Bad news, & baderer news
Ok, well....my knees are thrashed. They're basically all chewed up
bone, no "joint" visible in the Xrays. But this much I knew already.
The surgeon said that, because my knees have contracted so much (I'm
unable to straighten them now) that this makes joint replacement
surgery more difficult. They (the Drs) need to "have enough room to
move around in there". Another option is to fuse them, which scares
me to death. Fusing basically means that they screw the bones
together. No more joint. I can't wrap my mind around how that would
work. He said they don't fuse them totally straight, but didn't
elaborate on this. He wants to consult with my Rheumatologist to see
how HE plans to treat me. And he said he wants to think about what is
the best course of action, AND whether to do one or both knees at the
same time. He's leaning toward one at a time though. He'll call me
early next week.
He can't get me on the surgical schedule for at least 6-8 weeks, which
complicates some after-surgery at home help I was trying to arrange
with my sister. But this won't work with her schedule for the summer.
:-/
SOoooo.....LOTS of things to consider, none terribly encouraging since
they've gotten SO bad. *sigh* :-(
My Groups
-
Music = Life Updated: 1 hour ago
-
Christus Vox Updated: 2 hours ago
-
Cuteologists Unanimous Updated: 3 hours ago
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
Comments
Definitely get more info about the fusion. Such as how would your mobility be? Would it at least do away with some of the pain?
So sorry....my thoughts are with you. Really research what you do, possibly if you can talk to people who had the fusion done, that wuold be helpfull. (Maybe someone's blogging about it.)
Right now, some serious cat snorgling is called for.
Maybe they'll think of something else you can't imagine that'll work. Maybe. *fingers crossed* and (((hugs for mc2)))
I'm so sorry to hear. Will the fusing still leave you with some mobility, and no more pain? Because that doesn't sound so bad. Do find out... and hope they come up with some good alternatives. Sending good mojo across, D.
((((hugs))))
Thanks for all your kind thoughts, everyone. You made me cry an' evwyting! Good tears, because somebody cares. That means SO much! *GROUP HUGZ*
Re fusion: About 17 years ago I had my left ankle fused. There are two looong screws in there which screw the bones together until it GROWS together. I was in a cast for 3 mos, they didn't like the way it was healing. They re-cast-ed (?) me for another few months & I had one of those lovely ski boot contraptions I could wrap around it so I could walk. With it off, though, there was this E-stim thing I could put on that fit over the ankle portion of the cast, & then there was a "power pack" deal that I could hook to my waist in back. Like you see on tv when a celebrity has a wireless mic on? Kinda like that (I'll try to find a link to explain this). This device sent electrical waves into the bone to stimulate growth. Remember this was 1990 so I'm sure it's been highly refined by now. ANYWAY, eventually the bone was solid & I could walk again.
When they screwed it all together, they didn't make me totally flat-footed. The heel is raised up just enough so that I could wear "flats" with sort of a wedge heel? About 1 1/2" higher at the heel than at the toes?
The crux of this story is that I continued to have pain & lots of swelling, for YEARS after this procedure. And I regretted having it done, because the outcome was so poor. (To be continued)
Denise, I cant believe I missed that message.
will keep on reading.