Elbow Replacement Anyone??? | Arthritis Information

Hi everyone I wanted to know if anyone out there has had an full elbow replacement? I talking with my RA Doc and she was noticing the my left elbow is starting to turn inward. she was concerned and did not want the elbow to stay permanently this way. So if you have hand an elbow replacement can you give me some idea on how long you were down and what pain you were in or if you did well with the surgery. Thanks.

Marian just posted yesterday about her recent elbow surgery. Maybe she'll come around today and see your post.

Good luck!

I've had both mine replaced...I'll answer fully a bit later...right now I've got to sign offOk I'm back

As I said I've had both elbows fully replaced. The left in 2005 and the right in 2006. I had very little functional movement left in either elbow. For example I couldn't touch my face, my left hand was locked into a downward position. Needless to say the pain pre op wasn't pleasant.

My surgeries took about 3 hours each and also involved moving the ulna nerve. It was an overnight stay in the hospital.

The pain wasn't too bad. I did have a lot of swelling on the left side that took a while to resolve. I was in a cast for the first 10 days (or until the first pre op visit) and then I was in a hinged brace. I wore that constantly for several weeks and then when I was outside for several more-about 6-8 weeks. I had therapy 2 days a week with daily exercises to do. I have full extension/flexion now and rotation is limited by my wrists not my elbows. I do have permanant 5lb lifting restrictions

Feel free to ask anything