Leaving for Christchurch tomorrow - Total knee replacements on both knees

This is what I am in for early next week. Two total knee replacements.


Yes, its off to Christchurch tomorrow. Jakarta-Singapore-Christchurch. These are my two favourite photos of Christchurch above and below,


After decades of marathon running, tramping, climbing, skiing, triathlons, lugging heavy packs full of hut repair equipment up to tramping club huts, and later resupplying huts in the Mt. Cook National Park, my knees have finally given up. No cartilage, just bone on bone. The quality of life is going. So I have taken the big decision !



So next Tuesday in Christchurch my orthopaedic surgeon Ed Newman is going to put me under the knife for total knee replacements on both knees. I am looking forward to the operation and a full recovery that will get me up into the higher mountains again.

I just received a note from my good friend Paterika, a Poet Laureate from Barbados
and I give my reply that explains a little more about why I am having the operation.

Kia Ora Paterika

Thanks for your blessings and prayers. I need all the help I can get to make this a full recovery. At my age, I feel I should be able to play football with the boys, climb moderate mountains and get back the mobility I had five years ago. Its an exciting time and I have a great surgeon in Christchurch, Ed Newman, who, with his first class skills, enables crippled shepherds to ride again, fishermen to fish, women marathon runners who have given up, able to run again etc. So I am sure Ed will have me out climbing again.
When I was director of the New Zealand Outward Bound school I used to quote the philosophy of its founder, Kurt Hahn. He said " your disability is your opportunity." Had it not been for my knees restricting my movement I would not have written my last two books, nor would I have been blogging. So its time to turn my disability into another opportunity.

Arohanui.

Bob


I am going to get something like this new Knee system which was launched in March this year. If you are interested, have a read.

SAN FRANCISCO, MARCH 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Stryker Orthopaedics, the maker of
the Triathlon Knee System, the industry's fastest-growing total knee
replacement system worldwide, today announced the addition of Triathlon PKR, a
partial knee resurfacing system, to the Triathlon Knee System family.
"Triathlon PKR with X3 is a great addition to the Triathlon Knee family,
which allows surgeons to treat the unique needs of each patient and provide
them with a personalized solution," said Mike Mogul, President, Stryker
Orthopaedics.
Triathlon PKR is the industry's first partial knee resurfacing product
that utilizes Stryker's X3 advanced bearing technology, which has demonstrated
up to a 96 percent decrease in wear in laboratory testing compared to
competitive premium bearing surfaces in total knee replacements.(1)
Potential benefits of partial knee resurfacing include a quicker operation
and a shorter hospital stay-with the procedure in some cases being performed
on an outpatient basis (<24 hours)-as compared to a total knee replacement.(2)
With Triathlon PKR, less bone is removed and there is often less trauma to
soft tissue during surgery, which may leave the patient with a more natural
feeling knee than with a total knee replacement.(3) The device is also
anatomically shaped and designed to enable surgeons to use the latest
minimally invasive surgical techniques, which may result in a smaller scar for
the patient.
Also unveiled today is Stryker's Triathlon TS Revision System, which is
designed to provide Triathlon performance in a streamlined revision procedure.
The intuitive and evolutionary design is based on the Triathlon Primary System
and millions of Stryker knee implantations. The Triathlon TS Revision System
is designed to provide improved motion(4), better fit(5) and the potential for
greater implant longevity(6)(7).
The Triathlon TS Revision System is also the only revision knee system
with X3 bearing technology and "post preservation features," which aid in
alleviating the stresses typically exerted on a stabilizing post in a revision
setting.
Stryker will be showcasing its Triathlon PKR and TS Knee Systems at the
2008 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in San Francisco,
March 4 through March 8 at booth #4946.