D.I.Y job

When Mrs mart was hit by a car, the car bumper shattered both knee joints. They tried to rebuild them but none too successfully. The photo below shows the metalwork put inside one of her legs. It was fixed there in an attempt to stabilise the joint.

The screws loosened off after a while and another op was done to remove the metal. I kept it all and looking at it again, I'm sure the screws and metal will come in handy one day for fixing something around the house. They are very good quality.

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Probably made of titanium Mart, cost an arm and a leg, if you'll pardon the pun.

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I wouldn't want to be kneeling on that lot!!

oh bye the bye mart I've asked Mal to join us - well with a better job than that lot I hope!

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I wonder if those screws have locks on them...

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Fascinating! My dad always referred to doctors as mechanics, and now I see that he was right.

My gosh that had to be a painful recovery having all that mess drilled, screwed, and tightened into place.

Just an observation, but aren't there some washers or nuts missing?

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As far as I know that was the full set of metalwork with nothing missing. The screws look to be of the self-tapping thread type, so no nuts would be needed to secure them. The parts were supposed to stay in permanently and the bones heal around them but that didn't happen.

The upshot was that the joints were too painful to bear weight and never got better. I think once the nice smooth plateaus of the knee joints get broken (to bits in her case) they can never be as they were before.

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Lee darlin' - when the surgeons operated on me and gave me metal hip and knee joints, because of severe damage to my lungs, I was unable to have General anaesthetic, so had epidurals for all four operations, which meant I was conscious throughout, could hear, but not feel the electric bone saw, and vibrations of it, and could feel the vibration of the hammer as he hammered the joints into place.

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What a shame Mart that she never really recovered from the accident. I don't know how long ago that was but do you think they would do things differently now, perhaps completely new knee joints?

I also wonder if the metal bracket has to be made to order as we are all different or whether it comes as standard?

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it seems that complete knee replacement ops have become common place?

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Before the accident happened (in 1991) we knew of someone who had their knee joints replaced. The joints went wrong and the legs ended up being amputated. This was off-putting for sure. Also, there was quite a lot of other damage done by the impact. There was ligament and nerve damage. One foot ended up in a dropped position. However, we and the doctors always hoped the joints and legs might recover enough for a near normal life, so we were reluctant to press for further operations (both knees were operated on twice).

Not only that but as she fell from the bonnet of the car, she hit her head on the ground and as a result, suffered bad headaches for months. Her back was also damaged. Ultimately, a disc was removed but like her legs, that never got fully better either. It still gives her pain.

It seems that many people even with fairly successful knee joint replacements, still end up using mobility aids.

All in all, we think it best to stick with the devil we know. If anyone was going to have trouble with such an op, it might be her. She has had no further treatment on the legs in recent years but goes to many appointments in the Pain Clinic for her back condition. Steroid injections are done into both ends of her spine every three months to deaden back pain.

We both feel it is quite late in the day to contemplate further operations with uncertain results. We also both feel she has been through enough and it's best to cope with conditions as they are. Unfortunately, there is lots more that could be written but this really would be banging on a bit and probably sound like moaning.