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I kneed relief.

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After more than four months of painfully waiting for an orthopedic appointment, I finally jumped the first hurdle on the path to knee replacement. (Not literally, because I can barely crouch to tie my damn shoes no less jump over something… but you get the idea.)

Hurdle #1 – see the physician assistant orthopedist. Gatekeeper to the great and powerful actual orthopedic surgeon.

My husband insisted on going with me to the doctor’s office this time. He never has before, but he’s been dealing with the fallout ( and yes, the incessant whining ) from my bad knee for the last 6 years as well and wanted to hear the diagnosis/plan first hand.

The ortho PA was great. Friendly but no nonsense, and after a battery of X-rays and an exam he said I was a good candidate for partial knee replacement.

At this point my husband asked me to stand up and face away from the PA.

Huh?

I did and then felt my husband touch the back of my bad knee and ask the PA why it looks like that.

Like what? He never told me anything looked weird… and I certainly can’t see it!

The PA said it looked crooked because basically the inside of my right knee had collapsed. Which makes me wonder how long I’ve looked freaky every time I wear shorts and why my beloved spouse never thought to mention it.

😡

Anyway, the PA set me up with an appointment with the surgeon (the good one I wanted from the beginning, so yay to that) for early August. He’s hoping they can schedule surgery quickly because I’m otherwise healthy and have no major medical problems … though I do have to get written clearance from a dentist and my primary before they’ll cut. Can you spell liability?

In case you’re interested in the medical gobbledegook? These were my official results.

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There was also this:

“Significant narrowing of the right medial compartment with sclerotic change evident on both the medial femoral condyle and the medial tibial plateau”

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Whatever the hell that means.

All I know is I’m bone on bone on the inside of my right knee and it’s hella painful. Surgery is going to suck but my mobility is so limited right now I really don’t care.

Bring on the knife.

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58 thoughts on “I kneed relief.”

    1. Just the left side (interior) of my right knee would be replaced. I’d keep the kneecap and though they say it’s still painful, the recovery is a tiny bit quicker.

      “A partial knee replacement is a minimally invasive surgery where only the damaged compartment of the knee (medial, lateral, or patellofemoral) is resurfaced with a metal and plastic prosthesis, leaving healthy cartilage and ligaments intact. It offers less pain, a shorter hospital stay, and a faster recovery than a total knee replacement.”

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      1. Keeping your kneecap sounds like a nice bit My brother had a full (I guess) replacement, and he can’t kneel on that knee.

        Thanks for the explanation, and good luch going forward.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I specifically asked if I’d be able to kneel again. The PA said I wouldn’t want to until the scar fully healed … which could take 6-8 months… but I should be able to afterwards, though it might feel strange.

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      4. Everyone keeps telling me how awfully painful it is for the first few weeks after the surgery but I have horrible pain every single day now so I may not notice the difference.
        😉

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      5. That is what people tell me. I won’t wimp out. Bring it on and then recovery! Yay! I have to thank the VA though for how many times I have seen the orthopedic surgeon. It is about to be 3.

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      7. Yes, mine is from very a prestigious hospital before the VA and he is very gentle and thorough. I am pleased and it was also a process for me to have the surgery posted, to arrive at this point, so I do understand!

        Liked by 1 person

      8. I did not see an orthopedic PA, but the Doctor. The PA is one familiar with both Mike and myself for Hematology. He is my beta reader, but he did ask the name of my orthopedic doc and a few questions. The next time I went to see the doc, I was told my surgery was moved closer.

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      10. Yes, I can understand. Mine is going to be most likely in November and I am good with that. I will use the cane as he noticed some trouble with my back and shoulders as the pain is compensating. Mostly, I wait and try to be patient. Right now, the pain is bearable. Wishing us both the best.

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      11. After a year, I can finally kneel on my full replacement to crawl into bed (my bed is still a little high), but it’s uncomfortable and I wouldn’t want to try it on a hard surface.

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  4. My right hip is also bone on bone. I was able to see the orthopedic surgeon quickly. I won’t post my medical result like you did but he did tell me it is not going to go away, neither the swelling, or the pain. My cortisone shot helped but it is the only one I am getting. It is also wearing off after 2 months or so. My surgery is moved up! I am healthy, also and they are going to let me stay in the hospital and do PT. They have a nice facility and a pool. Right now, I am wearing compression stockings which are a pain to put on but help. Interesting but my husband will have less to deal with as will the pugs, so I told him a week, and good care, okay. Someone will make me meals every day and monitor exercise, okay. I will keep you posted on my blog. Glad you finally got to see the gatekeeper.

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      1. My PA who has treated myself at the VA and Michael and also was one of my beta readers for my second novel advised me not to get another shot if it could be helped as it was not something he recommended. It worked out as the surgery is moved up! I have been okay, mostly, just not walking as well. He did tell me to use my cane as much as I could. I got lucky as we are very familiar with the PA and he knows our medical diagnosis, my husband very well. I am grateful. The first and only cortisone shot helped. My husband has some medical emergencies at times, so I am grateful that I can stay as I feel the time will be very helpful for me to recover.

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    1. Isn’t that bizarre? I didn’t need dental clearance when I had a hysterectomy. WTH?
      I was told they have to make sure I have no infection in my mouth that could spread through my bloodstream and cause complications.
      Sounds like someone sued them and they’re covering their six.
      🥴

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  8. Medial femoral condyle = the knob on the end of your femur (thigh bone) that is on the inside of your knee (toward the middle of your body; as opposed to lateral, on the outside).

    Medial tibial plateau = the flattish part of the top of your shin bone, also on the inside of your knee.

    Sclerotic = hardened.

    To model this, hold your hands in front of you, elbows bent. Place one palm (tibial plateau) against the opposite fist (medial condyle of femur) and roll the fist against the palm (by moving your shoulder so your elbow moves in and out like you’re doing the Chicken Dance).That simulates how the knee works. Imagine there should be a thick rubbery substance between your fist and palm. In you, the rubber has thinned and hardened. Or, just look at a chicken leg. You can see the cartilage (the white stuff at the end of the bone) and the two condyles.

    So yes, that all means “bone on bone”.(Also – the reason to be cleared by your dentist is that you could have a tooth/gum infection and surgery could spread it. People have died from infected gums and teeth. I know someone who lost a leg from the spreading of an infection in his mouth.)

    Good luck! The better shape you’re in before surgery, the faster you get better. Also, the initial rehab is not fun. You have to start moving the knee right away or it gets stiff. They used to actually connect a machine that bent and straightened your knee constantly whenever you were not up and walking.

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    1. That’s very helpful. Thank you.
      And while I understand the mouth infection risk, I have to wonder if the evaluation thing is something new because I never needed it with previous surgery.

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      1. You’re welcome. I’m glad it made sense. I used to translate Doctorese to English for my patients.

        Part of the reason for getting dental clearance before joint replacement is that the hardware itself can become infected and that infection is almost impossible to treat. The bacteria form a biofilm – if you’ve ever felt one on something, you’ll know. It feels slippery. The film makes it hard for antibiotics to penetrate and the treatment is usually to remove the hardware, put in an antibiotic spacer (to keep the joint space), and treat you with IV antibiotics for 6 weeks, then put in new hardware. Meanwhile, you can’t put any weight on it. It’s not fun. Getting checked by your dentist is much easier.

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  10. I feel for you! My husband is eight weeks out from a knee replacement and has graduated from top five worst swelling ever seen by his PT and doctor to numero uno! The swelling is not going away. The doctor specializes in non invasive surgery that didn’t go through any muscle and it’s robotic.

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      1. It turned out to be a much more challenging surgery than expected. Post surgery the doctor met me in the waiting room. He said it took twice as long than most. He said he removed 24 bone spurs and cut away more bone than he usually does. Then he said, “Don’t get me wrong. I found it really exciting. Most are routine. I had all cylinders charging!”

        My husband got injured at age 17 playing football. At that time, they removed all cartilage so from age 17 to 70 he’s been bone on bone. When we went skiing, he’d go to the ER afterward and have his knee drained.

        The good news is he didn’t get recruited for college football because of that injury. UCLA was interested until then. I can only imagine if he played in college how injured he’d be. His doctors told him for the past 30 years to get a knee replacement…

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      2. Omg. I’ve been bone on bone for maybe 3 years and can’t take it anymore. From 17 to 70? Holy hell. That man must have an insanely high pain tolerance.
        😳

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      4. My MIL did the same with her hip replacement. Waited too long, until they had very little healthy bone to work with and ended up nicking her sciatic nerve. She had pain till the day she died.

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  11. I was rereading old posts from last year, when I had my knee replacement, and noted that I repeatedly stated that the pain was no worse than before surgery. It was inconvenient and new, but not worse! A year out, I still have problems with the spot where my fibia hits a piece of hardware, but it’s tolerable and can be stopped (for several weeks) by having a chiro yank that leg. Not ideal, but better than before.

    My R knee has been getting wonky again but I kinda forget about it, due to back pain. Unprompted, the doc recommended another injection of SynVisc (synth cartilage) to stabilize it again.

    I hope you get relief SOON!

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  12. Dentist clearance? I don’t recall that! I only recall that I’m supposed to get antibiotics with any dental procedure for another year.

    I had to get last minute special MRI images, and a clearance from my doc – which required blood draw & chest xray.

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