Partial knee replacement

To help anyone here who is considering having a partial knee replacement, I thought I would post my experience. On April 29, I had the medial component of my left knee replaced via a procedure called Makoplasty (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsoyy07Uoh0&hd=1). This procedure involves the use of a robotic arm to assist the surgeon in the precise placement of the prosthesis. I was given a spinal anesthesia, along with some other type of sedative, which I preferred over general anesthesia. After being wheeled into the operating room at 1015, I was told to sit on the side of the bed while the spinal was administered, and that is the last thing I remember until waking in the recovery room at 1150. I'm guessing the actual procedure took a little over 1 hour.

After being brought to my room for my 2 night stay, I was visited by a Physical Therapist who assisted me in walking the hallway with the aid of a walker. This was less than 4 hours post surgery! returning to my room, I was placed in a constant passive motion machine that I would be on twice a day for 2-3 hours at a time. The day after surgery, PT had me walking the hallway again, as well as climbing stairs. I did not feel too unstable doing either, and tried to put as little pressure on the walker as possible. After the second night, I was discharged from the hospital. Returning home, I was setup with in home physical therapy once per day and they also had a nurse come in 3 times during the week to make sure there was no infection. A CPM was also delivered and I put it to good use for the first week. I was able to walk around my house unassisted, as well as climb the stairs to my bedroom at night. Range of motion improved each day and within 4 days I was at 117 degrees on the CPM...could only get to 102 degrees un-aided though. The only medication for pain that I took at home during the first week was a total of 4 Advil. I didn't really have any pain, as it was more like a dull ache.

Yesterday, I got on my bike trainer for 10 minutes and it was a real workout for the knee. I had to raise the saddle a little because the stretch I was initially getting was too much. After the 10 minutes I was sweating, and it wasn't due to getting my heart rate up, but dealing with the pain! It's all good though because the trainer will really help regain the range of motion. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since the surgery and I will start the real Physical Therapy...getting ready for some real pain . I also plan on getting in the pool tomorrow. My doctor said I may be able to start light jogging 6 weeks post surgery, which may be a little aggressive but I will work towards that goal.

As I approach the 2 week point, I am very pleased with the way things have gone. I was mentally prepared for a tougher time and have been very happy with my progress. I'll be 67 in 2 months and have been continuously told by the doctors and nurses that I am doing so well because I am in good shape. All the hard work pays off, not only as it relates to race performance, but to recovery from injury/surgery.

If anyone is thinking about this procedure, I would highly recommend it. This is a highly technical procedure as the prosthesis must be precisely placed in order to achieve maximum life expectancy. I like to explain it like having the wheels of your car aligned. If the caster, camber and toe are not perfect your tires will prematurely wear...same with the knee components.

If anyone has any questions you can message me. Hope this helps those who are in need of a partial knee replacement.

Not sure if this is much help for you but.... I had my PCL replaced and a lot of work done to fix a few other issues in my knee. When i had my surgery i was fresh off my Achilles surgery. I was only doing maybe 5k's at the time and playing soccer. The knee surgery is actually what got me into tri's and long distance stuff. The knee surgery itself was ok. For the PCL I was off my feet for a while and needed to relearn how to do a lot with my knee. I had the surgery in very early December and was training for a marathon and my first 70.3 the next October. Part of that was the decision to go for it and also part was the getting to run again. As far as pain in the knee. I feel it here and there. I can train on soft ground or hard, long or short and still feel the pain and swelling at times. For me its all about continuing to work the leg. its when I take time off that I feel it. Also shoes do matter more now. My legs are very picky about what shoes are ok for the distance I want to go. In short you can do it no problem. Get strong before you go in, get very strong. Then get a good PT person and stay to plan and you will be ok.

Yesterday was 3 weeks post surgery and rehab is going very well. Range of motion is increasing every day and today the knee felt only a slight stretch on the bike with the saddle set at it's normal height. There is still some swelling in the kneecap area that is contributing to that tightness. I go back to my surgeon tomorrow and I'm hoping I will be cleared to swim...really looking forward to that.

Interesting stuff...please keep posting about your progress.

I went to my surgeon on Thursday and he gave me the green light to swim and cycle clipped in. I did my first pool swim on Friday and first ocean swim yesterday. It was so good to get back in the water and the knee felt fantastic. Walking on the beach was a non event and I didn't even think about it until a friend asked me how it felt to walk in the sand. Today I got a 45 minute session in on my bike trainer clipped into the pedals (my surgeon said it was ok). I unclipped several times to see how it felt and I had no pain at all. The swelling that I had during the first 3 weeks post surgery has disappeared, with only minor swelling present after a days worth of activity. In 2 days it will be 4 weeks post surgery and I am very happy with my progress. I do not have any noticeable limp when I walk and am getting stronger every day. Looking forward to getting out for some longer walks this week and a ride with friend next weekend.

Now a days Knee pain occurring to be a normal problem but should not be avoided. You can see a nice chiropractor, for any further detail go here.

I will eventually have to have a knee replacement of some kind. I want to know if it is possible to kneel and squat ? I mean to squat all the down all the way down like you would around a campfire?

I am at the point now where it is no problem to squat. I can also kneel, but it feels funny because there was some nerves cut during the surgery so I have no feeling at the front of the knee. I have been told that some of the sensation will return after awhile. Also, I have done some short jogs on the beach and the knee feels good. I ordered some Hoka Bondi's to get some additional cushioning for when I really start running in August. All in all, I'm very pleased with the results.