Regular Joe
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2009
- Messages
- 302
Questions about Knee Replacement - NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE
I hope I'm not jumping the gun on this.
Crohn's has slaughtered my left knee which has been deformed for some time from arthritis. I've been wearing a brace for almost a year because climbing stairs has been getting real hard. Walking is bad too, today I couldn't fit on my brace due to swelling, so I've been immobile most of the day.
Anyway, the ortho surgeon who is an excellent doctor said he was not going to do surgery on my knee until "this flare" is "stabilized". All he did when I visited him was look at my knee and touch it, asked me to walk and asked about pain in other areas. In one visit he said you have IBD which is obvious. Talk to your GI and tell him I won't operate, and that most likely you have a "systemic problem". He believed it was Crohn's all along, but he said he can't be sure and prescribe medicine, but he was absolutely certain I have an autoimmune disease.
That got my GI into action, and was very thorough in taking and reading my charts and the notes of the other physicians.
My biggest problem is the knee which needs to be replaced. According to my first surgeon, she gave two years before I'm in a wheelchair. 11 months have passed and damn if she wasn't right! Crohns has made this knee degenerate so quickly that I can tell over a few months that it gets worse and the X-rays show it deteriorating.
How soon after a flare gets under control should I schedule total knee replacement? What does the ortho surgeon mean by getting the flare stabilized? If the Entocort works, should I move ahead quickly? I don't want to wait because this is quite disabling - moreso than the IBD flare I'm living with now. I guess I just feel if the "window of opportunity" opens and my CRP level gets within the "normal" range, I'm saying damn the torpedoes and wanting to move full speed ahead.
The ortho surgeon says TNR is the best route for people with Crohn's or any other autoimmune disorder. The guy is super-experienced and highly recommended, and I've seen him enough to trust his work. He is a knock-out card (a real comedian from the heart), but he is also alert and very empathetic and caring. I guess I need to figure out "What next?".
Who should I talk with and when can I start planning? I haven't got the biopsies back yet, but it's pretty much a moot point. The GI saw enough and had enough evidence in my blood (the CRP) among other things, like coordinating his findings with the rheumetologist. It's definitely Crohn's disease, the diagnosis isn't the issue I don't think.
Am I jumping ahead too fast? Heck I'm not scared of surgery with a pro like this ortho guy. My lung surgery was quick and easy because I had a great surgeon, and I was out of the hospital in two days only taking Tylenol. I was back at work in 3 weeks. I know a knee replacement is not nearly as quick to recover from. Has anyone had TNR with Crohn's, and if you did how did it turn out?
Thanks for your help. Joseph
I hope I'm not jumping the gun on this.
Crohn's has slaughtered my left knee which has been deformed for some time from arthritis. I've been wearing a brace for almost a year because climbing stairs has been getting real hard. Walking is bad too, today I couldn't fit on my brace due to swelling, so I've been immobile most of the day.
Anyway, the ortho surgeon who is an excellent doctor said he was not going to do surgery on my knee until "this flare" is "stabilized". All he did when I visited him was look at my knee and touch it, asked me to walk and asked about pain in other areas. In one visit he said you have IBD which is obvious. Talk to your GI and tell him I won't operate, and that most likely you have a "systemic problem". He believed it was Crohn's all along, but he said he can't be sure and prescribe medicine, but he was absolutely certain I have an autoimmune disease.
That got my GI into action, and was very thorough in taking and reading my charts and the notes of the other physicians.
My biggest problem is the knee which needs to be replaced. According to my first surgeon, she gave two years before I'm in a wheelchair. 11 months have passed and damn if she wasn't right! Crohns has made this knee degenerate so quickly that I can tell over a few months that it gets worse and the X-rays show it deteriorating.
How soon after a flare gets under control should I schedule total knee replacement? What does the ortho surgeon mean by getting the flare stabilized? If the Entocort works, should I move ahead quickly? I don't want to wait because this is quite disabling - moreso than the IBD flare I'm living with now. I guess I just feel if the "window of opportunity" opens and my CRP level gets within the "normal" range, I'm saying damn the torpedoes and wanting to move full speed ahead.
The ortho surgeon says TNR is the best route for people with Crohn's or any other autoimmune disorder. The guy is super-experienced and highly recommended, and I've seen him enough to trust his work. He is a knock-out card (a real comedian from the heart), but he is also alert and very empathetic and caring. I guess I need to figure out "What next?".
Who should I talk with and when can I start planning? I haven't got the biopsies back yet, but it's pretty much a moot point. The GI saw enough and had enough evidence in my blood (the CRP) among other things, like coordinating his findings with the rheumetologist. It's definitely Crohn's disease, the diagnosis isn't the issue I don't think.
Am I jumping ahead too fast? Heck I'm not scared of surgery with a pro like this ortho guy. My lung surgery was quick and easy because I had a great surgeon, and I was out of the hospital in two days only taking Tylenol. I was back at work in 3 weeks. I know a knee replacement is not nearly as quick to recover from. Has anyone had TNR with Crohn's, and if you did how did it turn out?
Thanks for your help. Joseph
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