Question about knee replacement in elderly - Knee & Hip Problems Message Board

janet23 · 12-07-2007, 05:09 PM

My soon-to-be 81 year old mother is scheduled for total knee replacement in a few weeks. I'm not saying she is physically active, but she is still independent, able to drive, etc. She has a choice of coming home after surgery and having home health do physical therapy or going to a short-term care rehab facility for the PT. Does anyone have any experience with TKR in someone this age, and what do you recommend? Thanks!!

cody48 · 12-09-2007, 11:17 AM

I have not been through this but my husband will need this done shortly. I've done a lot of reading and talked with a lot of people and would hesitate to let my mother be alone while recovering from surgery of this type. People that we have talked with describe the difficulty of getting up/down, on/off the commode. They can be prone to falls which would be bad right after the surgery. I would have my parent spend a week or two at least in a facility before coming home. They will help her learn how to handle the above situations.

janet23 · 12-09-2007, 12:38 PM

Thank you for replying. I think that's what we're going to do. Good luck to you and your husband!

MoLu · 12-09-2007, 05:19 PM

Hi Janet-
A few years ago I went thru this with my mom also. She did come home without going to a nursing facility for rehab because she wouldn't have any part of it. She also lived in her home by herself. My brother moved in with her for a few weeks and a visiting nurses program and rehab came in daily to help with her care and exercises. She should have gone to the nursing facility. I feel she would have pushed more to use her leg and get moving then we as concerned children did. Also at her age 80's it was very hard for her to bounce back to normal and the anesthesia lingered for a very long time making her early signs of dementia even more worrisome. I think you are planning correctly.
Molu

janet23 · 12-14-2007, 07:39 PM

MoLu,
Thank you for sharing your experience. I was told that my mom would be evaluated after surgery/ initial PT and then directed to either home or short-term resident PT. (This was a relief to me--I thought this decision was up to us and I needed to make last minute arrangements!)
The internist at her pre-op visit said that, considering her age, he would guess she'd go to a facility. Lucky for me, she has no objection. Even though the facility would be an hour away from home, I still feel that she would make better progress. Thanks again for the help!