Any one had a knee replacement?

I have had both done in the UK and I cannot tell you how long in your area. I waited 3 months for an app: in Devon and another 3 months for the operation.

It will depend on your area.

I damaged my knee 29 years ago. At the time they opted to try an experimental procedure to repair the knee. I was one of only two people out of the 30-person trial that it worked well for. It's called the Maquet Procedure and the one they're using *now* works quite well. Mine was the original generation one experimental one.

They opted to try the procedure since back then the knees were only rated for lasting maybe 5 years and I'd need to get it done again...and again...and again...

Five years ago, the repair started to fail. I was in pain and couldn't walk more than a few feet before the knee would stop wanting to hold my weight. Went to several doctors looking for options. Since the procedure was an experimental one and didn't work, no one wanted to even touch the darn thing. One doctor even looking right at me and asking "What the @#$% did they do to you?"

I even argued that it didn't matter what it looked like since you're cutting the dang thing out and installing a new one. Still no takers.

Last year I found a doctor who looked at my x-ray and said "Wow! A gen-one Maquet's procedure! I did a paper on this in Medical School!" He said that he could replace it with a new one and that the one he was going to drop in had a 30-year expected life span and at the end of 30 years all they would have to do is cut into the side of my knee (one inch incision) and swap out the worn cartilage-like part and it'll be good for another 20.

Even agreed with me that it didn't matter what the knee looked like since it was going to be cut out and replaced.

Was walking on it within hours of my surgery using a walker, walking with a cane by the time they discharged me, three months of therapy and I'm walking like I did before the accident.