bionicman
new member
I am 4 months post-op today from having TKR. I have had 2 manipulations and my range of motion did not maintain. I have had 46 therapy sessions and I have done everything above and beyond the call of duty. I am 40 years old and have a lot of living to do. I did not feel that I was getting the answers from my doctor that explained my complications. My therapist told me that there is no way I should be not getting better based on my work habits during therapy.
I decided to get a second opinion and make the trip 2 hours away to the Hartzband hip and knee center which is a highly reputable group in NJ. After a consultation with the doctor they took new x-rays of my knee. It was at this point that the doctor showed me a view of my knee that my other doctor had never shown me before. It was this view that the doctor explained to me that my patella was not tracking properly due to misalignment of the tibial prosthetic by approx 3.6 degrees. He showed me an x-ray of what it should look like and explained to me that if was not corrected I would never improve my range of motion and I would be stuck around 90 degrees.
I was shocked by what I heard and am still trying to take it all in. The idea of having to do this all over again makes me nauseous. I have lost 4 months of my life that I will never get back and will lose 3 more most likely. I am slightly relieved to get an answer to my problem but not just the one I wanted. My other doctor just kept telling me it was scar tissue holding me back. After doing a little research apparently this is the most common cause of failed knee replacements. I'm still not 100% sold on what I'm hearing.
To make things more interesting I tried to get a 3rd opinion with the Rothman Institute another highly reputable group but to my concern they will not re-evaluate knee replacements for 1 year post-op. That makes me think is something going to change if I wait. My original doctor said it could be scar tissue pulling the kneecap out of place. At this point I am going to get a 3rd opinion and go to the hospital of special surgery in New York. I really want to make sure I am doing the right thing before I opt to do this all over again. I said I would never do this again If I needed to replace my left knee and here I might have to do my right knee twice in a short period of time. Any insight would be appreciated.
I decided to get a second opinion and make the trip 2 hours away to the Hartzband hip and knee center which is a highly reputable group in NJ. After a consultation with the doctor they took new x-rays of my knee. It was at this point that the doctor showed me a view of my knee that my other doctor had never shown me before. It was this view that the doctor explained to me that my patella was not tracking properly due to misalignment of the tibial prosthetic by approx 3.6 degrees. He showed me an x-ray of what it should look like and explained to me that if was not corrected I would never improve my range of motion and I would be stuck around 90 degrees.
I was shocked by what I heard and am still trying to take it all in. The idea of having to do this all over again makes me nauseous. I have lost 4 months of my life that I will never get back and will lose 3 more most likely. I am slightly relieved to get an answer to my problem but not just the one I wanted. My other doctor just kept telling me it was scar tissue holding me back. After doing a little research apparently this is the most common cause of failed knee replacements. I'm still not 100% sold on what I'm hearing.
To make things more interesting I tried to get a 3rd opinion with the Rothman Institute another highly reputable group but to my concern they will not re-evaluate knee replacements for 1 year post-op. That makes me think is something going to change if I wait. My original doctor said it could be scar tissue pulling the kneecap out of place. At this point I am going to get a 3rd opinion and go to the hospital of special surgery in New York. I really want to make sure I am doing the right thing before I opt to do this all over again. I said I would never do this again If I needed to replace my left knee and here I might have to do my right knee twice in a short period of time. Any insight would be appreciated.