I had extensive conversations with 6 knee replacement patients. Two had
had unilateral and four had bilateral... but all recommended a bilateral
since, although it's hell to begin with, there is only one recovery
period (which can last 3-4 months). If you have a bilateral you can
expect to spend as much as 10 days in a rehab facility after your 3-4
day hospital stay... presumably because you don't have a knee to stand
on. I had mentally prepared myself for that. Although there is usually
a 3-4 day rehab period even for unilateral I required no separate rehab
at all. I was discharged from the hospital directly to home on the
fourth day since I was largely already able to care for myself with my
wife's help.
All in all it has been much easier on me than I thought it would be and
I'm glad it worked out the way it did... so far. If I'm still hobbling
3 months from now I may have a different view.
Chuck Norcutt
Candace Lemarr wrote:
> Ahh, I see.
> Thank you for the update.
> Even though it wasn't your intended plan, I agree with you in that it
> was probably for the best to have one good leg to stand on whilst the
> other recovers.
> So, is the plan now to recover and then have the other knee worked on?
> I once knew a woman who was advised to have carpal tunnel surgery. On
> both wrists. She, along with her doctor, opted to do both wrists at
> the same time.
> Foolish woman! It was quite a long time before she could even go to
> the bathroom alone, not to mention do basic things like feeding
> herself. I'll never forget how that "worked out" for her.
> Not so well.
>
> Candace
>
> Chuck Norcutt wrote:
>
> The doctor never wanted to do two knees at once in the first place. But
> he said he would provided I was in good health which meant seeing a
> cardiologist for an exam and stress test (re: my triple bypass 10 years
> ago). The day before the surgery I got the results of the test which
> showed "restricted uptake near the bottom of the heart" and, in all
> probability, some re-blockage of the right coronary artery bypass. We
> agreed that, since I haven't experienced any angina, there is probably
> some degree of angiogenesis there. I thought it was all settled until I
> got to the hospital for surgery and the surgeon showed me what the
> cardiologist had written... "estimated 3 times risk of death from heart
> attack for bilateral knee replacement over single knee replacement". He
> said either one knee or none... my choice. Not much else you can do
> when sitting on the gurney other than agree.
>
> I was terribly frustrated since I think the cardiolgist's statement was
> a very garbled rewording and misunderstanding of some research I did
> myself and showed the good doctor re the outcomes of some 6,000 knee
> replacements covering single, bilateral and staged bilateral over 4,000
> patients. But that wasn't worth squat to the surgeon. But in the end
> I'm glad he refused to go with two. I can't imagine how I would have
> been able to get around and make the progress I have with no good knee
> to stand on. :-)
>
> ps: for reasons not understood, people who have bilateral replacment
> tend to live longer and by a statistically significant margin.
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
>
>
>
>
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