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Truth about Total Knee Replacements
Joint Replacements | Last Active: 1 day ago | Replies (146)Comment receiving replies
Unless you REALLY need it, do not have the procedure. I was competitively sprinting in the Sr. Games 2 years ago. Got 3 Meniscus tears. Repair left me hurting but with Cortisone, I could manage as long as my activity was low impact. It then seemed inevitable that I needed a new knee. Since then I had the TKR, MUA, Arthroscopic Debridement and an Open Debridement, due to excessive scar tissue. Now, I am very limited in my ROM, have endured almost 2 years of pain, rehab and lacking mobility. I would never have had the TKR if I had known. It is NO silver bullet for at least 2-10% of all who have the procedure. My next step is to go to the Mayo Clinic for revision to a hinged replacement. This allows them to remove all tendons, which is where a significant amount of the scarring is. The interacts the place of the tendons. KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT, if at all possible because a TKR is a crapshoot.
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I agree with your assessment 100 percent except for the 2-10% who are dissatisfied. I presently share email with fellow retirees from my former employer who have had TKR. the count is up to 14 now. We all have varies issues and different levels of discomfort but not one is 100% satisfied. Those that originally stated they were satisfied, when surveyed, admitted they had problems. Their original argument was "that at least the pain is less or gone," totally dismissing that now other issues like ROM and stiffness are present.
My personality is such that I have no hesitation asking patients in the Ortho waiting room for a show of hands whether they are satisfied. There were always some that were not. The term "crapshoot" is totally appropriate since not even the Orthopedic can predict the outcome.