I had a fall at 18, never sought treatment (drunken student) and found out at 23 that I had developed osteoarthritis. I was told I would need a TKR but because of my age, to last out as long as I could. I visited the GP several times over the years and was repeatedly told the same thing, put on a waiting list for cortisone etc.
At my wits end in March 2014 I made an appointment with a physiotherapist. He took one look at my leg with it's swollen appearance and limited movement and ran off to get an orthopaedic specialist. He said it was one of the worst knees he'd seen, I'd gone way beyond cortisone. My leg had an overall range of movement of 20 degrees. Anyway, long story short, I had a TKR in Feb 2015. It wasn't a straightforward procedure due to the damage to my leg but the prosthesis was fitted perfectly. The movement struggled to come back though. I had 70 degrees flexion and -30 degrees extension (after rigorous physio). I was told I needed an MUA. Unfortunately my leg just wouldn't move, the surgeon said it would've snapped if he'd forced it anymore.
I went to various appointments, my surgeon said the lack of movement was due to the failure of my ligaments so they needed removing and replacing with a long stemmed hinged implant. As it was so drastic for someone of my age, he sent me for a second opinion. The second opinion guy wanted to just do another TKR and not touch anything else because of my age. Thankfully my surgeon fought for it (what good would replacing the existing one do). In July 16 I had my second TKR. Instantly it felt much better. My leg was almost straight. My stooped walk no more. Everyone comments how I've grown LOL at 37!!
I am still struggling with the bend and attending physio (14 weeks on). My flexion is at 80 degrees. Not ideal but better than I could've hoped for. I'm really pleased with it and so grateful to the surgeon who fought my corner. My journey has taught me that ageism exists in the opposite form when it comes to TKR. I admit that I will need further surgery in years to come and due to the extreme nature of my current prosthesis I stand a high chance of leg amputation later in life. But it's not fair that because of my age I've had to fight so hard for something that someone older can have without begging and pleading. It's been humiliating at times. However, I am thrilled with the outcome of my TKR. I'll hopefully have 20 years of a life now that I couldn't have before. I hope that others don't have quite the struggle I did at first and are lucky to find a surgeon specialising in younger people as I eventually did.
At my wits end in March 2014 I made an appointment with a physiotherapist. He took one look at my leg with it's swollen appearance and limited movement and ran off to get an orthopaedic specialist. He said it was one of the worst knees he'd seen, I'd gone way beyond cortisone. My leg had an overall range of movement of 20 degrees. Anyway, long story short, I had a TKR in Feb 2015. It wasn't a straightforward procedure due to the damage to my leg but the prosthesis was fitted perfectly. The movement struggled to come back though. I had 70 degrees flexion and -30 degrees extension (after rigorous physio). I was told I needed an MUA. Unfortunately my leg just wouldn't move, the surgeon said it would've snapped if he'd forced it anymore.
I went to various appointments, my surgeon said the lack of movement was due to the failure of my ligaments so they needed removing and replacing with a long stemmed hinged implant. As it was so drastic for someone of my age, he sent me for a second opinion. The second opinion guy wanted to just do another TKR and not touch anything else because of my age. Thankfully my surgeon fought for it (what good would replacing the existing one do). In July 16 I had my second TKR. Instantly it felt much better. My leg was almost straight. My stooped walk no more. Everyone comments how I've grown LOL at 37!!
I am still struggling with the bend and attending physio (14 weeks on). My flexion is at 80 degrees. Not ideal but better than I could've hoped for. I'm really pleased with it and so grateful to the surgeon who fought my corner. My journey has taught me that ageism exists in the opposite form when it comes to TKR. I admit that I will need further surgery in years to come and due to the extreme nature of my current prosthesis I stand a high chance of leg amputation later in life. But it's not fair that because of my age I've had to fight so hard for something that someone older can have without begging and pleading. It's been humiliating at times. However, I am thrilled with the outcome of my TKR. I'll hopefully have 20 years of a life now that I couldn't have before. I hope that others don't have quite the struggle I did at first and are lucky to find a surgeon specialising in younger people as I eventually did.
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