Knee Surgery 101: Going Bionic

Growing up, my knees were put through every kind of challenge--enthusiastic participation in sports, all the leaping, twirling and high kicking of cheerleading, and dancing dancing dancing. In my 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, there was hiking, swimming, rowing, running, boot camping, and more dancing. But, now here in my 60s, the bill has come due, the knees seem to have come to the end of their workability. The prescription is to have them replaced, which I'm told is today a nearly routine medical procedure. Trust me, I'm a skeptic, and I don't take the prescription easily or comfortably. I resist any medical procedure that isn't absolutely necessary. 

The first time a doctor told me my knees should be replaced was two years ago. Initially I flat out rejected the idea. But my knees didn't. They kept reminding me they were tired. The pain is most pronounced when I try to do the long-distance walking that is my passion. Two years ago, 20,000 steps a day were easy. Then it became 10,000. Today the average is down to 5,000. I've begun to drive on errands that once were an easy walk. If I've been sitting for a while and get up, the first few steps can be painful. That said, I don't have pain when I sit or sleep, I can easily go up and down stairs. I'm lucky. For now. I know that in time the deterioration will advance. 

A year ago I began to do research. This involved the interwebs and talking to as many people as possible, from doctors to friends and strangers who had undergone what's known among aficionados as TKR -- total knee replacement. The most amazing part of this research was discovering that in any group of adults it seemed there always was at least one who had a new knee or knees, or at least knew someone -- loved one, friend -- who had done TKR. Honestly, this stunned me. I discovered I had a close friend who had done both. I was at a dinner party with a former rugby player who had done both.  A man with whom I do some business told me when he was about to go in to do both. In the gym locker room a friend said she had done one partial. At the grocery store, a friend said her husband had done it. Another friend said she was off to Chicago to get it done (an option I learned is available if extravagant). Colleagues mentioned friends and parents. And on and on. In this casual canvassing it seemed for most, if not all, the procedure had gone well and they were glad they made the choice. What I heard most often was "I should have done it earlier."

Which is why I've opted to do it while I still get around fairly well and without a daily dose of Advil. (I try to achieve pain management through acupuncture). I'm trying to be sensibly pre-emptive. I interviewed as many as six doctors, even the Chicago option, and while they were mostly knee surgeons they were not all knee surgeons. None tried to talk me out of it. All said I was a good candidate for the procedure. All also said it was a "lifestyle" decision, in my case, and that I could do now or wait until my 70s or 80s. But, hey, how do I know I'll have those years and, besides, I want to walk NOW. The most encouraging words were that at this stage I am a fairly standard case without too much damage to repair. 

My surgery is in August with Dr. Marc Connell, at Sibley Hospital. Between now and then, and hopefully after -- assuming I can get to the computer!! -- I hope to tell the story here. Its the kind of information I've searched the web for without much success: a narrative of knee surgery. Please come along with me.