Lily’s knee surgery (4Woods)

Post by **Nescio50** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:06 pm

After not much more than one month after her arrival, Lily has got a serious problem. It seems her knee is broken

I’m not sure how it happened. Maybe I bend it beyond its boundaries. Now her left leg below her knee is hanging loose. As you can see on this picture, it’s no good

It’s a couple of weeks later and I have decided surgery is the only option. Lily agrees. She’s lying on the bed to get things done. This is her knee just before surgery. In this pose it looks normal, but I know better!

I’ve read most threads on TDF on this kind of surgery. I have bought a new knife and I use some dish soap on her skin to make a nice cut (an old trick, but it works). I cut along the inside seam. Next, the diagnosis is easy

The knee-joint is separated from the thigh-bone. Ouch!
I remove the upper U-piece of the knee-joint.

For all who are wondering how the inside of dolly’s knee looks like, here’s a flash light picture of it. It’s a mess

Next, I remove the top of the thigh-bone. This picture shows the thigh-bone after this removal.

Surprise! Within the removed top of the thigh-bone, I found a loose nut

Can this be caused by misuse? Or is it an assembly error?

So here are the parts removed (except for bolts and nuts used to attached these to the thigh-bone and knee-joint).

The same parts re-assembled.

And attached to the thigh-bone.

Now comes the hardest part: getting it re-attached to the knee-joint. A long bolt must be entered from the other side and there is hardly any space

It went out, but that was when it was de-attached from the thigh-bone. Sorry, no picture of me sweating. But I’ve got it done

Everhard · Post by **Everhard** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:12 pm

Looks like a good job.

In my experience of repairing dolls by other makes, cleaning the cut is important. Detergent (dish soap?) is good, but for the nasty black metallic bits, which you do not seem to have too much of fortunately, a stick (long matchstick) dipped in silicone sealant - left for a few minutes to go tacky - is great as a cleaning implement.

And when the cut is closed and the glue dried, lots of corn starch powder (Johnson's Baby Powder) cleans the skin.

Post by **Nescio50** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:13 pm

Time to remove the dirt. Acetone does it. Lily was great. She didn’t cry. ”It didn’t hurt that much, it just felt weird”, she says

Before going into the next stage, she’s sitting on a chair for a while. And yes, she’s able to hold her leg up. It seems the mechanical part of surgery is successful

I’m happy, I don’t have to order spare parts.

Seeing Lily from behind, I can’t resist to take an additional picture. During all surgery she had a towel to cover her female parts, but now she forgets about her bum!

After mechanical engineering, next stage is a kind of chemical engineering. I’ve got the 4Woods repair kit ready. It contains colored silicone, hardener and primer. The hardener and silicone have to be mixed. This starts the curing process. The primer is used for adhesion of silicone to silicone. There is but a little of primer for this large cut (over 20 cm). I hope it’ll suffice. I do apply the primer and do apply the silicone mix using a palette knife. Before applying all this, it seemed easy to close the wound, but now it’s more difficult than I expected

Next, I attach tape and cling film as bandage.

Lily is resting while her wound will cure

This takes at least 24 hours. I told her she may not move her leg for the next 48 hours. I want to be sure the silicone is fully cured before we will play again. This means two days and nights without Lily at my side

Now, my TeddyBabes are taking over. Carly watches over Lily and Jessy watches over me

More than 24 hours later, I have removed the bandage. It looks like the wound is close, but I don’t dare to bend her knee yet. I have put a new cling film bandage around her knee for the next 24 hours.
And although the scar is on the inside leg and she often wears stockings, I’ll plan a second treatment with silicone to remove some irregularities. But first I have to order a new repair kit.

And now :drinking:

Longshot · Post by **Longshot** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:19 pm

Nescio50, it looks like you have preformed a nice piece of surgery on Lily so far. Were you able to come up with a way to ensure that the nut doesn’t come loose again?

Post by **Nescio50** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:35 pm

Everhard wrote:Looks like a good job.

Thanks!

Everhard wrote:And when the cut is closed and the glue dried, lots of corn starch powder (Johnson's Baby Powder) cleans the skin.

Tonight, I extensively powdered the cut and then I put new bandage around her knee. There are some little irregularities, but with an additional treatment with some silicone, I expect the scar to be minimized.

Longshot wrote:Were you able to come up with a way to ensure that the nut doesn’t come loose again?

It isn't guaranteed, but I tested the assembly extensively and it seemed all right to me. I guess I will be extra careful when turning her knee; this assembly isn't used for up/down movement, but for turning the lower leg in a left/right position from the thigh-bone.

Everhard · Post by **Everhard** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:44 pm

Nescio50 wrote:It isn't guaranteed, but I tested the assembly extensively and it seemed all right to me. I guess I will be extra careful when turning her knee...

Hopefully you won't have to open her up again. However, for info, threadlock (made by Loktite, among other manufacturers) is good for securing nuts.

muzza · Post by **muzza** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:56 pm

Well done Nescio.
These things are never easy but looks like you have done a great job.

muzza

skybird100000 · Post by **skybird100000** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 6:07 pm

I am impressed. I dont think I would dare opening my doll like that.

Post by **AlexKnight** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 6:53 pm

Very nice work!

It looks like she'll do a full recovery, doctor

I can only imagine what it feels like to cut the doll you love so much.
But to enjoy her the way you used to, it's a necessary evil.

mission · Post by **mission** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 7:48 pm

What an amazing piece of work! Well done Nescio. I don't think I would have dared to make that first cut. I think you should send the pictures to 4Woods. If it is an assembly error maybe they should compensate you.

Guitar Boy · Post by **Guitar Boy** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:14 pm

skybird100000 wrote:I am impressed. I dont think I would dare opening my doll like that.

AlexKnight wrote:Very nice work! It looks like she'll do a full recovery, doctor I can only imagine what it feels like to cut the doll you love so much. But to enjoy her the way you used to, it's a necessary evil.

mission wrote:What an amazing piece of work! Well done Nescio. I don't think I would have dared to make that first cut. I think you should send the pictures to 4Woods. If it is an assembly error maybe they should compensate you.

I agree with those 3 quotes...
I would not be able to cut open one of my girls unless it truly was needed and the only option. Even then...?
Very nice work Nescio50! Super photos too.
It sure is a mess inside dolls.
The joint problem could very well be a manufacturing error...
I hope Lily is alright now.
Thanks for sharing!
GB

D0lluver · Post by **D0lluver** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:44 pm

Great job, man!

Thanks for sharing the experience!

cosycottage · Post by **cosycottage** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:05 pm

skybird100000 wrote:I am impressed. I dont think I would dare opening my doll like that.

Agreed - but a great tutorial for those who experience the same joint problems in the future!

1jayjay · Post by **1jayjay** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 2:00 pm

Yup It's one of those that you hope the day you have to do something similar never comes. however, amazing job Nescio. Each pic is worth a thousand words.

You did a real professional job on Lily.

Yoube Bosley · Post by **Yoube Bosley** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 5:44 pm

This is the first major surgery I've seen for a 4woods doll. For this to happen one month in suggests a lower standard of QC than I normally associate with the company, but things happen.

Lily seems to be in her usual good spirits, so I'm sure all will be well.