I have literally hundreds of patients who have had this done and the recovery is different for everyone, some people don't get better, some are walking around pretty well in under a month. The better shape he was in before, the faster the recovery. A few things to keep in mind, do what they tell you, the physical therapists and doctors are trying to help, not torture. When he is walking around, have him checked for a limb length discrepancy. This happens a lot on total knees and hips, if they take too little or too much bone you are left with one leg longer than the other. Simple measurement will let you know if a lift is indicated, more than 1/4 inch would likely require shoe modification rather than a simple heel lift.