Had surgery for torn meniscus in February this year. The consultant who performed the op said I'd am lucky could last 2 years. It's gone from bad to worse. Had Physio and cortisone along with painkillers. Am now reduced to a practical crawl as its so painful to walk. Knee so stiff, aches, clunks, totally ruining my quality of life. GP appt going to refer me back to the consultant but friends have said they won't consider a replacement until I'm at least 60? Does anyone know if this is the case? And are there any alternatives?
HI - your story is so similar to mine. people do not get how debilitating a "bad" knee is do they/ I asked my surgeon to do a TKR 2 years ago when I was age 61 and he said I was too young and the knee was too good - after two years of agony and erratic ability I have now had it done. It made me so angry as the last two years have been really really hard. TKR is also not easy but in the long run should be way better. There are several people posting on her your age and younger.
I had my TKR when I was 55, I said to the consultant everyoe had suggested I was too young, he said if your strugelling and in constant pain moving, why wait?
They say that TKR can last up to 20 years and you never know if you will make 75 anyway, so I say have it done and start enjoying your life while you are young enough t get soe real benefit from it, good luck. It was 10 months ago and I have never looked back.
I had mine replaced at 46! In my opinion if your knee is shot, it's shot. Mine was a result of several injuries to my knee and similar to you, I also had a torn meniscus surgery which resulted in it getting worse. Best of luck to you
I'm 57 and you story is so similar to mine. I had 2 scopes over last year and had tkr 2 weeks ago. I'm in the army post surgery phase. It's not easy for sure, a lot of PAIN, hard to sleep, Constipation, feeling depressed utility the job is done. The pain now is post op pain and will get better. I'm working hard on being positive and am hopeful for greatly improved mobility
He was a young surgeon in his 40's and he also thinks is easier to recover and get fit faster when you are young, i am back to lawn bowling 3 - 4 times a week which really speeds recovery with all that stretching anc bending and great fun too.
if you don't do it now, you could end up like me with arthritis in your hips and other knee. I was a good girl, waited because "I was too young" but by the time I could wait no more ( around 50), the NHS lists were years long, my opposite leg had compensated so much, the rest of me was - and still is - a mess. I'm now 54, still waiting for a TKR. The rest is a long story - just do it as soon as you can - before your muscles waste away as well.
I guess it depends on where you are but if you scroll back though this site you will find a number of folks 50 and under that have had it done. Obviousily, it's the surgeons call but prosthesis' are lasting longer with proper care. That is to say, you may have to give up jumping out of airplanes, playing goalie and running marathons to protect the joint but you definitely can live with it.
One of the 1st lessons in joint repair is to stop taking advice from family and friends who live on hearsay. They will either have you so frightened you won't want to get out of bed in the morning OR believing you will be competing in aforementioned marathons in 4 to 6 weeks, which is equally absurd. Talk to a qualified orthopaedic surgeon and get the most qualified opinion as possible for YOUR situation. Knee problems are as different as fingerprints. Good luck. Sounds like you definitely need help.
I had mine about 7 weeks ago at age 53. I've never heard it being about your age, but rather the degree of damage to the knee and the patient's ability to function. You need to listen to your body and your orthopedic surgeon needs to listen to you. I am already glad I did it. Yes it was painful, but I know that this pain will continue to heal and subside. The pain I was having prior to surgery (for many years) would never have gone away with any other course of action. Good luck and feel better soon!
Hi I'm 56 just had TKR look into Smith&Nephew custom knee. They take multiple measurements via MRI and x-ray. My surgeon was loves the way it fits lot less fitting. Joint is supposed to be good for 30 years. Good luck, it is a painful operation but once done should be ok.
I'm 37 and just has my right knee replaced. I was bone on bone and struggled to walk for years. My surgeon said age ultimately doesn't matter in the end. Good luck!
Try the 3 shot synvisc first. Seems funny they would say replace just for tore meniscus. Less theres alot more wrong. Had torn cartiladge removed 3 times. Last time was 15 years ago. Feels fine. Get the synvisc twice a year. They didnt want to do a replace on mine so soon cause of the life of replacement knee. Not sure what it is now but back then was only 5 to 10 years depending on which one you got. These other people could tell you more about that. Insurance doesnt want to pay to have mine done again and again. Work related injury.
Who knows what the parameters are for the UK, but in the USA you would definately be a candidate since the new materials cause a TKR to last 30 years. Get a different doctor if you are able to.
These kinds of reports are very troubling. Have you googled things that could have been done wrong by surgeons, such as oversized parts for the knee? You might need this reviewed by another sugeon. The other factors would be how soon you went back to your usual routines and stresses that may have hindered complete healing because bone, tendons and ligaments do take many months to properly heal.
Cortizone is just a anti inflamatory. Its useless. The clunking sounds more like a ACL problem. Joint popping apart kind of thing. My brother had his ACL done decades ago. Hes just started to have problems again.