1 Year and 2 Months Later....

Here I am 1 year and 2 months after total right knee replacement. The scar is nowhere near as bad as others I have seen (thank you Dr. Pavlatos), and the swelling is almost completely gone. So, this is what I learned throughout this timeframe. First, OUCH! While it may seem obvious to say, there is a lot of pain involved during the recovery year, or so. And I do mean the entire year. Second, you will literally need to learn to walk again. It may sound ridiculous, but it definitely is not. Many of us do not walk with a perfect gait, and as a result, our feet and heels do not hit the ground evenly. I tended to walk on the outside of my feet. With a mechanical knee the lateral movement your natural knee had is gone, so you will end up walking differently. I also recommend buying some new shoes post-surgery. This will help prevent you from trying to use your old walking patterns. Third, start prior to surgery with the physical therapy exercises. This will go a long way towards recovery. On a side note, since you will need a cane as part of recovery, get a cane with some style.

Anyway, fourth, be prepared to require and ask for help with seemingly easy tasks. This was tough for me to do. It is amazing how heavy the bottom half of your leg becomes when you try to swing it off the bed to so you can stand up. It's also painful. Fifth, muscle atrophy happens much faster than you may believe. After a week, you could clearly see the size difference between the two legs from foot to hip. Sixth, there are parts of post-surgical therapy which will SUCK! This was not as easy as I had expected. After 8 orthoscopic surgeries on both knees, (yes, 8) I fully expected recovery to be quick. NOPE! My least favorite exercise was "Restricted Blood Flow (RBF)" movements. A tourniquet is placed high upon your thigh and then the blood flow is severely slowed while you try to perform simple thigh extensions. SUCKS!!! There is some medical theory behind the RBF's, but they still suck. Seventh, you are a bit unstable on your own legs for longer than you may think. There were some days where my knee would just kinda say, "Nah!" and I would almost perform a stellar face plant. Eighth, when the recovery is all said and done, you owe your family a huge thanks for their help and patience. By the way, the anesthesia fog that people talk about is a real thing. To wrap this up, this covers the short version of my experiences with total knee replacement. There is much more to the story, but that's all we have time for today. So, there it is, my brief perspective on total knee replacement.

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