I sympathise. A very dear friend of mine has degenerative disk disease, and has had a fusion, which she regrets enormously. Her pain management routine was so lackadaisical that the amount of opiates she was prescribed have pushed her into Narcotics Anonymous, as it destroyed her life, and she now deals with it without them. I get excited every time I see research into new pain meds, in the hope that in a few years she might get some relief.
I can sympathize… Mid-40’s and have 108 yr old knees – a rheumatologist told me that I had the knees of an 85 yr old back in '91. He also told me that I would need knee replacements some day and when that was would be decided by how I abused them (unfortunately, his advice ended there). I continued to be as active as possible, but tried to keep it low-impact (biking, hiking, etc) – I had already given up running a few years before that. The past couple of years have been much more trying – my wife’s holiday death marches have had to be a bit shorter on recent vacations and sometimes simple hikes can seem tortuous.
I’m a joint surgeon who has been in practice over ten years and replaced over a thousand knees and hips. I can say unequivocally that this procedure is a real “game changer” for 98% of my patients. Days once guided by
‘can I do that?’ are guided by ‘what do I want to do now?’ With new materials and techniques, patients are walking immediately after surgery, shake my hand at six weeks and hug me at three months. If you live in daily pain from your knees or hips and have failed all conservative treatment, don’t hesitate!
As far as the financials, a new knee or hip costs less than a Honda Accord out of pocket. Insured patients of course pay much less. A new joint will likely last thirty years or more, burns no fossil fuel, and doesn’t require long waits at the DMV…
Of the total cost of the replacement procedure, the implant manufacturer collects a whopping 25% of the total. Granted, the cost of R&D ain’t cheap, but I’ll stand on my soapbox a bit and say this is one area that needs to be looked at. With the large number of medical implant companies, implant pricing should be much more competitive and less burdensome on the healthcare industry.
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