Getting ready for a total knee replacement on my right knee on December 8. I want to document the surgery and recovery so that others can learn from the experience. Before doing that, however, let me give you some background on why I need a total knee replacement and why I am doing this at 55 years old.
I initially injured my right knee while playing baseball when serving in the US Army. During the summer of 1975, I was playing baseball for the 1-62nd Air Defense Artillery unit assigned to Schofield Barracks in Hawaiil. During an evening game I was playing left field during twilight. A long towering fly ball was hit to left field, and I camped under the ball to catch it. As the ball descended to earth, I suddenly realized that I was not deep enough to catch it, so I quickly back-pedaled. At some point, I either stepped into a hole or simply hyper-extended my leg while stepping with my full weight to the ground. I recall sudden pain and a loud pop in my right leg. I tumbled to the ground, but was able to catch the ball as it landed in my up-raised glove. The players in the infield just stared at me wondering why I did not quickly get to my feet. From a lying position, I threw the ball the best I could back into the infield, but I could not get to my feet. My leg felt like it was broken. Eventually, Major Fajito, who was the team manager ran out to the outfield and helped me off the field. My knee had already swollen, and I could not put any weight on it. I sat out the rest of the game with ice on my knee. Later that evening at the division dispensary, the on-call doctor determined I had sprained the knee.
While the initial swelling went away, and I was soon able to walk normally again. Something did not feel right. My knee seemed tender and unstable. Eventually, I noticed that the knee would buckle on certain movements. One night while out disco dancing in downtown Honolulu, I recall pivoting on my knee during a dance only to have my knee buckle from beneath me and fall to the floor. Army doctors then began doing additional tests on the knee. They injecetd a dye into the knee and then reviewed the xrays. It was determined that I had a torn cartilage. Surgery was finally performed at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii in January 1976. As arthroscopic surgery was still in its infancy, traditional knee surgery (medial menisectomy) was performed on my knee. During the surgery to remove the torn cartilage, doctors noted that the anterior cruciate ligament was absent. Hence, it was confirmed that I had torn the cartilage and the ACL. In street parlance, I had completely blown out my right knee at 20 years old. Doctors told me then that the question of a total knee replacment in my future was not a matter of "if", but rather a matter of "when".
The doctors were right, and the "when" was answered with the year 2010--thirty five years after the initial injury. At 55 years old, I decided that the time to replace the knee was now and not postpone the knee replacement any longer. I have been bothered by this knee since 1975, but particularly over the last 10 years. In 2003, I had to give up running entirely, and I noticed that knee flexibility signficantly decreased. My right leg increasingly bowed with time too. Walking became increasingly limited as short distances such as a 1/2 mile caused pain and swelling in the knee.
Throughout the years, doctors have advised me to postpone total knee replacement until my 60's. Total knee replacement surgery (which is considered major surgery) has traditionally been performed on men/women who were significantly handicapped and 65 years or older. In effect, total knee replacement was a last chance procedure to return wheel-chair confined seniors to some form of pain free walking, but for simple things like light house work or walking to their mailbox, not a surgery for active people.
Until recent times doctors have been reluctant to perform total knee replacment on younger patients as these patients were likely to "wear out" the prosthesis and require a second knee replacement. However, with data now supporting that the knee prosthesis will last up to 30 years, and that active people can benefit greatly from the surgery, doctors are now performing the surgery on younger patients with the age for candidacy now moving into the 50's. Doctors now say that people desiring active lifestyles can do well with total knee replacement provided that high impact sports (running, basketball, etc.) are avoided. For those that do bike riding, swimming, doubles tennis, golf (wihtout a cart), long distance walking, etc. that the total knee replacement should survive these sports and provide a pain free experience.
For me, the knee replacment is all about quailty of life. Aging into your senior years does not have to be a life of joint pain and sendentary lifestyle. For me, the senior years will continue to be an active lifestyle.
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