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← Return to Knee #2- am I ready?
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@amytro Lots of good advice, but I would wait a bit longer. As has been said, every TKR is different. I would want to be pretty much totally better before embarking on doing it all over again. Bottom line though, I would talk to my surgeon about it. If you are confident of him/her you should take the advice given to you. They want their patients to succeed so they do have your best interest at heart. Your doctor may be fine with doing it soon but may want to delay it longer. Around here none of the top surgeons will do two knees at the same time, but some do and some patients are very happy with the outcome, so doing it soon may work out great for you.
JK
Replies to "@amytro Lots of good advice, but I would wait a bit longer. As has been said,..."
@amytro @contentandwell Just my two cents but this is the best reply I've heard. Every TKR is different even when done on the same person, by the same surgeon, and at the same hospital. Another thing to consider is that you want enough time to go by to ensure that you did, indeed, pick the right surgeon. You don't want to find out that he used the wrong size implant on both knees! I had a friend who didn't find out until around 5 months PO since she and her PT team thought her progression ( or in her case, lack of) was mostly due to swelling and such. She was glad she waited and had the revision and other knee done by a better surgeon. But if you can by on a Cortisone shot or some other way to help you relieve pain, I would TRY to heal well on the first knee, condition the other, and go from there. Everyone says that the stronger you are the better the recovery but for me, that wasn't true really. Before my RTKR, I did an hour on the Elliptical 5 days a week, upper body weights 4x per week, and did a lot of walking. I was strong and healthy but this Thursday will be 7 weeks PO and my ROM is only 0/106 no assist and bend is around 113 with assistance from myself. (pulling while doing my knee slides) I was hoping to at least be 115 by now but no banana. So, my other knee will have to wait until next year. The verdict is still out on the surgeon as far as I"m concerned. So along with you insurance (make sure you have enough PT days left) there are a few things to consider before getting your other knee done.
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Thanks, JK. While ideal, I don't think I can wait a year on the second knee. In fact, it was a toss up for me as to which knee to replace first. I have a huge overseas trip in November- my alleged reward for getting through my TKRs- and I want to be walking well for that trip. (not cancelling!!!). Doctors here won't do two at a time either but will wait only 3 weeks (I'm in Massachusetts). I am meeting with the surgeon soon and I agree- I will listen to him. That is if I even get to see him or if I'm stuck with a PA again!! thank you for your thoughtful comments. This is a bear- but while I'm growling- I'm going to take the hill!!