Hi Im looking for thoughts on the best ice machine post knee surgery…

@willyp3 - ICE...Ice...ice is my favorite pain manager after surgery. I'm 4 months out from shoulder surgery and still use it after PT or when the weather makes me ache.

Any cold machine with a velcro fastened knee cuff, an insulated container for the ice/water mixture and a circulating pump should do the trick. Even better if it has a timer that cycles it on and off. Plan to use it as close to 24/7 as possible for the first 2-3 weeks to keep the swelling down - overnight too. Then continue to use is as long as you need.

I just had rotator cuff surgery and used a fancy one (rental) for 8 weeks - even took it on a trip. Its advantage was that it had a chiller built in, so didn't need refilling 3 times a day with ice. If you'll be on your own you might want to think about renting one like that.

My first CryoCuff was so "primitive" it didn't have a pump - you lifted it to fill the cuff, put it on the floor to drain, it held the cold about 7 hours and it lasted our family for over 20 years before it began to leak! It served through at least 10-12 surgeries and or injuries as we raised kids. I even took it to work after ACL/MCL surgery because I had to be moving around much of the day.

Its successor is still available, called a CryoCuff, with or without a pump, from Amazon or several medical supply places. You buy the cuff you need separately.
Insurance usually doesn't cover this, but if you have a Flexible Spending Account, you can use that.

It is worth every penny of the $200-250 it costs (mine was $150 in the 1990!)

My recommendation is to get one!

I tried to use an ice machine after shoulder surgery. It became a lot of effort so I just used ice packs CONSTANTLY.

I had a different experience - staying cold all night, with a pump that cycled on-and-off, allowed me decent sleep from the second night forward, without having to change ice packs in the middle of the night. The first night I thought I could "do without" - 3 weeks after surgery - I got up in the middle of the night, threw the ice packs on the floor, and put the machine on.
Everyone is different.

It's pricey but have you heard of a nice Machine? It does compression and cold at the same time.

Best of luck with your upcoming surgery! I am interested in other people's experience with an ice machine as well and am also looking for brand recommendations. I'm having a total knee replacement at Mayo on 3/3/25 and would like to have an ice machine ready to go afterwards.

I used an ice/compression machine for one of my k ee replacements called Game Ready. It's expensive, but I can say it definitely made a difference. I've had a knee replacement on each knee, and the Game Ready made my recovery faster and less painful.

I had two different (brands)cryocuff (ice) machines sent home with me for my two different surgeries RTS & TKR they both worked great. Make sure it’s a plug in not a gravity one and that you have the proper attachment. There are different attachments for different body parts. Make sure to have plenty of ice on hand. It was awesome, my go to for pain control. Hope this helps

In short, the ice machines did not work for me as well as ice packs.

If you're interested, here are details of what did & didn't work for me:
I injured one knee and had to wait for the swelling to go down to have a total knee replacement. With the extra strain, I ended up injuring the other knee, but it would have to heal completely so I could have the first knee worked on. Knowing my shoulders were soon to follow, I felt investing in 2 ice machines with exchangeable sleeves for knees, shoulders , etc, would be ideal. I loved the idea of temperature settings, timers to turn on and off thru the night while I slept, and I didn't need to wake anyone or get someone to come help me change ice packs throughout the day. I bought one from Amazon with plenty of 4+ star reviews:
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FM8K3PW?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share).

However, even with all the conveniences, and following the ideal settings & frozen bottle recommendations, my knee caps were too hot in the mornings to safely bear weight. So I would still have to use a frozen ice pack. ("Equate Reusable Hot or Cold Small Compress" from Walmart.com work for me for years).

While I may use an ice machine in the future for my shoulders (that don't need to bear weight), I returned both ice machines.
For a similar price, I bought a small freezer ("Arctic King" 1.0 cubic ft at Walmart.com) and I keep it in my nightstand. It actually hard freezes the ice packs better than our larger freezer.

I recommend you try whichever option you choose beforehand.

I agree with you. I've used ice machines after knee arthroscopy and they never worked as well as directly applying ice. The "ice" in those machines is just very cold water passing through a tube or bag.

Anyway, I always find a way to apply ice or an ice sleeve directly. Sometimes a wash cloth or small towel applied first with the ice on top of that can help. There are a lot of freezer-ready products for virtually all the major joints, and the spine.