Spinal block

I had a block and sedation. Cannot remember a thing. Was great!

I have had a spinal block twice and the first time I was terrified because I didn't know what to expect but it was absolutely fine. It doesn't hurt and it works so quickly. They also gave me a sedative to make me sleep

because I didn't want to hear all the noises. The spinal doesn't make you feel sick like a general anaesthetic does and your awake straight after the operation. The second spinal was just as good. Tkr is a tough operation and recovery is hard but the spinal block is nothing to be concerned about. Good luck for your op and keep on this forum they will really help you through it.

Haven't heard of people getting a TKR with just a spinal block until recently.  I hope you get some good replies on this to guide you.

While there is no "normal" recovery time or when to go back to work, this may be helpful...

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/the-tkr-recovery-bell-curve--563756

Remember...statistics apply to entire populations, NEVER to specific individuals.

Three months is a very fast recovery and not to be expected, although we have had some people who have pulled it off.  However, they tend to encounter a lot of pain and swelling every day, ice and elevate at night, try to sleep and then wake up and repeat. Difficult path.  Again, everyone is different and it also depends on the job, hours on your feet, etc.  Desk jobs do better than nurses, teachers and construction workers.

Honestly, the whole recovery takes a year and most go back to work around six months. You have to do your PT to regain your 0 / +120 ROM plus exercise to rebuild your quad, glutes and core strength to support the new knee.  All of this takes time and that is different for everyone.

Hi Denise,

​I had a partial knee replacement and my op was around 2 to 2 and half hours. I have a heart arrythmia and so with me there are risks that others might not be exposed to and I was very happy with a GA.

​My sister on the other hand has no such beastie in her heart , lives in a different area of UK and had a spinal and had a TKR. She only commented on the noises. I was off 11 weeks and that was with no complications during the recovery/healing process. That year mine was done, Christmas 2015 intervened and my consultant was away on hols and so I might have been back at work a bit earlier, not much, but 10 to 14 days earlier maybe.

​May the force be with you.

John

 

I had a spinal block for a tkr in February. My op lasted over three hours but felt like ten minutes! I was also sedated, given a heated blanket and earphones to listen to music. The whole experience was amazing and I would highly recommend it. I felt very alert directly after my operation and very little pain because the spinal block keeps pain at bay for several hours afterwards. Please do not worry about it and I hope that everything goes well for you.

Hi I have had three ops using spinal block and would prefer them any time to my experience with anaesthetics. I'd ask to speak to your aneathatist and get some Valium type sedative on board for the duration, I was allowed to take me iPod with me so could tune into music, stories etc, to be honest they were good to have but only to lull me back to sleep when I rose to consciousness.  I think the time it takes to recover is individual, knees are different to hips insomuch as ligaments and tendons are very much disturbed. I made sure I had adequate pain medicine which enabled me to exercise religiously ASAP after the op and a year on I'm 100% happy and fully functional, I'm still doing exercise or my knee stiffens up, I don't think I would have been ready for work at 3 months but then I have badly knocked knees which made the op it more complicated and I'm 66years old. Good luck, I was really scared before my op but now I can't wait to have my other knee done 

Don't worry at all about the spinal block....I was terrified the first time last year as never had one before,got my 2nd TKR in June this year with one also. Its great,no nasty anaesthetic side effects and you don't hear/see/remember anything and much less nausea. Everyone is great on induction,supportive reassuring and calming. Relax and go with the flow

My TKRs were at least 3 hours each too.  I had generals, my sister had the nerve block. She said it was great.  I had c sections with nerve block (slightly different because it doesn't take as long.  It was ok, but as the others said, bit disconcerting because you can still feel pulling and all sorts of stuff. I was glad they didn't offer it to me for TKR to be honest.

And yes, it is freezing in theatre. Nerve block is better and safer for your body though.

I had the spinal block too, but they first gave me some kind of an I don't care what you do to me shot that made me not care what they did to me. 

 They gave my wife one of those buzzers you sometimes get at a restaurant to let you know when your table is ready. They also displayed a step by step update on a monitor for her view after they wheeled me away to surgery. 

From cut to closer was 42 minutes and later in recovery they asked me a few questions...asked me to walk to the end of the hall and back with the aid of a walker. After that I was wheeled out to the car and sent home with instructions to get up every 30 minutes and walk at least 30 feet, elevate and ice. Out patient Day Surgery.

Remember,..everyone is different, including doctors, methods, countries, and hospitals.