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Hi everyone.......as some of you recall, 2 weeks tomorrow I had to have the entire prosthesis removed due to spreading staph. This is the 4th complete opening of the knee and 10th surgery overall on the leg. Let me assure you, it doesn't get any easier. The surgery went well but required a lot of scraping of the bone due to pockets of infection
This in turn caused lots of bleeding and increased my hospital stay to a week. The morning I was scheduled to be sent to a rehab house I needed a blood transfusion. I have a hip to knee immobilizer to keep the leg straight. Friday I get the stitches pulled and hopefully they will adjust the immobilizer so I can try and get some of the bend back back. I can can now only do toe touches with no weight bearing. If all goes well, I'll get that up to 50% so I can be a bit more mobile and go home from rehab. Next step, early June, I will go back and have an entire new prosthesis inserted and then back to rehab for the grueling rebuild. Low pain levels seem to be easily maintained as you aren't doing any stretching or putting pressure on the joint put I envision it will be rather brutal tearing all of the dormant scar tissue loose when the time comes. Also I am on antibiotic infusion twice a day and will for 6-8 weeks. To all of the long time contributors to tgevforum, hope things are going well for you.
6 likes, 48 replies
jodi009 Oldfatguy1
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Does your surgeon believe they got all the infection? If they did get it all (excuse my ignorance) why will you need a new prosthesis?
My own recovery (at 15 weeks) seems to be going well. Got my mountain bike off the wind trainer stand and out onto the bike path for the first time today, as I can finally sit and pedal at a constant rate without having to lift the hip. Guess my knee is at about 120° flexion.
Flew to New Zealand last week and noticed that the scar doesn't like flying. I had a compression sock over the whole leg, but the scar itself was very red and inflamed after the flights to and from NZ. It has since gone back to normal, but I found this reaction really strange.
Hope your recovery is a lot smoother this time.
Take care, Jodi
Oldfatguy1 jodi009
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jodi009 Oldfatguy1
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betty07083 Oldfatguy1
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I do hope your wife is getting along OK without you there! Keep your positive attitude and keep us updated on your progress.
Betty
Oldfatguy1 betty07083
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anne07663 Oldfatguy1
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Yorkyrebel Oldfatguy1
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mary0606 Oldfatguy1
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A joint infection is our worst nightmare. I've got a friend that has lost 3 separate joints to infection. So I do sympathise,..take care..
paul57039 Oldfatguy1
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Makes all our moans seem a bit meaningless when we read of your problems. They warn you of the problems that can occur but I must admit I generally dismissed them. I feel very sorry for you in the situation you have found yourself and hope you and your good wife can stay strong through this. For you it is a long time to wait to get back to where you were at the very start after the firstTKR and I hope you stay positive and have an eventual good outcome.
Regards Paul
Oldfatguy1 paul57039
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sky1996 Oldfatguy1
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glenda29798 Oldfatguy1
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Oldfatguy1 glenda29798
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susan20089 Oldfatguy1
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Oldfatguy1 susan20089
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