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On Fri, 5 May 1995 17:06; Grete Pasch said: >I would really appreciate any comments related to knee replacement >or similar surgery. My Father has PD. He had a knee replaced one >month ago, with two major negative consequences: -----Snip Grete, My wife, Margaret's, experience was very similar, and she is now substantially confined to a wheel-chair. Several years ago, she had a patellectomy. This was done because she had fallen on her knee so many times that the patella was broken into three pieces. She suffered what can only be described as dementia, for over a week after the operation which was performed under general anaesthesia. This was ascribed to an adverse interaction between anti-parkinsonian drugs and one of the substances (possibly a muscle relaxant) used by the anaesthetist. This, however, proved to be least of her troubles. Because of the Parkinson's she was unable to perform the prescribed physio-therapy excercises sufficiently to regain full use of her leg, the muscles of which have become significantly smaller in size than those on the unaffected leg. Furthermore, because of her Parkinsonian unsteadiness, she fell again on her knee before it had fully healed. Xrays didn't show any damage, but Margaret insists that when she fell she felt something move inside her knee. Before the operation, Margaret could walk considerable distances, albeit unsteadily, using a quad stick; after, the best she has manged is a few metres using a 'hoppety' frame. When we paid our final visit to the surgeon, we went over these problems and he agreed that with the benefit of hindsight, it would have been better not to have had the operation. Finally, I too have suffered some of the carer symptoms Alan described. Indeed, like Margaret, I have been prescribed the anti-depressant Prozac. This has beneficially reduced the tension in our relationship, but it has not helped certain physical aspects of our marriage ;-) Take Care, Mark. ----------- Mark Atyeo [log in to unmask] +61 6 286 2606