I am a 76 year old man who has had PD for nine years now.
I developed arthritis in both knees about 18 months ago and was put on the list for knee replacements by my local orthopaedic consultant as it has become severe. However, just before my first replacement was due, I was sent to a different hospital to have the surgery done, but at my pre-op assessment by the consultant there, he strongly recommended that I do not have surgery at all, because at the age of 76 and with Parkinson's the risk of a serious side effect after surgery (e.g. stroke, death, leg permanently fixed) is about 25%, and particularly as I needed both knees done this was definitely not advisable.
I was shocked and immediately cancelled the operations, which seemed to be the only sensible option.
Has anyone else in my situation gone ahead with surgery, and what was the result?
Written by
JohnAD
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Are you in a lot of pain from the knee problems? Has your doctor provided treatment ? Is the cartilage in the knee joints completely gone or is it just thin?
Have you seen the xrays of your knees? My husband is the one with Parkinson's but I was told by the doctor that I needed knee replacement in both knees in 2014. The first thing the doctor did was give me a cortisone shot which was totally useless. Then I found out about an injection called Synvisc a form of hyaluronic acid and the doctor said that these injections could provide relief for about 6 months from the pain. I cannot take NSAIDS. I found that each of these injections lasted me for a year and had one in 2017, 2018, and 2019.I then started having acupuncture and using anti-inflammatory supplements and I have to say that the pain is very manageable the only issue being it is hard going up and down stairs. I am allergic to all pain medications so this has been the motivation for postponing the surgery since I don't know what I would do were I to have to have it. There is an article online indicating that their is one somewhat safe form of anesthesia for people with Parkinson's. My husband is scheduled to have some routine scans in June but they want him to go to the hospital and be under anesthesia for these because they don't want to do it in the outpatient setting so I have printed up this article and I have sent it to his doctor and she says that we should give it to the anesthesiologist. I am not suggesting that you should proceed with surgery. I just think that it might be a good thing to have this information printed up just in case a surgery becomes necessary.
I am 81 living in the UK and was diagnosed with Parkinson's seven years ago in February 2017. I had both knees replaced, the right knee in January 2022 and the left knee in April 2022. Both have been a great success and I keep very active with golf, table tennis, water aerobics and gardening. I was in hospital longer than normal as a precaution and physiotherapy was essential and beneficial to facilitate recovery. Highly recommend you progress knee replacement,
My wife is in the same boat, her Orthopaedic consultant has advised she go for as long as she can without surgery as it could exacerbate her PD. She is coping quite well through exercising on an anti-gravity treadmill machine building up the surrounding muscle around her affected knee. Check out your local gyms would be my advice.
My wife age 68 . PD since 10 years. Left Knee replacement surgery 2018. DBS for PD in 2021. Life goes on with usual ups and downs, but no regrets either with TKR or DBS.If Knee Pain is not tolerable and one cannot find solution thru all available non surgical route , then TKR is the only option
If a normal patient gets 100 % benefit with TKR , a PD patient gets only 70 % for similar knee situation as told by our Ortho prior to Surgery.
It is a tough call , I suggest take opinion of your Movement disorder specialist / neurologist prior to opting for TKR. All the best.
I had my knee replaced. Age 60, diagnosed 2016. No problem of any kind. My Dr was Dr Botero in Knoxville, TN. I highly recommend him. You have to be able to exercise to fight PD.
I have not heard that but have heard that anesthesia can put you into a higher stage of PD. My symptoms became much worse after I had rotator cuff surgery. That was when I was diagnoed. Best of luck to you.
When I had my rotator cuff surgery, I made sure to get a local/regional anesthesia with a nerve block. Avoid general anesthesia when you can. I had no issues & pain was not bad.
I was lucky and after three months of physical therapy, improved a great deal. I have patella femoral osteoarthritis, (arthritis in the kneecap). I was considering, at least a partial knee replacement, before starting physical therapy. It saved me a knee surgery…
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