In June 2014 I had my left elbow replaced. At the present time this is 9 weeks ago. I have had good progress but concerned about doing anything that will make it come loose.
Has anyone else had the same operation and how has it been and has there been any problem with the joint coming loose?
Not had this done and hope I never have to but I do suffer pain in my elbow and have had cortizone injections to date. I just wanted to say that I hope things continue well with your recovery, also I hope that someone answers your post for you. All the best.
Greetings from Dallas Texas USA. In May 2013 I had my right elbow replaced due to a rather nasty fall in my home. This was the second fracture of this elbow. Due to the many fragments in the arthritic elbow the decision to replace was the only option. the surgery took over 4 hours due to issues removing a previously installed screw. After waking in the most severe pain ever experienced by me the recovery began. After 15 months my pain is just now starting to ease.there is only 50% feeling in my little finger, but is returning rather slowly. My elbow pops and cracks often when moving. Hopefully yours will do better. By the way I am a very active 59 year old man. The surgery has certainly changed the way I do everything, but overall the out come has been OK. Just don't rush your healing Be very patient and careful not to fall. I have to take Napricin every day to control pain. Is your elbow causing you any grief? You are the first person I've dealt with that has had a replacement. Rather unusual here in the US, with less that 2000 done per year. Not sure if my surgeon was totally competent or not. Without going for a second opinion I would never know.
Hi my name is Maggie
I just had total elbow replacement
Oct. 23rd 2014
So far so good home recovering no pain
Just starting to try and exercise,very stiff but
Can move my arm. Hoping my movement improves with time. Your the first person I
Know that has also had this surgury
I have RA. That's why I had the surgury
My elbow was locked. Was very frightened to
Have this surgury done. Could use my arm
But couldn't bend or straighten it hoping for
Good results but like u very worried about
What not to do . Hope your recovery improves wish u well . Please let me know how your doing
All The Best ...Maggie
Hope your elbow slowly heals over time
I also had this surgury just couple weeks ago oct 23rd 2014
Pain is not bad now mostly aches when trying to exersize it . Can't drive for 6 weeks driving me crazy.
My surgeon was very good after surgury he did a procedure called a nerve bypass so my pain would be lessened , was still painful but not bad after 3 or 4 days.
Wish u all the best.
I am considering the same operation I have Ra how are you recovering ,if you could make the decision again would you have it done again
I am considering having operation as I have RA have you found it beneficial an dwould given the option again have it done
Hello - your experience does sound quite different from mine. I am now 5 months on and I have all the feeling in my hand and pretty well full movement of my arm and wrist and no pain, popping or clicking. I am terrified of falling over! And I do struggle with doors as I stay in a lot of hotels with my job. Suitcase and brief case/handbag - trying to open doors - which does get me down. It is unusual over here in the UK as well, and i spoke with 8 or 9 consultants before finding one I thought could give me he best outcome.
I can feel my arm is different though in so far as sometimes it feels like I have a cuff on my elbow, when I dont and it does feel very slightly heavier than my other arm - not much, but a bit. How is your now?
Hi Maggie - I hope the recovery is still going well. My elbow is really very good. I have no pain and I have most movement. I do struggle with doors though and I do worry about damaging it.I found the recovery in the first few weeks quite amazing and then it slowed down.
It is quite unusual and I do find people just look very suprised when I tell them what I have - but I am very happy with it.
I hope yours is going as well.
Hi
I had no real choice but to have this dome as I samashed my elbow and it could not be re-built. I am very happy with it as it is fully functional and no pain. However, if you do have a fully functioning elbow you need to consider carefully the fact that you will not be able to pick anything up any heavier than a cup of tea with that arm, ever.
It is more of an inconvenience than anything else, but sometimes I really could do with being able to carry heavier stuff. If however you have a lot of problems with your elbow then it is a good solution but make sure you find yourself an experienced surgeon in elbow replacement, not just an elbow specialist.
let me know if you decided to proceed.
I had my elbow crushed in 1985 and im sick of not beinga ble to scratch my noce with my left hand!! My arm still works but with no bending - its fixed. There is no pain. Is it worth the trouble of getting a replacement? Will my wasted muscles come back after such a long time?
If you cant live with it any longer than you have no choice. I had a replacement 1 1/2 years ago and my surgery did not go as well as planned. Due to a previously installed screw in the ulna the surgery took twice as long as scheduled. I still have very reduced feeling in two fingers. My surgeon limited my weight capacity to 40 lbs. I only occasionally lift any where near that because of pain in elbow.It is extremely painful when I get tired at night.I still work on vehicles, hunt and fish and play outdoors as much as a 60 year old man can.The pain is way beyond OTC pain killers. I still sleep with a brace on it to limit motion.
I do not wish my experience with it on anybody.My experience seems to be the odd one.You HAVE to find a surgeon experienced in this surgery. I suspect my surgery was the surgeons first. I am going to follow up with another doctor soon and have my surgical records in hand. Best of luck to you.
Hi, i had this procedure done about 11 years ago. Had a bad car accident and after 12 surgeries trying to repair the elbow they finally opted for a replacement. I have had chronic pain in it and you have to be careful with it. I have had trouble with the tricep and ripped it off like 3 times. There is limitations with the elbow but you will learn how to adapt to it, the only real problem i had with it is wearing down of the bushing and had to replace it, other then that it was worth doing it instead of having an arm frozen straight and not able to use it,
Hi there! My name is Jayne. I'm a 57 yr old female who suffers with severe RA. I was diagnosed almost 20 years ago. At the time I was as fit as a fiddle, 8 stones soaking wet, weight training 5 times a week and training to run the Marathon. I had a major throat infection and lost even more weight. When the infection cleared I began to get aches and pains, swollen and hot joints and just generally felt unwell. I was back and forth to the doctors, who eventually blood tested me. The result came back with RA as the diagnosis. I was sent to a hospital here in the UK that specialises in all forms of Arthritis and Rheumatism. My arthritis was so severe and came on so suddenly they asked me if I'd had been in a car accident, or suffered any kind of trauma. They thought the onset was so violent that there was something that must have caused it. Eventually they decided that it was Reactive Arthritis, and that it might burn itself out ; sadly that's not happened. Within a year I needed to have my knees replaced - but they made me wait 7 years, saying I was far too young. During one knee replacement op they paralysed my lungs and needed to resuscitate me! But both knees were replaced...and to date are very successful! Next it was my wrists...so they were replaced (along with an operation on both hands to alleviate Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) - that was 2008 and 2009. Now we get to the elbow bit!!! My first elbow replacement was the left one in 2010. 3 weeks after the op, the bones above the replacement joint fractured. As the replacement joint was so new, the surgeons were loathe to re-open the wound for fear of infection.....so I lived with a broken arm for over a year. My right elbow was replaced in 2012. Sadly, some infection set in. They couldn't identify the infection. The lab couldn't grow a culture, so it was treated with general high dose antibiotics. As soon as I stopped the antibiotics, the infection took hold again and raged. If there is a replacement joint in the area of the infection...that joint has to be removed. So it was done. Now I have a broken left arm, and a right arm with no joint....difficult to say the least! Six months later, a spacer was put into my right arm to give it some sense of use. After a while, the spacer rocked out of its position, trapping my nerves, causing terrible pain all down my forearm. So that had to be removed. Whilst all this was happening, it was decided to pin the fracture in my left arm!! Within 10 days, the plates fell off, and the infection set in there too! So out came that joint!! Now I have both arms useless!! Don't get me wrong... Its not as bad as it sounds.. I MADE myself cope (I live alone, with no help at all!) During 2014 I had 8 operations...on one arm or the other. I spent 12 months on IV antibiotics through a PICC line, giving myself the injections daily. My left arm was finally sorted in December last year... And last month, my Right elbow was replaced again. That should have been it.. Whoopee! I'd finally had the last op, and I was now officially bionic! Mmmm celebrated too soon perhaps? Went for a check up today, and turns out that I may need yet another op on my left arm - to release the trapped ulnar nerve which is deadening the fingers of my left hand..... Watch this space! But through everything I've been through...including losing my Mum,Dad and boyfriend during all this.... I have NEVER EVER given up. I stay as cheerful as I can, I get up, put my face on, and face the world as best as I can. I don't want sympathy or pity from anyone, I get by with as little help as possible. No one wants to know a misery guts. If I feel in pain (constant, but my pain threshold is massive now) I allow myself a things or two, shake myself and get on with it. Now my ankles are starting to show signs of failure, so I expect that will be the next move! I can only say to anyone who takes the time to read this... You are the master of your own feelings, don't let them drag you down. There is ALWAYS someone worse off than you. Your glass is half full, not half empty. Xxx
Hi, I have had RA for 30 years. Just now, I am thinking I need an elbow replacement. I'm wondering if any of you who have had more time to recover are feeling better about your replacement. Also having trouble knowing where to go for this.
Hi I'm 38 years old father of two children. I have had havy accident in 1996 and since then i have my elbow in one position fixed, I can only rotate and can not bend it up or down. I use my arm normally and do not have any pain I never had it in this years. Only after the first surgery when they tried to fix my elbow. I can lift very havy things and have done very havy excercises in Gym all this time. I have muscles though i do not have movment of elbow I have developed it with statical excercises. My triceps is also alive (it is not big and has no function but I wake him from time to time with usage of my arm by lifting havy things. I drive car normally, bicycle and have been snowboarding for all this years.
I have already considered to replace my elbow few years ago (2006) but did not decided since doktor did not convinced me that this is good for me (not many surgeries have been done back then).
I miss the most to be able to wash my face with two hands in the morning, to lift bench press in fitnes and to do pushups. This are the only three things i Can not do.
As I have read i would probably increase my movement with artificial elbow but would limit my self even more by lifting only small weghts and not by able to lift havy weith anymore.
If anybody would be please so kind just to give me some of your opinions I would be grateful for any opinion you can give me.
Thank you and regards from Slovenia.
Hi sasadenka
i am 46 very active with 2 bad elbows. I have talked to a doctor about an artificial Elbow (he makes 50 a year). The probleme is that you Can only carry 5kg, as you know. But The worst part is that It only last max. 10 years if you are Lucky, (bescause you are aktive) if you sit still Perhaps 20 years, but you do not. So you have to change it again. And you Can only have 2 operations Perhaps 3 in you life, and after that your Elbow is kaput.
i Can not tell you What to do but if a stiff Elbow Works for you and you have no pain, Then Think about what you get and what you have.
i have a question for you? Do you know Then Angel Of The Elbow, degres, and do you realy have no problems with it. I Think about a stiff Elbow so i Can get rid Of The pain. But i do not know what i Can do with it. Ex. Eat with a fork, Bush my teath etc
Hi jh93433 i got definite confirmation that I will not do the surgery because iI will loose much more than I will gain. I do not have any problems with my arm in fixed position and I am very active persone (from snowboarding to riding bike, rolerblades,...). Almost no restrictions, all I can not do is 3 things: pushups, wash my face in the morning with both hands and bench press in the fitness. I drive car normaly and usualy hold steering wheel with that-left arm (my left arm is in still position).
I eat with that hand normaly, holding knife in that hand and fork in other arm that I can move. I do not brush my teath with that hand since it is fixed and i can not bend it enough. I wash my teath with other arm.
I can touch my nose with that arm only with end of my fingers.
I do not know the exact angle of my arm but as I can see I think it is 120 degrees. I can take pictures and send you pictures or video of my armand elbow if you send me email.
I do not have any pain and have never had it excpet maybe 3-6 months after first try of surgery and never since had any pain.
If you need any info more write me and I will gladly answer.
Hi
My replacement elbow was done almost 2 years ago now. I had no choice. However I have very fee problems or pain with it. I can make all the movements with my arm and hand. But there is the weight restriction. I go swimming and I drive and I travel alot. It is possible to hold slightly heavier items by holding the item against me or under my arm if I am carrying something in my other hand. I would say it is a good thing if you have significant pain and problems with your elbow currently - otherwise I would wait until it becomes necessary.
Hi.
I am a 25 year old. I have been through an accident yesterday. And the doctor is saying by looking to my Xray that I have a minor crack in the bone near the joints below my elbow. And he is asking for an implant by which he is gonna implant some artificial metal on my joints. I just wanted to know if it is the same as elbow replacement or different. And would that be good or bad. At present I can move my hands from shoulder and wrist but from elbow I can move within a range of 50-60 degree.
Please give me some helpful suggestions.
God bless you all..