The doctor never wanted to do two knees at once in the first place. But
he said he would provided I was in good health which meant seeing a
cardiologist for an exam and stress test (re: my triple bypass 10 years
ago). The day before the surgery I got the results of the test which
showed "restricted uptake near the bottom of the heart" and, in all
probability, some re-blockage of the right coronary artery bypass. We
agreed that, since I haven't experienced any angina, there is probably
some degree of angiogenesis there. I thought it was all settled until I
got to the hospital for surgery and the surgeon showed me what the
cardiologist had written... "estimated 3 times risk of death from heart
attack for bilateral knee replacement over single knee replacement". He
said either one knee or none... my choice. Not much else you can do
when sitting on the gurney other than agree.
I was terribly frustrated since I think the cardiolgist's statement was
a very garbled rewording and misunderstanding of some research I did
myself and showed the good doctor re the outcomes of some 6,000 knee
replacements covering single, bilateral and staged bilateral over 4,000
patients. But that wasn't worth squat to the surgeon. But in the end
I'm glad he refused to go with two. I can't imagine how I would have
been able to get around and make the progress I have with no good knee
to stand on. :-)
ps: for reasons not understood, people who have bilateral replacment
tend to live longer and by a statistically significant margin.
Chuck Norcutt
Candace Lemarr wrote:
> Sorry I am late in replying to this, but this is great news, Chuck!
> I've had many friends/family members who've had joints of all types
> replaced, and I am well aware of the variance between recoveries and
> prognosis. Your news is the best you could expect, so I am happy for
> you and want to wish you continued success in your recovery.
> Oh, and if you posted it, I missed the explanation of why the doctor
> opted for a single knee replacement at this time. Weren't you planning
> for both knees at once? Personally, I think one at a time is plenty,
> but am curious as to why plans changed for you.
>
> Candace
>
> Chuck Norcutt wrote:
>
> I just returned from my second visit to the physical therapist. I was a
> little concerned about what the outcome might be since the knee itself
> and immediate surrounds have been much more painful the last couple of
> days. But, he says the knee looks great and that I'm way ahead of the
> expected recovery curve.
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
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