Oh no...knee surgery right before trip! Advice?

[shannonstar]

You might also consider a knee brace with the built in cold packs. Something like this:

A little pricy, but I am sure there are similar kinds out there that cost less.

 

[rwdavis2]

You might also consider a knee brace with the built in cold packs. Something like this:

A little pricy, but I am sure there are similar kinds out there that cost less.

That is awesome!!

And also, beware of other guests running into his knee. My wife had to deal with this locally after hers was replaced.

 

[shannonstar]

That is awesome!!

And also, beware of other guests running into his knee. My wife had to deal with this locally after hers was replaced.

Thanks! I have one b/c I have had ongoing knee issues and played roller derby for a year and a half before finally admitting that I needed knee surgery.

It was great to put on right after practice. I also have a comfortable brace with metal brackets for general walking that I still use for working out and such. I will definitely be bringing that one to Disney.

 

[disneydiva1313]

I have gone to Disney World after ankle surgery...ankle fusion...crutches for 6-8 weeks, then a boot. I was in a boot...my friends insisted I get a wheelchair because my ankle was swelling...too much walking too soon.

 

[disneyandme]

You might also consider a knee brace with the built in cold packs. Something like this:

A little pricy, but I am sure there are similar kinds out there that cost less.

What company makes this brace? i have had a terrible time finding one without a patella cut out.

 

[shannonstar]

What company makes this brace? i have had a terrible time finding one without a patella cut out.

This is a mojo knee ice wrap. I am sure you can find it cheaper, but here is the amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

 

[Jennasis]

He had shoulder surgery for a torn labrum 4 years ago and BOY was that surgery a doozy as far as recovery. he wore a sling for a good 6-8 weeks with the pillow and we had to be very careful about him being bumped.

 

[tinkerpea]

I really feel for you!

We only go on holiday every other yr too and Im due to have Major surgery on my head on the 20th of this month! Im sure you can see from my ticker we go on holiday in just over 2 months....My surgery was ment to be back in march so we thought id be fine it got put off because I was too sick and weak to have it,Then i was scheduled to have it on the 27th of last month after waiting in the hospital all gowned and ready to go for 8 hours they came in a and told me they over ran in theatre and that the consultant was not happy doing such a big procedure in a small hospital and so it has to be done in a different hospital with high dependancy units.

Im worried about how it will effect my family and how i will cope and keep up.Ive had the surgery twice before but the Tumour came back and so this time they are drilling into my mastoid cavity taking out some little bones as its attached itself to them and caused heavy infection in my bones and tissue.
Ideally i needed 5 months to recover NOT 8 wks!!

I really hope all goes smoothly and he is up and about in no time, I plan on just doing my best and resting if i have to

 

[tikster1]

DH and I went to Disney about 6 months after I had knee surgery. I bought a knee brace from CVS to give me a little extra support and protect it some from being bumped by other guests. That helped. I also bought several of those ice packs that you squish and they get cold (usually used for sports injuries and things like that). Once we got back to the room I needed to prop my leg up and put ice on it. Those ice packs work great in a pinch but you can take the bag for the ice bucket or laundry and fill it up with ice and it works great as an ice pack. Just go a little slower. I'm sure if he ices it at night it will help tremendously. A cane might be a good alternative if he's getting around pretty well but might just need a little extra support. Hope everything works out!!

 

[DVCMikey]

What kind of surgery? If it is ACL I wouldn't even try WDW. I had that sugery and it was a really long recovery even with therapy etc.

If its like a meniscus or something like that I would say no big deal

 

[Jennasis]

What kind of surgery? If it is ACL I wouldn't even try WDW. I had that sugery and it was a really long recovery even with therapy etc.

If its like a meniscus or something like that I would say no big deal

Not ACL. He has a cartilage tear for sure, but the doc said he may find more issues once he gets in there. The bone is pretty inflamed too which is causing the pain. My dad had miniscus surgery about 2 weeks ago and they wanted him on his feet and doing normal stuff 2 days post op.

 

[DVCMikey]

Not ACL. He has a cartilage tear for sure, but the doc said he may find more issues once he gets in there. The bone is pretty inflamed too which is causing the pain. My dad had miniscus surgery about 2 weeks ago and they wanted him on his feet and doing normal stuff 2 days post op.

Then it sounds like he will be fine.

I sprained my ankle bad the week before our last trip and at first hit hurt but it actually started to feel better.

If he has to take it slow than take it slow. you can always get a wheel chair, or ECV.

If need be you can always spend time at the pool and just enjoy disney from the resort for a day or two.

 

[tikster1]

I really feel for you!

We only go on holiday every other yr too and Im due to have Major surgery on my head on the 20th of this month! Im sure you can see from my ticker we go on holiday in just over 2 months....My surgery was ment to be back in march so we thought id be fine it got put off because I was too sick and weak to have it,Then i was scheduled to have it on the 27th of last month after waiting in the hospital all gowned and ready to go for 8 hours they came in a and told me they over ran in theatre and that the consultant was not happy doing such a big procedure in a small hospital and so it has to be done in a different hospital with high dependancy units.

Im worried about how it will effect my family and how i will cope and keep up.Ive had the surgery twice before but the Tumour came back and so this time they are drilling into my mastoid cavity taking out some little bones as its attached itself to them and caused heavy infection in my bones and tissue.
Ideally i needed 5 months to recover NOT 8 wks!!

I really hope all goes smoothly and he is up and about in no time, I plan on just doing my best and resting if i have to

Good luck...Hope everything goes well!

 

[Jennasis]

When we went in 2010 I wound up having fairly major back surgery 6 months prior to the trip. Before the surgery I was completely incapacitated by pain...uable to stand, sit, lay down, kneel or function in anyway (I wanted to die). The surgery was a life-saver, and there was NO WAY I'd have been able to go to WDW without it as I was simply writhing in pain 24/7. The motivation for my recovery was the trip we had planned...I was so happy to be able to go and be pain free! Hopefully DH will find the same relief (though his pain isn't as incapacitating...but he has cried himself to sleep a night or two).

 

[KathyK]

I had knee surgery last year, and I was back to 100% within 2 weeks! And I never used crutches - a walker the first few days out of the hospital and then I switched to a cane. I was back to work (as a teacher - on my feet all day) 4 days after surgery.

The worst part was going to WDW 3 days after the injury that led to the surgery. I was in pain the entire time.

 

[minnie mum]

I think DH said something about the bone itself being inflamed and the stem cell thing is supposed to help with that? Don't quote me...I kind of went all numb when I heard "Six weeks on crutches"! Of course, if the doc gets in there and they DON'T need to do the bone drilling thing then he will be up and about right away. He's already got PT scheduled, to meet with the therapist the day or two before surgery when he goes in for his pre-surg tests.

He mentioned something about them taking a cartilage "plug"(?) from one area of his knee and moving it to the messed up part?? I dunno...i'm no doctor! But I'm fairly certain the drilling into the bone was supposed to be for the inflammation?

While the doc won't know till they get in and actually see what's going on it sounds like he is considering the possiblility of an arthroscopic microfracture procedure. I had a similar procedure some years ago. If your DH is really lucky, they'll do a simple removal of the torn meniscus and his recovery will be fairly quick, especially if he is diligent with his physio exercises.

Recovery time from the microfracture surgery, however, would be considerably longer. While the pain, swelling, and stiffness from the surgery goes away quite quickly, you can't hurry the new cartilage formation produced from this surgery. And it is REALLY important that they follow the activity restrictions ordered by the doctor, including continued use of crutches for 6-8 weeks.

I'd definitely recommend that your DH resign himself to using an ECV in the parks. And getting a holster for the ECV to carry his crutches. He'll need those to move from the ECV to the ride vehicles.

Here's wishing your DH a speedy recovery.

 

[TinkerBell DVC]

I had arthroscopic surgery about 4 weeks ago to remove to small pieces of bone from my knee cap that had broke off when my knee cap popped out of socket and to reshape it back to a normal shape... I am still in a brace but i did go back to work 1 week after (i am a CMA and i am one my feet ALL day). I wasnt sent to rehab so i am having to do this all on my own. We are cruising on the Fantasy in 30 days so i am trying my hardest to get prepared for that and then will be at Disney in October. Right now i feel i am about 75% but that isnt good enough for me. I really want to be able to walk around the World without to much knee pain but I know that if need be my mom will gladly rest with me.

My advice for your husband is to take it easy and to know his limits. Know when he needs to rest and not to be afraid to say so. Go Slow is key Ask the Dr what he thinks about him walking around so much and if he would recommend him getting a wheelchair or ECV.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

The only thing I've heard of involving stem cells with the knees, is where they harvest some cells from your body, grow them, and then inject in the affected cartilage where it attaches and grows new cartilage. I know a bone infection can be pretty serious though, I hope he doesn't have one!!

It's funny (not haha funny, weird funny) how different surgeries of the knees and recovery periods. I'm having my left knee replaced in November, where they cut completely through both below and above the knee, and Dr. said they have you up and walking by the 2nd day...back to work in 4 weeks, and then part time for two weeks. I've been walking with shredded meniscus in both knees for years now. After WDW last year, enough was enough. I've never used an ECV before, but every day ended up limping after 1/2 an hour of walking, suffering through the day, and having miserable evenings.

I'd encourage your DH, if he's not 100% by the time you go to get an ECV. Neither of you will enjoy yourself very much if you have to push a wheelchair, and being in pain at WDW just plain sucks. We are going to WDW in October, before my surgery (having first knee replaced in Nov, and 2nd in February) and you can believe me, I've already reserved a ECV. You know, if you got one, he wouldn't HAVE to use it 100% of the time, just when he's in pain or fatigued. I plan on taking mine to the park (we're staying at Boardwalk, so it's going to be easy with it, getting to EPCOT for F & W, and leaving it parked in a central location around where we're walking, and then just ride it when needed. (yeah, I'll be one of those people that you think "If she can walk, why does she have a ECV?!") Face it, going to WDW is expensive, and you don't want to spend all that money and not have a good time!!

 

[Bev J]

Yikes! I can relate, my husband is going in next month for a total knee replacement, he had one done last May and was back to work in 12 weeks. He worked real hard at the excercises and did all the physical therapy. We are not looking forward to going through this all over again for the other knee but he sure cannot walk the parks the way it is. I doubt he will use a chair of any kind, maybe take a cane along if he needs it...time will tell, you never know how fast a person heals up, hope yours goes smoothly.

Bev

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Yikes! I can relate, my husband is going in next month for a total knee replacement, he had one done last May and was back to work in 12 weeks. He worked real hard at the excercises and did all the physical therapy. We are not looking forward to going through this all over again for the other knee but he sure cannot walk the parks the way it is. I doubt he will use a chair of any kind, maybe take a cane along if he needs it...time will tell, you never know how fast a person heals up, hope yours goes smoothly.

Bev

12 weeks? Did he have complications? My OS told me to expect to be back to work in 4. Now you have me scared!! I only have 12 weeks sick leave saved up, which i was going to split between the two surgeries!!