anyone know about knee replacement?

maak823

Doesn't make a bit of sense to me- I had mine done at age 15. As long as there is not significant bone loss- I don't see the reasoning- tell him to get a second opinion

kellyp

My brother is in the same situation, he is 47 and needs a knee replacement and no doc will do it. The reason is that after the surgery the "new knee" is usually only good for about 10 yrs. After that you're back in the same boat. That is why they like to wait until you are older. There are doc's that will do it, but you practically have to beg.

Knute

I am 52 and had my right knee replaced a week ago.
Once the arthritic damage gets to the point that there are no other options, I cannot imagine a doctor who would not do the operation.
I am not by any means the youngest patient at my doctor's practice.
One benefit of doing it "young" is a great recovery curve.
At one week, I am walking two miles and am ahead of schedule with Physical Therapy as far as flex and extension.
The 10 year life expectancy you are quoting is WAY low!
My doctor says that at 15 years, over 85% of these replacements are still "in service" He has done over 3000.

kellyp

knute, I'm curious what state you are in. My brother has seen the top specialists in WA and CA, and ALL say the same thing about his age and that the knee won't last much more than 10 years. He is very active and has 2 small children under 6 so he would do anything not to be in pain. His knee is bone on bone.
My sister went thru the same thing with her ankle, finally at 49 she convinced them to do the surgery and got the replacement. They too said not much more than 10 years.

Kissa

The amount of time a knee replacement or any replacement will last varies on a lot of things. one is the amount of abuse the new joint gets, is that person really active, does sports or run? If so their replacement will not last as long.
The other thing is weight, if they are overweight the joint wears out a lot faster than if a person were of a normal weight.
I've always been told a knee is 15 years or more if it is taken care of.
I don't buy into doctors saying you are too young, they like to tell you this because they don't want to have to do the surgery again, the more times you have it the worse off it is the next surgery because more and more bone is removed until you have little bone to work with. But if one is conservative in their activities and weight I would think it wouldn't take too much convincing to get a replacement if it was totally necessary.

As for a yearly "clean up" well thats just wrong. Studies have actually proven that arthroscopic knee surgeries for "clean up" are a total waste of time and completely uneccessary. If your friend is truly bone on bone there is damage with a lot of pain then it's time for a replacement.

Just a side note, the arthritis association did a study on arthritic knees and found that if you take 1200mg of vitamin C daily it actually reduces the need for a knee replacement by 50%. I have been doing this regimine for a while now and I can say that it definately helps. Usually every summer I get a tremendous flare up and can't walk, I have yet to have one this year.

Knute

I am in Wisconsin. Milwaukee area to be specific. My doctor is Jeff Butler at St Luke's Hospital. I have also seen his partner Steve Trinkl, who agreed with the decision to operate.

madhatter

Thanks for the replies! My friend don't have the insurance,he's on comp. and i believe they won't pay for a 2cd opinion.I'm sure comp. is very happy with the 1rst one![happy they don't have to pay right now]