my sister has severe oestoarthritis...

My poor sister has been troubled with a lot of pain ,very severe in her knees, and although her xrays said she had mild oesto, the MRI revealed severe Oesto,it is looking like she may need a total knee replacement,not sure until she see's the specialist yet, and whether one knee or both, she is only turning 55 and is the full time carer mon-fri of her two year old grandson.

This is a real blow, and i am concerned for her, i don't want her having to go through this surgery, but still if it gets rid of the pain, then it is for the best.

Anyone else had experience with this type of surgery?

A lady I used to see often on my morning walks has had two knee replacements, she says it changed her life for the better and wished she had sought treatment a lot sooner when the pain first started.

I have osteoarthritis of the spine, unfortunately they can't replace the spine. :)

oh dear i am so sorry to hear that, it must be very painful for you, wish there was something they could do, do you just take anti-flam pills to help with the pain?

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Originally Posted by carole

oh dear i am so sorry to hear that, it must be very painful for you, wish there was something they could do, do you just take anti-flam pills to help with the pain?

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I only take pain killers when it's really bad, all of the preventative pills they tried with me had side effects that were worse than what they were supposed to fix.

I hope everything goes well for your sister, a positive attitude really helps too.

Carole,

I've had 5 surgeries on the same knee since May/2007. My first surgery was arthroscopic and I felt that it could have been avoided all together. I had bone on bone contact then but the doctor claims that wasn't the case. I have the x-rays to prove it.
That first replacement failed on 01-02-08. I had it replaced(revised) in February 2008. That one failed and I had it taken out and nothing put in because they thought I had an infection--it turned out, there was no infection(thank goodness). I had to have another surgery on March 5th, 2008, to install the device. That device failed shortly after and I had another replacement(revision)in June, 2008. That's the last one I had and so far so good. It was only replacing the femoral component because the tibial component was/is glued in so securely, it is no longer removable.

You can imagine what the doctor had to do to get the newest one to be afixed well enough to not fail.

One doctor did the first surgery(arthroscopic) and the first knee replacement. That failed due to lousy workmanship. A different doctor has done all the others. The second one failed due to a torn lateral ligament. The third one failed due to the lateral ligament on the other side tearing. At least, that's what the doctor has told me. After all that, I really didn't believe much of anything anybody told me.

I'm the poster child for Murphy's Law. If anything could have gone wrong, it did. This is certainly not going to happen to everybody. This is all very very very rare. Not normal. Most people have replacements and are very happy with the entire procedure. However, I have met alot of people that have had stories similar to mine. None quite as ongoing but problems nonetheless.

The most important thing I can tell you to tell your sister is: do all the research she can before she chooses the doctor for the surgery. Make sure he has a long history of doing these surgeries. Make sure he is up to date on all new procedures and that he performs many surgeries a year. My first doctor only did about 40 a year whereas my new doctor does 40 a month. It could be a costly mistake to pick someone that has the potential to mess up.
She also needs to know some things the doctor usually doesn't tell you. It is a very serious major surgery. There is alot of excruciating pain involved for months afterward. It's one of the most painful and hardest surgeries for a person to go through. Your sister should be prepared to take pain killers for awhile. The pain gets worse after physical therapy which is needed to get going again. You lose alot of blood with this surgery. A drain will be installed. The weakness hangs on for a long time afterward. There is so much more but I would run out of space here. The one thing I would mention is, I feel our Mayo Clinic in the USA is probably the best resource for orthopedic/knee doctors in this country. I wish , to this day, that I would have gone to them.

Carole, I'm not a good example for a person that's facing this surgery. I can only hope that I can help someone understand what they're facing. Please tell your sister to email me if she has questions. I'll try to answer them. If you need my regular email, PM me and I'll give it to you.

What country does she live in? I'm not familiar with anything outside of my area as far as medical practices being carried out. I hope I can help her. I also have severe osteoarthritis. It's twice as hard for the person that has that.

Best of luck to her.

Edited to add: I just thought of something......davidp has also had this surgery with great success.:)

Sis, I'm so sorry your sister has to go through this pain. Big {{{hugs}}} to you both. My left knee had hardly any cartilage in it. I went through orthoscopic surgery first and that didn't work so I had the knee replaced. As others said, it's major surgery and physical therapy afterwards, but in my case mine was done 4 years ago and I can walk normally, I can work without pain, I can even bowl ( not that good at bowling!) and basically do what I have to do. It's a lot to go through. but worth it. They normally do one at a time.

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Originally Posted by G535

I have osteoarthritis of the spine, unfortunately they can't replace the spine. :)

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Ditto for me.

I have a couple of friends who have had knee replacements on both knees; one of the friends had both knees done at the same time and she was in her early 80's when she had it done. They both say that it changed their lives for the better. I think if your sister has the surgery she'll be happy that she made the decision. :)

I know people who've had one knee done at a time, as well as both at once. Regardless, after physical therapy, lots of hard work, they all seem to be doing fantastic! IMO, medical science has evolved so beautifully, they can do wonders. Of course every patient is different, but after the 2 back surgeries I've had (need more and 2 hip replacements), I feel better than I have in years. Nobody wants surgery, but if it makes a profound difference in your life, I say, Go With It!

Thank you all, gosh some of what you wrote scared the heck out of me, i did not realise so much could go wrong and it was so painful to have done,i know it was not the norm what happened to you, and i will keep that in mind.

I am sure my sister will be having the surgery, she cannot continue to live in pain trying to run around after a two year old, who is very active and fast, faster than most two year olds, a budding runner in the family we think lol.

She has chosen a very good surgeon, he is the surgeon who did all the operations on the ALL BLACKS, for those of you who don't know them , they are our famous rugby team, and he has operated on her husbands knee, so they know who they are dealing with here.

Again thank you for the information and advice, always appreciated, and gosh Karen i had no idea you had been through so much and have so much to go through, i really feel for you,you are so brave, i am such a coward, i am scared to death of surgery of any kind.:(

I'm so sorry, Carole. I didn't want to upset you but to point out that doctors don't always inform the patient of what's to come. I would have been so happy if my doctor or nurses would have educated me ahead of time. Fortunately, alot of doctors suggest watching a film about the surgery beforehand. I was never told about that either.

Again, my case is very rare. Extremely rare and unusual. Most people have the surgery and are like new people afterward. In my area, we only have a few knee doctors to select. That's why we have so many stories. We all have the same "questionable" doctors.

There are some great books out on the market for a person to read too. I have one of them and it's fantastic. I don't recall the name right now but I can find it. Some people refer to it as the knee replacement patient's bible.

Your sister will be fine. She will have a new life after it's over and she's recovering. Best of luck to her and please let us know how she does.:)

oh please don't feel you need to apologise, it is always good to know everything there is to know, i am just worried for her, i don't want her to have go through something as traumatic as this appears to be,but i know in the long run she should be better off, i understand your case is probably quite rare and i am so sorry you have had to endure this, it must be terrible for you, you are indeed extremely brave, i hope things improve dramatically for you and soon,best of luck.

Yes i am sure she will be ok, just have to hope for the best, got to wait until the surgeon is back from holiday, it is that time of year down under, everyone on holiday,and take it from there, sounds like they have one of the best surgeons,so that makes a huge difference.

Thank you, Carole. It seemed real difficult when it was all going on but now I barely remember the hardship of it. I never thought I would see this day come. I kept a positive attitude and that helped alot.

I wish your sister all the very best in this thing. I am so glad she has a great surgeon.
Please don't hesitate to PM me anytime if you or your sister have questions.:)
If there's one thing I can do that will make me happy, it's trying to help somebody with concerns they might have.

Terry

Carole.. sounds like your sis found a great surgeon. I'm sure the sports team wouldn't continue to use him if he didn't do a fantastic job and get the guys playing again! And he operated on her husband. I'd say, it's a GO! She's young yet, and with a 2 year old, she needs her life as painfree as possible, and be able to intercept him! :p

There are always complications with ANY type of surgery. Even the easiest and simpliest. I was a trooper and rather excited before my 1st surgery (cervical spine-neck) but just as I was being wheeled into the OR, I burst into tears. I guess the reality hit me. It is scary. I know, I'm petrified of having my hips done and am going to try to talk the doc into doing both at once. But you can only pray for the best. It'll be what it's suppose to be.

I know your sister will make the right decision. I'll keep her in my thoughts. :love:

Carole, sports medicine doctors are usually the best and most up to date, that's a good choice. I also suffer from severe arthritis (it's all over, and it's psoriatic, which most people aren't familiar with). I have not had knee replacement, but did have tendon replacement surgery in my leg; the posterior tibial tendon, which is the major work horse tendon of the lower leg. I went to our sports medicine facility here (where the RAVENS go - you may have heard of them!) and they did a wonderful job. Six weeks out of commission and lots of therapy, but it all was worth it!

I have also known others with knee replacements; they're all much better than when they started (my father is one-he has a titanium knee, and is about to get the other one done). As long as she's with a good doctor, she should be much the better for it. Good Luck! :)

Thanks for all the wonderful support you guys have given me, i am worried for my sister and i have to be honest myself, i have had sore knees on and off for over twenty years and now my hip is playing up,but i am trying not to think negative about it, and hoping it is just the ole fibro playing up.

But these things tend to run in families unfortunately, yes i am familiar with psoriatic arthritis, my nieces husband was wrongly diagnosed with it, unfortunately for him his illness turned out to be something quite different and life threatening.

Yep we just have to keep a positive attitude i guess, and some of you are all amazing really you are, i am just a big sook when it comes to even thinking about having surgery.