Having replacement surgery with neuropathy: I'm concerned

@bowersra, I think it's OK to be concerned when you have neuropathy and need to have surgery. The best way to address your concern is with your doctor, surgeon and/or your care team. I've had neuropathy starting in my toes since my mid 40s and haven't thought to much about it until having my right knee replacement done a few years ago. The surgeon, my doctor and the anesthesiologist all went through the procedure and explained possible risks and rewards of having the surgery. Since then I've had cataract surgery on both eyes and a bilateral hernia surgery and had the same discussions with the surgeons which helped alleviate most of my concerns or at least helped me make the decision to proceed.

Are you able to discuss your concerns with your doctor or surgeon?

Yes I will. Hopefully I can find a great neurologist that can help also. Most don’t understand what we go through

I need both knees replaced….asap. Bone on Bone.
My fear is how the knee incision/replacement etc…will affect the neoropathy.
I am 72 and have had neuropathy since age 58. Still get around without assistance etc…but I AM slowing down😉.
Was your recovery after your surgery uneventful? (ie: without unforeseen consequences due to neuropathy)
Thank you for sharing.

@galactic33, Both of my knees were bone on bone but my right one had a lot of pain so I opted to get the knee replacement. I did have some minor concern about my neuropathy which I have had since my mid to late 40s possibly getting worse. I was fortunate to have a great Mayo surgeon Dr. Daniel Saris. I was able to discuss all of my concerns that were addressed by members on his team. I wouldn't say my recovery was uneventful but I think it was pretty normal. I did have some swelling and pain and had I heeded my surgeon and care team instructions on icing and elevating as much as possible during the recovery, my recover would have been much smoother. One thing that did help me was six weeks of pre-surgery exercises and post-surgery exercises which my surgeon gave me during my first consult with his team. I think you will find a lot of support in the TKR discussions here on Connect.

The pre exercise before I will discuss with doctor. I see them on the 13 May

Thank you so much for your very helpful reply. Your pre op strengthening exercises makes sense. (and post op, of course). Mostly, you have given me the courage to go forward. Thank you again☺️👍

I had surgery to repair a broken ankle two years ago. Because of my neuropathy in my feet it took about 8 months for the swelling to go down in that foot. The doctor could see no reason for that, even after getting an ultrasound of the blood vessels in that leg, so I attributed it to the neuropathy because my feet swell up for no reason every 3 or 4 years. Walking is good for it and of course I couldn't walk for 3 months while the ankle healed. After that I found that wearing a compression sleeve on my foot/ankle at night accelerated the reduction in swelling. Did that for about 2 months. Bought one at Walmart in the sports department.

I was concerned about this too when I had my hip replaced. It turned out to be a non-issue.

My SFN is the painful type, not numbness. I needed carpal tunnel release in both hands. After trying every option to avoid surgery, I went ahead with it in January. We did my non-dominant hand first. In pre-op, the surgeon and I made a spontaneous decision to also remove a cyst at the base of my thumb. After all the consideration we had given having hand surgery with neuropathy, that part was a mistake.
I reacted to the stitches, and an ice storm, combined with an indifferent office staff, extended my suffering to day 14, when they were removed. For some reason we decided I didn’t need therapy. I couldn’t do the hand massage due to exquisite tenderness and a feeling of raw nerves around the incisions.Finally started OT at 2 months.
Lots of things I will do differently when I do my other hand. That’s how we - and doctors - learn.

I am planning on knee replacement and will decuss this also.