My Left Knee Replaced

[SpeedFlex27]

As you may or may have not noticed, I've been away. I had my left knee replaced on April 19th. It's been 9 days & it's been rough. Pain was extreme until this past Tuesday or Weds. Using T4's & T3's to control the pain although the past 3 days have been better. My use of meds has fallen off the past 3 days. Using a walker to get around the house. Getting in & out of chairs is certainly a challenge as it's difficult to get up & down. I haven't gone out but if I do this weekend, I'll use crutches. All I can say is my Donjoy Ice Machine is a lifesaver. It just takes the pain away in bed. Allows me to get as decent a night's sleep as I can.

I spoke with the surgeon afterwards in recovery. He said that I had the worst knee he has ever saw in all his years of doing surgery. as he put it. "It was bad!! B-A-D!!!"

My thanks to the Rockyview Orthopedic Floor, Unit 81 for the great care, compassion & attention.

I'm not back yet. Just wanted to drop a line to let you guys know & also wish Tracker well in his upcoming knee surgery in May. 

[JCon]

I'm glad to hear you're on the road to recovery! Hopefully you'll be ready for camp. Be well! 

[SpeedFlex27]

Just now, JCon said:

I'm glad to hear you're on the road to recovery! Hopefully you'll be ready for camp. Be well! 

My goal is to be at the Banjo Bowl & being able to climb the stairs to my seat. I didn't renew my 3 game mini pack as going to the games would be impossible but I plan to next season.

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

6 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

My goal is to be at the Banjo Bowl & being able to climb the stairs to my seat. I didn't renew my 3 game mini pack as going to the games would be impossible but I plan to next season.

I wish you well and a speedy recovery! If you are going to make it out to the BB, hit me up so I can buy you a beer.

[SpeedFlex27]

Just now, Wanna-B-Fanboy said:

I wish you well and a speedy recovery! If you are going to make it out to the BB, hit me up so I can buy you a beer.

I'll remember that, thanks.

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

1 minute ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I'll remember that, thanks.

Hell, I will even deliver it to your seat!

[Mark H.]

Godspeed with your recovery, Speed.

[TrueBlue4ever]

Hope you heal quickly, feel better, and are back up to “speed” soon. 

[Tracker]

My process in total knee replacement has been...different. After waiting semi-patiently for 30+ months, I became annoyed and had my referring GP send a letter to the surgeon to inquire where I was in the queue. Hearing nothing after a week, I contacted my MLA and he sent a letter to the minister of Health. Four days later, I had a surgery appointment- April 25th. There was, of course, a process of assessment prior to the surgery.

So, on April 18th, I presented myself at the hospital for the first assessment. My medical history was reviewed first by an intake worker, then a physiotherapist, and then by an anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist noted that I had a heart murmur which was upgraded from minor to moderate two years ago by a cardiologist and at that time, I was told it was not acute enough to warrant medical intervention, The anesthesiologist at the hospital was concerned enough to order an urgent echo-cardiogram, so I return at 7:00 AM the next morning (Wednesday April 26th) and had it done. I. in error assumed that if there was any reason for concern, I would hear about it STAT, but the phone did not ring.

I returned to the hospital at 7:00 AM Tuesday the 25th and the fun began.

Long story short, it was a big letdown. After the whole rigamarole of checking in and having the process explained to me and being questioned repeatedly if I was really me, the anesthesiologist put in the IV lines, and it ground down to a halt. He looked at the chart, reviewed the data with the surgeon and decided that there needed to be a consult with a cardiologist. Apparently my heart murmur is a source of concern and has to be vetted before any anesthetic, general or spinal, can be administered. There is a chance anesthetics can induce heart attacks and/or death in people with moderate murmurs.

Apparently doctors get all embarrassed if a patient dies on the table and there is a lot of paperwork, so they like to cover their b-asses. So now I am back home. Saw my GP the following morning and he listened to my ticker and could not understand the delay. He made a request for an urgent consult with the cardiologist who assessed my murmur initially as progressing from slight to moderate. He is not a surgeon but a step en route to surgery if needed. Apparently valve replacement surgery is no longer the only remedy- they are also doing  where a tube (balloon valvuloplasty) is inserted in the groin (sounds like fun) and pushed up into the aortic stenosis to enlarge it. More fun.

There is (sort of ) good news: while I was in Pre-Op, I was given some Good Drugs which should not have been dispensed, so even though I was a bit wobbly, I was sent home, at least partially on my insistence.  I sort of drifted through the rest of the day and part of the evening and MY KNEE DIDN'T BOTHER ME A BIT!!! However, I had some difficulty both remembering where the bathroom was and staggering over to it. 

The annoying thing was that the ECK was in the file for nearly a week, but no one bothered to review it. Had they done so, and identified a concern necessitating a delay in the surgery, someone else could have had that surgery. A waste of resources.

So, now we wait.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Tracker

[SpeedFlex27]

On 2023-04-28 at 2:14 PM, Tracker said:

My process in total knee replacement has been...different. After waiting semi-patiently for 30+ months, I became annoyed and had my referring GP send a letter to the surgeon to inquire where I was in the queue. Hearing nothing after a week, I contacted my MLA and he sent a letter to the minister of Health. Four days later, I had a surgery appointment- April 25th. There was, of course, a process of assessment prior to the surgery.

So, on April 18th, I presented myself at the hospital for the first assessment. My medical history was reviewed first by an intake worker, then a physiotherapist, and then by an anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist noted that I had a heart murmur which was upgraded from minor to moderate two years ago by a cardiologist and at that time, I was told it was not acute enough to warrant medical intervention, The anesthesiologist at the hospital was concerned enough to order an urgent echo-cardiogram, so I return at 7:00 AM the next morning (Wednesday April 26th) and had it done. I. in error assumed that if there was any reason for concern, I would hear about it STAT, but the phone did not ring.

I returned to the hospital at 7:00 AM Tuesday the 25th and the fun began.

Long story short, it was a big letdown. After the whole rigamarole of checking in and having the process explained to me and being questioned repeatedly if I was really me, the anesthesiologist put in the IV lines, and it ground down to a halt. He looked at the chart, reviewed the data with the surgeon and decided that there needed to be a consult with a cardiologist. Apparently my heart murmur is a source of concern and has to be vetted before any anesthetic, general or spinal, can be administered. There is a chance anesthetics can induce heart attacks and/or death in people with moderate murmurs.

Apparently doctors get all embarrassed if a patient dies on the table and there is a lot of paperwork, so they like to cover their b-asses. So now I am back home. Saw my GP the following morning and he listened to my ticker and could not understand the delay. He made a request for an urgent consult with the cardiologist who assessed my murmur initially as progressing from slight to moderate. He is not a surgeon but a step en route to surgery if needed. Apparently valve replacement surgery is no longer the only remedy- they are also doing  where a tube (balloon valvuloplasty) is inserted in the groin (sounds like fun) and pushed up into the aortic stenosis to enlarge it. More fun.

There is (sort of ) good news: while I was in Pre-Op, I was given some Good Drugs which should not have been dispensed, so even though I was a bit wobbly, I was sent home, at least partially on my insistence.  I sort of drifted through the rest of the day and part of the evening and MY KNEE DIDN'T BOTHER ME A BIT!!! However, I had some difficulty both remembering where the bathroom was and staggering over to it. 

The annoying thing was that the ECK was in the file for nearly a week, but no one bothered to review it. Had they done so, and identified a concern necessitating a delay in the surgery, someone else could have had that surgery. A waste of resources.

So, now we wait.

That is awful. Tracker. I hope the second go round is better. I'm having some issues which I'll get into. Not a happy situation for me but it could be worse,

[SpeedFlex27]

I have an infection in & around a couple of staples in my knee. It's been oozing liquid now for a week. Up until yesterday, my wife who is an RN was monitoring & cleaning it twice daily. The liquid coming out was a colour not indicating an infection until yesterday morning when I woke up with a stinging sensation on my knee. Went to the hospital. Turns out it is infected & I'm now being given IV antibiotics at a place called the HPTP clinic at the Rockyview Hospital. (Don't aske me what it means).

I have to go in later this morning for another round of IV antibiotics. I have an IV line sticking out of my left arm. I am getting my staples out on Thursday. The surgeon wants to see me at the Rockyview where I had my surgery on last April 19th. Generally, the nurse-practioner at the knee clinic takes out the staples but the physician who examined my knee yesterday wants my surgeon to check it out & take out the staples. One good thing is I can ask for freezing as taking out the staples in the infected area will be very painful. My wife looked at my knee before she left for work this morning & she said my knee looks a bit better than yesterday. I was in excruciating pain this past weekend. Not fun. Pain level is waaaaaay down. I just hope the surgeon doesn't have to debride the area which will be painful.

So , good & bad news. 

[Tracker]

17 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I have an infection in & around a couple of staples in my knee. It's been oozing liquid now for a week. Up until yesterday, my wife who is an RN was monitoring & cleaning it twice daily. The liquid coming out was a colour not indicating an infection until yesterday morning when I woke up with a stinging sensation on my knee. Went to the hospital. Turns out it is infected & I'm now being given IV antibiotics at a place called the HPTP clinic at the Rockyview Hospital. (Don't aske me what it means).

I have to go in later this morning for another round of IV antibiotics. I have an IV line sticking out of my left arm. I am getting my staples out on Thursday. The surgeon wants to see me at the Rockyview where I had my surgery on last April 19th. Generally, the nurse-practioner at the knee clinic takes out the staples but the physician who examined my knee yesterday wants my surgeon to check it out & take out the staples. One good thing is I can ask for freezing as taking out the staples in the infected area will be very painful. My wife looked at my knee before she left for work this morning & she said my knee looks a bit better than yesterday. I was in excruciating pain this past weekend. Not fun. Pain level is waaaaaay down. I just hope the surgeon doesn't have to debride the area which will be painful.

So , good & bad news. 

Best wishes for your continued recovery. The less analgesics you can get by with, the better- all Rx analgesics help with the pain and inflammation but also hamper your immune system responses, not to mention the constipation from opiods. But it does get better. 

[SpeedFlex27]

6 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Best wishes for your continued recovery. The less analgesics you can get by with, the better- all Rx analgesics help with the pain and inflammation but also hamper your immune system responses, not to mention the constipation from opiods. But it does get better. 

Past the constipation part thankfully. I switched from hydromorphone when I got home. After 4 days to T4's for a week & then to Tramadol/cet which is a very good pain reliever & doesn't plug up the plumbing. Using less & less pain meds. I just want this damned infection to go away. 

Edited May 3, 2023 by SpeedFlex27

[bigg jay]

23 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I have an infection in & around a couple of staples in my knee. It's been oozing liquid now for a week. Up until yesterday, my wife who is an RN was monitoring & cleaning it twice daily. The liquid coming out was a colour not indicating an infection until yesterday morning when I woke up with a stinging sensation on my knee. Went to the hospital. Turns out it is infected & I'm now being given IV antibiotics at a place called the HPTP clinic at the Rockyview Hospital. (Don't aske me what it means).

I have to go in later this morning for another round of IV antibiotics. I have an IV line sticking out of my left arm. I am getting my staples out on Thursday. The surgeon wants to see me at the Rockyview where I had my surgery on last April 19th. Generally, the nurse-practioner at the knee clinic takes out the staples but the physician who examined my knee yesterday wants my surgeon to check it out & take out the staples. One good thing is I can ask for freezing as taking out the staples in the infected area will be very painful. My wife looked at my knee before she left for work this morning & she said my knee looks a bit better than yesterday. I was in excruciating pain this past weekend. Not fun. Pain level is waaaaaay down. I just hope the surgeon doesn't have to debride the area which will be painful.

So , good & bad news. 

It's the Home Parenteral Therapy Program.  It's a home IV treatment program.  We have a similar program here but with a much simpler name, the Community IV Program (CIVP).

[SpeedFlex27]

1 minute ago, bigg jay said:

It's the Home Parenteral Therapy Program.  It's a home IV treatment program.  We have a similar program here but with a much simpler name, the Community IV Program (CIVP).

Thanks for letting me know.