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Bones, Joints & Muscles | Last Active: Nov 10 11:58am | Replies (72)
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I am exploring CardiHeal AgiliC. It is an FDA approved treatment. I am 76...no cartilage left in rt knee. The sports medicine doc was trained in this procedure and says that is used now for healing cartilage that has broken off. He wants to see if I will get any relief from hyaluranic acid injections first but might be willing to try this with me if all else fails. I really do not want to go through another tkr although it was a successful surgery on my left knee. While you are interviewing surgeons for tkr make sure what their infection rate is. My surgeon is regarded as one of the most meticulous in my area
Replies to "I am exploring CardiHeal AgiliC. It is an FDA approved treatment. I am 76...no cartilage left..."
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I hope you can put off the second TKR. I had to have both of mine replaced in 2022 and now I'm doing fine, just no impact sports/exercises. But very happy with the recovery and results, and the total absence of pain/swelling in my knees
Infection rates overall for orthopedic surgery are about 1%. That sounds low but not considering the thousands of procedures one surgeon does each year. That said, I believe infection rate is more a function of the surgical facility than the surgeon.
By all means, check the infection rate for a surgeon. I'd also check the infection rate for all orthopedic surgeries at the hospital as well. I don't know where to find this info, but I would think it only requires asking for it.
Bottom line is that the longer the incision is open, the grater the risk of infection. Personally I don't worry about it in the big, modern hospitals. It doesn't hurt to check it out either.
I hope your knee responds to treatment so you can avoid the TKR. If not, well you at least know the drill. All the best. Joe