What would you do? (not a regional question)

Eagle421flyer

Eagle421flyer

Well-Known Member
So long story short (and mods feel free to move this I thought I might get better traffic here) I was in a car accident back in 2006 my wife (girlfriend at the time) were hit by a drunk driver. She was driving her boyfriends car had no assets anything so I got nothing for all this. Anyway when we first went to the er the dr wanted to amputate my right leg (my knee was a disaster) thanks to my wife saying "no no no" they found a different dr and they did the best they could to piece it together. After a year of being out of work I went back (plates in the leg had to come out bc I'm allergic to metal). After about 6 months I couldn't work my knee didn't work well enough to fly. So my wife found a dr who did cadaver knee and meniscus transplant, so I went down that path in 2009. Since then its been relatively good. I tore the meniscus back in 2012 quick 10 min surgery and I was back at work.

Fast forward to May my knee locked up going downstairs so I went back to my dr they did a scope. They cleaned it out the best they could but its bone on bone. I'm 8 weeks out and not nearly good enough to go to work. I found a dr in NYC who will do a total knee replacement on me with a knee that I'm not allergic to, and didn't have a problem doing one because of my age (I'm 41). So I have a surgery date with him. When I went to my 8 week check with the surgeon who has done all my previous surgeries he suggested we try injections to "see if they work" I got one yesterday, but honestly unless its going to be a magic injection to regrow cartridge its not going to be a good solution. And just for fun and to complicate things I have no LTD because even though I have been at the company over a year the LTD policy started after the first year but doesn't cover pre-exisiting conditions for a year after the LTD policy starts.

Sorry its kind of long and confusing. I guess the ultimate question I have is would you go ahead with the knee replacement and forgo the rest of the injections? Anyone have injections with good results? Anyone with knee replacements with good results?
 
Please keep in mind this is obviously not medical advice, only anecdotal examples.

My mother in law (at 70) had a double knee replacement and said she wished she had done it years earlier.

A good friend of mine (at 51) had a double knee replacement and said he wished he had done it years earlier.

They both tried shots and my buddy also tried some sort of epidural. Both of them considered the non-surgical treatments a waste of time and money.

Good luck!
 
I'm not a doctor, but married to one (an orthopeadic surgeon).
Normally she wants a patient to try every means possible of correcting a problem before surgery. The non-surgical treatments are not a waste of time and money and while surgery will often fix problems it is not a magic bullet- sometimes it gets better, sometimes worse, sometimes there is no change. Often there are complications, some recoveries may be more difficult than others. Even if surgery is the final solution the non-surgical procedures may help with the recovery.
Having said that every case is different. Get several opinions.
 
If it were me I'd at least try non-surgical procedures like said above. ^.... but I'd talk to someone who's really qualified and knows what they're talking about though and avoid asking on the internet. Most people on the internet looking for medical advice/symptom checkers will quickly escalate into something much worse.
 
Both my dr's agree that the next surgery I have will be a knee replacement its just more a matter of if I want to try more injections or not. From what research I've done it looks like the injections maybe work better one someone who's knee is not as far gone as mine.....
 
Damnit Jim...I'm a pilot, not a doctor.

Now that that is out of the way, I can tell you that knee replacements only last about 10 years before you need another one.

As far as injections go, did you have something along the lines of hyaluronic acid, synvisc, orthovisc, or euflexxa? Those are all good for temporary pain relief. However, they only delay the need for a knee replacement. They help to lubricate the joint but that's about it. They were originally approved by the FDA for 6 months of pain relief. New studies show that pain relief only last about 6-8 weeks. The problem there is that insurance companies aren't covering injections more than every 6 months because that is what it was originally approved for by the FDA.

Just curious, did the doctor diagnose you with osteoarthritis and, if so, what grade is it?

If it were me, I would most definitely try another injection before going all in on a knee replacement. The new injection is fantastic but does nothing for pain associated with an artificial knee.

With all that being said, my wife sells a new amniotic fluid injection which has been shown to provide longer term pain relief. In a study of 460 patients, almost 75% reported pain relief after 6 months.

PM me for more information on the injection. Where are you located? NY?
 
Nukem said:
http://www.aahks.org/care-for-hips-and-knees/do-i-need-a-joint-replacement/total-knee-replacement/
I think it depends...
80-85% last 20 years.
MIL is at 16 years and counting.

Alternative medicine once proven to work is called medicine.
Click to expand...
True, it definitely depends on activity level and the types of activities performed in the months and years after surgery.

I should have expanded on my statement more. Studies show that younger (<65) patients who opt for TKR have a higher failure rate than older patients.

If you need a TKR, then you need to have it done. I just think it is better to exhaust all non-surgical options before going down that road...especially when you are only 41 years old.
 
Thanks for the input everyone, I think what I'm going to do is the injections until the surgery. I don't suppose any amount of injection is going to change the fact that I can't bend my knee and put a lot of weight on it because its bone on bone. The really determining factor is that I haven't gotten paid since may and our ltd doesn't cover pre-exisiting conditions so I can't spend a long time waiting to see if injections will work because I have no money coming in :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top