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Ewatub posted:

Robert M:  Thanks for starting this one, I dig following it.  I hope you heal up enough to enjoy the holidays, and get in some serious seat time in 2020.

I plan to. My wife and I have attended a couple holiday parties already and we have about 4 more before Christmas and a couple for the new year.

On Tuesday December 16th I had all 27 staples removed so now I now I can get a little more serious with my movements and rehab. The incision has healed very well and it is very flat and from what I can tell the scar will be minimal. The resident that is working with my surgeon is a very young man who has a lot of innovative ideas. Not that my surgeon isn't young, he's probably my age, and hips and knees are all he does. But the PA was saying how he likes to use a combo of glue and staples to speed the closing process but that it also speeds the incision closing time as opposed to having to lay down the stitch work. It closes the incision flatter and with a lot more support. 

I'm in and out of my truck without problems and I'm driving myself everywhere I need to go. I can sit in a chair and let my foot bend to almost 90 degrees and I can almost straighten it all the way out. I still walk with a bit of a limp because the natural bend of the leg doesn't happen unless I make the leg bend which doesn't happen fast enough when I'm out walking. Still icing the knee about 5 times per day to help reduce swelling and taking an aspirin to thin the blood to improve flow and reduce the chance of clots.

I now know why my thigh muscle felt like I was run over by a truck, it was from the tourniquet they use during surgery. As a law enforcement instructor, especially in combat self-care, I have self-applied tourniquets to my own leg and clamped them down pretty tight but this was varsity level clamping for sure. They completely cut off blood flow to the lower extremity during the surgery. I completely understand now but hadn't thought of that before the surgery.

I see the doctor again in four weeks and I'll be scheduling my right knee TKR and I'll start this process over again. I'll be completely ready by spring but in the mean time as soon as I can shift I'll be in the car before my throttle leg repair begins.

Hi Robert. You were getting your staples out on the same day I was getting them put in on my right knee today I got to go out into the hallway and walk with a walker. I go home tomorrow. PT 3 three times a week for 3 weeks. Things went well I’m getting 114 degrees of bending already but the most pain is in the straight position. Off the morphine pump today and on Percocet pills every 4 hrs for a while. If this one goes good I’ll get the left done in 2 months. Spinal fusion on S1 to L5

Robert,

I’m glad you are on the up and up. You did good work getting mobile and setting yourself up for recovery. Sounds like you are on top of the mental game. I’m no stranger to major surgeries and stitch and glue work. Given your experience with the current knee (surgery/PT/recovery), I’m willing to bet that the recovery time will be less eventful and quicker when you get the other TKR done. 

aircooled posted:
Hi Robert. You were getting your staples out on the same day I was getting them put in on my right knee today I got to go out into the hallway and walk with a walker. I go home tomorrow. PT 3 three times a week for 3 weeks. Things went well I’m getting 114 degrees of bending already but the most pain is in the straight position. Off the morphine pump today and on Percocet pills every 4 hrs for a while. If this one goes good I’ll get the left done in 2 months. Spinal fusion on S1 to L5

I was just thinking about you today Bruce. I knew you’re day had passed but hadn’t heard from you. Glad to hear it went well. I still have some swelling in the knee which is impeding my ability to flex the knee. PT guy pushed it past 90 degrees yesterday so I know I can do it. 

aircooled posted:
That’s good Robert. They had me going up and down stairs in my last PT session today before I go home this afternoon. The keep telling me that the range of motion is the most important.

I find I have to repeat the mantra, "Up with the good, down with the bad." whenever I approach the steps/stairs. If you get it wrong your leg will remind you.

Don't think so Bob.  Al's would look sort of "cheesy" with all the holes drilled in it. When I think about it though,  Those holes may promote new bone growth and end up with a stronger attachment than just using screws and glue !

The one I had installed is made by Conformis. It looks as though they are custom made for my bones. Not "select a size" from a choice of three.

Since I'm sort of a tool nut, I asked if they would give me the throwaway tools and jig fixtures they used to install my new knee. They declined to do so saying it's a sanitation issue.  Too bad !   If they were made of titanium, I could have had an exciting New Years fire again this year !...............Bruce

aircooled posted:

Robert....I'm just totally amazed that they glued my joint in and then glued the incision shut !  It would be Hell to pay if they spilled some of the glue in there and locked up everything !  I can actually feel it slightly slapping around in there as I walk ! They said that would go away a with time and use.  A "break-in period" ??   Amazing !.......Bruce

My prosthesis is also glued in. It looked as though he used glue and staples on my incision. A few years back I split a surgical incision on my back a month after surgery and that was a huge pain in the a$$ to get it closed after that. 

Just be careful with the incision Bruce. Keeping it closed is very important and be very careful about any post surgical infections. A good friend got his infected and that prolonged his recovery significantly. Hibi-cleanse soap is pretty good stuff to use around the incision and also once you are allowed to get the incision wet. 

Last edited by Robert M

I ding myself a lot in my line of work, and have been super-gluing myself back together for years. My preferred method is to cauterize the bleeding with the glue, then use a second application to bring the skin together. It works best if you can use a good sticky tape (duct tape works well) to anchor the skin flaps in position (just don't leave it on for more than a day, or the skin dies under the tape)..

I had a ladder kick out on me in the summer of '16. I rode it down 20 ft or so and landed on my back. My right elbow split from the impact. Once I collected myself and determined nothing was broken (probably), I drove home to have Jeanie glue me back together. When I got there, she was less than proud of my performance-- but having been married to me for more than 30 years, she was used to it and still took care of me. I was pretty sore-- but aside from the elbow, none the worse for the wear.

Anyhow, a few days later the elbow had gotten angry red, as happens one time in 20 or so. I went to the prompt care, where they looked at me like I had 2 heads. After convincing them I was not taking an ambulance ride, I drove to the ER and checked myself in. It was a busy night in Peoria, and I was branded a "special case" by the nurses, and put in the back room while they attended to less stupid patients.

When I got to see the attending MD after a few hours, he was great. He was the first party involved to be impressed by the resourcefulness, and told me where I could get the yellow Vietnam powder to sprinkle in before I glued. He said he'd probably just do the same thing I was doing, but would chase it with a course of antibiotics. We discussed where I might obtain antibiotics without a prescription (my idea was the animal husbandry section of Farm and Fleet, he liked gray-market drugs from India better). The nurses were all slack-jawed with the interchange, but my approach was vindicated (at least in my eyes).

Your mileage may vary.

Last edited by Stan Galat
Stan Galat posted:

I ding myself a lot in my line of work, and have been super-gluing myself back together for years. My preferred method is to cauterize the bleeding with the glue, then use a second application to bring the skin together. It works best if you can use a good sticky tape (duct tape works well) to anchor the skin flaps in position (just don't leave it on for more than a day, or the skin dies under the tape)..

I had a ladder kick out on me in the summer of '16. I rode it down 20 ft or so and landed...

Ok, Stan, having had a couple falls over the years, ridden a ladder down 22 or 25 feet  as it was blown sideways on a warehouse (learning how to roll, even on pavement, is such a great skill! It was 30? years ago and I don't think I'd want to attempt that 1 now) and taped fingers back together with masking tape (remember, as a painter, bleeding on the work is a real no no!) more than a couple of times, I can fully appreciate your post! Discussing with the emergency doc where to pick up anti-biotics without a prescription takes the cake.

You do what you have to do to get the job done and finish the day...

Last edited by ALB

Friend Randy who runs a machine shop an walking advocate for Hoof Heal from Tractor Supply stores. He had a deep 4" gash on  his forearm, applied the Hoof stuff and tape , four days later it looked like two weeks into the healing stage.   Me, while I putting a new shingle roof on Mom's place , it started to sprinkle so I put the 15 lb rolled felt paper on as quickly as possible that's when I stared to slide backwards  on the wet paper, my last attempt to save my ass,  I dug the claw of the hammer into the plywood, out of my hand it went, gravity declared itself the instant winner. Off the roof for only about 8 feet into large Yew bushes that's what really hurt like hell .

Stan Galat posted:

I ding myself a lot in my line of work, and have been super-gluing myself back together for years. My preferred method is to cauterize the bleeding with the glue, then use a second application to bring the skin together. It works best if you can use a good sticky tape (duct tape works well) to anchor the skin flaps in position (just don't leave it on for more than a day, or the skin dies under the tape)..

I had a ladder kick out on me in the summer of '16. I rode it down 20 ft or so and landed on my back. My right elbow split from the impact. Once I collected myself and determined nothing was broken (probably), I drove home to have Jeanie glue me back together. When I got there, she was less than proud of my performance-- but having been married to me for more than 30 years, she was used to it and still took care of me. I was pretty sore-- but aside from the elbow, none the worse for the wear.

Anyhow, a few days later the elbow had gotten angry red, as happens one time in 20 or so. I went to the prompt care, where they looked at me like I had 2 heads. After convincing them I was not taking an ambulance ride, I drove to the ER and checked myself in. It was a busy night in Peoria, and I was branded a "special case" by the nurses, and put in the back room while they attended to less stupid patients.

When I got to see the attending MD after a few hours, he was great. He was the first party involved to be impressed by the resourcefulness, and told me where I could get the yellow Vietnam powder to sprinkle in before I glued. He said he'd probably just do the same thing I was doing, but would chase it with a course of antibiotics. We discussed where I might obtain antibiotics without a prescription (my idea was the animal husbandry section of Farm and Fleet, he liked gray-market drugs from India better). The nurses were all slack-jawed with the interchange, but my approach was vindicated (at least in my eyes).

Your mileage may vary.

Crazy glue and iodine tincture is my favourite and I make sure not to cover it up.

Iodine is an old treatment but it goes through the skin something that a lot of topical antibiotics cannot do.

Is that like “Mercurochrome”?  We used that a lot when I was a kid, but I haven’t seen it in years.

Quite frankly, I am astounded that Super Glue doesn’t cause some sort of adverse reaction with your skin.

But now that I know it doesn’t, I have found a bunch of new uses for it.  Not that I’m gonna run out to the shop and maim myself, yah know?  But next time I’ll be more prepared.

Once again, Stan takes the lead, this time in SOC Health Care!  And I can’t wait til we get back to Sunday morning bike rides so I can find out which are the really GOOD horse antibiotics from our Vet school student rider.

THIS SITE REALLY ROCKS!

Last edited by Gordon Nichols

Yes but they stopped making Mercurochrome at about the same time as Kodachrome...

Just kidding, mercury never leaves your body as a heavy metal but is a great antibiotic agent.  They used to also use it in an eye ointment for styes, that too is gone. 

South of the 49th you guys have Neosporin which is skin penetrating antibiotic that is available over the counter and could be used over a cut after you wash it with peroxide or alcohol to clean it then glue it and then cover it with the neosporin.  Just saying.  webmd neosporin. this pretty much covers everything for 1st aid, use. 

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