt hip has been hurting because of my limp.

If anyone has had this done, how did it turn out?

Paul

[Cobrabill]

My wife had both knees replaced about three years ago.

[Joe Wicked]

My injury was not as bad as yours it sounds, but while in the Service I chipped the bone right where the tendon attaches in my left ankle. The pull of the tendon ripped the piece of bone off causing the tendon to recoil. The first surgery to reattach didn't take and I ended up getting discharged because I was "Unfit for full duty". About a year later it started getting so painful I couldn't walk but a few feet at a time, so I went to a civilian Doctor to see what she could do. 2nd surgery I was out of work for 3 months, physical therapy for 6 months and it took about 2 years for the limp to go away. Major reconstruction, but no replacement parts used. I have less than the normal amount of tendons in my ankle, but I do not have pain every day. I can injure it easier than normal, but as I said I do not have pain every day. In the end even though the 2nd surgery was worse than the first, I am glad I did it.

Oh did I mention that I can walk without pain 95% of the time. Usually when I do have pain it is minor. Only when I twist it does it hurt bad enough to cause me to limp.

[trularin]

Dad had it done a few years ago, both knees. Said he wished he had done it sooner.

[Bobcat]

Haven`t had a knee replaced , but did have both hips done .... and did a lot of research before deciding on a Doctor and Hospital .
This guy isn`t in your area , but his website has a lot of information on knee and hip replacements and the procedures ... stephenmurphy.org . All he does is hips and knees .... and the best advice I can give is to go to someone who has done hundreds of the operation you want ... not someone who says , I remember doing that a year or two ago . Also , if possible , get in as good physical shape as possible ... makes the recovery a little easier .
I also called several of my Doctor`s patients ( one I knew ) and asked about their experiences . You are doing the right thing in asking for experiences/info etc from all sources .

Bob

[Mark IV]

I had a partial right knee replacement November 12th 2008. I was back at work 4 days later. It went well and I have gone to rehab. I still have some pain that they tell me will go away. The strangest thing is that when they crack your knee open they cut the nerves that run from the inside of the leg and your knee will be numb for a year or so. I destroyed my inner knee digging with a shovel in hard clay (don't ask!) and I was in constant pain until the surgery. Mine was done as an outpatient and I was at the clinic at 6AM and loaded in the car to go home at 10:30 AM.

[Cobrabill]

My wife had both knees replaced at the same time.Had the op on Tues afternoon,dressed herslef & got out of bed by herself for the transfer to the rehab facility on friday morning.Then she was home on Monday and walking to the back barn by the following fri.

[philminotti]

Paul-

I'm a joint replacement surgeon, and I do perform partial replacements. They are an excellent choice for the properly selected patient. And that's the difficulty with partials...knowing who to put them in.

If your pain is confined just to the medial (inside) part of your knee, you might be a good candidate. If you tore your ACL way back when, maybe not such a good candidate...Many factors go into properly selecting people for partials. Total replacement is and will continue to be the gold standard, but if your surgeon feels you are a good candidate, it can be an excellent choice.

phil

[427 S/O]

I know of one individual that had a 'complete' replacement, after suffering for a number of years he finally had the operation. As a result, his wife couldn't keep him still. I would call and she would say..he's outside working......

[john chesnut]

I hope that you have a successful outcome, whatever process that you decide on. I am facing a replacement of the right knee. I was hooking up jumper cables from my 454 powered 69 Chevelle to a pick up truck. As soon as I hooked up the cables the throttle went to FULL! The Ebrake snapped off and I was rammed full throttle into the truck. The bumpers were just above and below my knees. I was pushed through a parking lot and into another car before the cars came to a stop.
My2 1/2 year old daughter had awaken from a nap in her back seat car seat. Climbed to the front floor, pushed the throttle to full and pulled the gear shift into drive. I had 5 operations so that I could walk. That was 25 years ago and now the old knee is worn out.
The good news from that story?! I was penniless as I didn't have insurance to cover loss of income. I actually ended up living in a Tipi. I made toys for my daughter because I couldn't afford them. I ended up inventing a coin bank that eats your money and getting 3 patents on them. I took my Big Belly Banks to an art show, and in one weekend sold 970 or them for $30 each. Since then I have sold over 700,000 of them. God bless America! Hope he still will.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Originally Posted by trularin

Dad had it done a few years ago, both knees. Said he wished he had done it sooner.

Same here, my dad waited and waited and when he couldn't walk anymore he gave in they did the worst of the two first, 2 months later he was begging the doc to do the other knee, said he wished he had done them years sooner.....that was back around 1990, I'm sure it's better now..........

David

[Bill Bess]

Hey, I got my knee replaced five years ago..works great very little pain. I ride my road bike 100 to 150 miles perweek and it works fine.
I'm now going to get a partial or a complete on my other knee. After that I plan on getting a sholder replacement...I hear that's a real pain but who cares...you just got to replace worn out parts to be happy.

Wornout Bill

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by philminotti

Paul-

I'm a joint replacement surgeon, and I do perform partial replacements. They are an excellent choice for the properly selected patient. And that's the difficulty with partials...knowing who to put them in.

If your pain is confined just to the medial (inside) part of your knee, you might be a good candidate. If you tore your ACL way back when, maybe not such a good candidate...Many factors go into properly selecting people for partials. Total replacement is and will continue to be the gold standard, but if your surgeon feels you are a good candidate, it can be an excellent choice.

phil

Do you use the Oxford (what I have) or the Repicci? Repicci is a local doctor here, but I chose the Oxford in consultation with my Dr. (formerly an Ortho Dr. to the Bruins and Patriots) I liked the floating plastic bearing surface, this made engineering sense to me (although I am not a doctor and don't play on TV) the logic seemed to be a "no brainer" so I went for it.

[philminotti]

There are two general types of partial replacement, fixed bearing and mobile bearing. The Oxford is a mobile bearing design (the only one) while the Repicci is one of many fixed bearing designs. I do both, situation dependent.

Remember, there is no perfect knee (or hip) replacement. They ALL have tradeoffs. Some designs may be more suitable for certain people. However, they are all mechanical devices and have no ability to repair themselves. 100% of mechanical devices, be it a 600hp big block or a disk drive or a blender, absolutely will fail at some point. That is not theory, that is fact. So the question becomes "What's going to fail first, you or your artificial joint?"

Obviously, the older you are when you first need a joint replacement, the higher the likelihood that it'll outlast you.

Lastly, always be aware of the fact that most of what you read in the lay press regarding joint replacement is driven by marketing, not by peer reviewed scientific research. Ideally, a good surgeon can help you wade through all the BS and come to an informed decision.

phil

[Mark IV]

My chioce of the Oxford was also based upon the European history of the knee and the fact that there are people 20+ years out with the Oxford that are still functioning. I don't plan to wear it out from marathon running (I'm 56) so I think it may last me a while. Besides, they can "open me up" and replace my "bearings" (the plastic floating surface) without a full re-replacement. Or so my Ortho says................................He told me he went to the Oxford seminar and he "drank the Kool-Aid" and has done numerous since on qualified prospects. I was his first "in-clinic" surgery, priors were all inpatient hospital jobs.

[olddog]

My wife had rt knee total replacement in 1999 and lft knee in 2003. Her doctor designed and has a pattent on a knee that is widely used (Royalty is big bucks - you should see his car collection). This guy runs 3 operating room. A team opens, he does the replacement. Another team closes. He typically does a dozen a day. I would recomend him to anyone.

From what I have read and been told, the partial replacement has a very quick recovery time compared to a total replacement. The partial only lasts in the 6 to 10 yr range give or take, where the total is more like 10 to 15 yr. I was told that when a patial needs to be replaced it will most likely require a total replacement. The total replacement recovery is tough at first and quite a while. Technology changes and my memory may not be accurate. Ask questions around these issues.

[stengun]

Howdy Everybody,

Thanks for all the info.

I hurt my knees back in the mid 80's and they, especially the right, just keeps getting worse.

My tendons and ligaments are fine and the lateral part of my knee if fine, just the medial mpart is bad. 90% of my pain is in the medial joint line.

I'm 44yo, will be 45 May 29th, so I'm middle age. Not young, but not old either. Doc says that fake knee will last 20 years. That will put me at 65yo. When it goes bad, get a new one, and that should take me to the 90-95yo range, then I will decide if I need another one or not.

The ortho doc that I will use when I get it done is great. I hurt my bird finger on my right hand at work back in Aug. and the first two docs just wanted to amputate it right where the nail begains. I asked for a plastic surgeon or an ortho surgeon to look at it. Dr. Olive was waiting for a patient to be prepped for surgury so he repaired my finger for me. 5 1/2 months later, me finger looks normal and I have 100% use of it. Yep, and the first two docs wanted to cut it off.

So, I am confident that the doc will do a first class job on my knee. Now I just have to get it done. I'm doing some work to my house and I'm rebuilding my Shootin' Range and when I get through with them I'll go under the knife.

Paul