Bill continues to recovery from his total knee replacement. I've been off work since March 13th and still have a week left on FMLA. They authorized a month off! He's doing very well and getting around since day 3 after surgery without any walker, crutches, or cane!
Many people thought going out patient was insane - but it worked out very well for all of us! His surgery was on a Monday and on Friday of that week we went OUT TO DINNER and he walked from the parking lot into the restaurant without any assistance! Most people would be discharged or placed into a rehabilitation facility at that point!
The biggest obstetrical was the pain medication. The Norco made him extremely nauseous after taking off the anti-nauseous patch that was placed behind his ear after surgery. The patch has to be removed after three days and that's when the side effects happened. After the doctor called in anti-nauseous medication and he stopped taking the Norco - he was much better within 24 hours. So since day three post surgery - he's only been taking over the counter Extra Strength Tylenol!
It's a DePuy Trumatch Sigma - which is a patient specific component - made especially to fit his knee from a CT Scan. Positioning and alignment are crucial to the overall performance as a slight misalignment can lead to uneven wear and instability. It's made from titanium and the doctor said he should get many decades from the implant!
This is what the implant looks like.
Prior to removing the dressing (which was my job) we weren't sure how large the incision would be.
The closed the incision up by using dissolvable sutures and glue!
His incision was 7 inches long - exactly!
You can see the bruising on the side of the knee and leg.
and comparing the two knees you can see the swelling.
and then just 2 1/2 weeks later this is how well the incision has heeled.
At the post-op appointment these are the x-ray's of the implant. The doctor said the knee is lined up perfectly and he should have many decades of use!
This is both the left and right knee.
This is the knee's prior to surgery - you can see the left knee (in the picture, it's the knee on the right) is bone on bone. He reiterated that his knee was a "disaster".
Looking a head: I return to work in a week, Bill has 8 additional weeks of physical therapy and we go back for another doctor's appointment in 6 weeks. Bill hopes to return to work in the 8 weeks - but the doctor said unless his knee is strong enough he needs to be patient.
My latest additions to my Skechers collection:
I've started creating slides for my Lightbox......Here's my latest:
Thanks for checking in!
