degenerative arthritis Knee replacement at VA

[broncovet]

Has anyone had knee replacement surgery done at VA?  

I would like to know details, such as when, which VA, did the doc know what he was doing, and did you get a good result.  I would also like to know the brand or type of 

fake knee, and did you have pain, and how long to recover.  

I just found out yesterday I have severe degenerative arthritis (both knees) AND a leg length disparity. (One leg is shorter than the other).  I will likely have to have knee replacement surgery. 

I was told this also about 3 to 4 years ago, but the pain is worse now.  Also, my condition has worsened significantly since a 2014 x ray.  

My PCP doc's nurse says that the VA "wont do" a TKR if your BMI is above 35, and mine is apparently 35.8.    She said that means I will need to lose 5 to 10 pounds which is doable.  

Edited March 23, 2016 by broncovet

[Vync]

Oh man Broncovet, that's not good news. I have never had surgery at a VAMC facility, but hopefully someone will explain their experiences. I'll ask my wife if she can find out what brand of knees the surgeons she works with prefer. I have a feeling that they will be cost prohibitive for VA use, but you never know.

[Buck52]

Thats a good question broncovet

I never had knee surgery but have bad Knees my Dr wants me to lose weight  she said it will relieve a lot of pressure my knees go through daily  so I need to get down to  decent weight before she will even consider the knee surgery or knee replacement.

I need to lose 50lbs (hard for me)

I have had surgery at he Big Spring Tx VAMC years ago back in the middle 80's   I had my appendix removed  as it was infected and burst that cause extra problems...but they did a excellent job on my surgery and recovery and rehab.

when I first woke up my wife was standing there I told my wife OMG they amputated  my legs  cause I could not feel my legs due to the meds and anesthesia , but after the nurse came in and removed the urine catheter I had so much relief., they bought me a warm blanket right out of the dryer and I was in heaven.

I am sure there are hadit members that have had VA Knee replacement at the VA.

I had a good friend that had both knee replacements but he did it through SSA-Medicare ...he said he felt 110%better as for as pain and getting around after 6 weeks.

he is glad he got it done.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Buck52

[Chuck75]

12 hours ago, broncovet said:

Has anyone had knee replacement surgery done at VA?  

I would like to know details, such as when, which VA, did the doc know what he was doing, and did you get a good result.  I would also like to know the brand or type of 

fake knee, and did you have pain, and how long to recover.  

I just found out yesterday I have severe degenerative arthritis (both knees) AND a leg length disparity. (One leg is shorter than the other).  I will likely have to have knee replacement surgery. 

I was told this also about 3 to 4 years ago, but the pain is worse now.  Also, my condition has worsened significantly since a 2014 x ray.  

My PCP doc's nurse says that the VA "wont do" a TKR if your BMI is above 35, and mine is apparently 35.8.    She said that means I will need to lose 5 to 10 pounds which is doable.  

Besides the what brand, there are more things to consider.

First and foremost, the number of them per year done by the surgeon, and the success rates.

Next, what is the VA facilities reputation in regards to things like in hospital induced infections, etc.

What is the "level" of the VA facility capability in relation to the local community hospitals.

My local area has a VAMC about 50 miles away, with a limited surgical capability. On the other hand,

There is a regional hospital about eighteen miles away that routinely does really major surgery, including such things as  heart lung and other organ transplants. The last time I had to listen to a VA PCP tell me that he wanted to refer me to the 50 mile away VAMC, I had to try hard to not laugh in his face. But the reason was that the "Choice" program was in total disarray, (Still isn't much better!) and the VAMC had stopped using fee paid in order to transition to "Choice". After all, pulling money from a program that works to help fund a new program that has lots of administrative time funded for training, etc. is a bureaucratic wet dream!

 

 

Edited March 24, 2016 by Chuck75