Knee Infection* Kurt_H's Knee Infection

Kurt_H

junior member
Joined
Oct 18, 2019
Messages
24
Age
44
Country
South Africa South Africa
Good day all,

I'm new here and I thougt it best to document my knee revision surgery journey due to infection. I am 40 year old male and had a right knee replacement on the 26th August 2017. Things went well post op, no real issues. I was in hospital for 5 days then at home. Everything moved quite quikly from there on out, one crutch, then walking stick then driving and back at work by October.
3 months and 6 months out still positive (received lots of reassurance from everyone saying that it takes time etc), but by 9 months I noticed that I wasnt quite able to lift my leg from the knee upwards, there was still alot of discomfort and pain.

Anyway,I thought PT should do the trick, got into biokentics and physio and thought this would do the trick but after a couple of months still struggled. Went to go see my surgeon after 1 year and he notices some gaps on my xrays, almost like shifting in prothsesis, by the way mine was not cemented, not sure why? At first he told me to continue the regiment of exercise etc, but still was not quite happy of my current status.

At this stage I could walk a kilometre or so and do cycling, I was mobile, alot of other things kept me busy, new job, moved house, travelled a bit.

Then the knee got progressively worse, I went to see my surgeon again and now the xrays looked like the prothsesis moved even more. Argh! I asked what could cause the possible loosening and he said it could be a low grade infection and that some people actually live with it. I'm like WHAT?

He referred me to a revision specilist, and by then I have been take taking Celebrex for a while for the joint stiffness and discomfort. I was quite low at this point as I had been in a new job trying to impress the big wigs, now I'm faced with this.

I visited the revision specialist 10 January 2019. He took one look at my xrays and told me my prothsesis is loose!!! Why, not sure. So then he aspitlrated my knee to check for infection. Hmm, the result came back inclonclusive, no indication that a infection exists.

I chose to ignore the whole knee thing, pop my pills and just get on with thins as I beacme very busy with my MBA and work, maybe he was wrong I thought, maybe there was no infection. Wishful thinking, I had been popping painkillers on a daily basis and it was really affecting my stomach now and besides that I had put on some weight and not really looking after myself.

I went back to the revision specialist to set a date for revision. He did check for infection again but again incnclusive, but I thought I have to do this!!! Date set for 17th October.

By October I could hardly walk properly but also given the fact that for my 40th birthday in September I went to Paris and Italy walking about 5km per day. Popping pain meds like sweeties. This had been planned much earlier already.

So the 17th October came nervous as hell, I was in for four hours yikes and came out of surgery yesterday. What did they find? A pocket of fluid which tested positive for infection, not too sure which one yet. Yep the surgeon kinda tried to lower my expectations I guess. He said it will either be a clean revision but if they find something, it would have to be a 2 stage revision, the latter of course my worst nightmare.

So it is now the 19th October, I have an antibiotic spacer, on an antibiotic line and also antibiotics run straight into my knee.

I'm uncertain as to how long this will be ,for 2 weeks maybe depending on what bug they find I guess. At this stage pain is managed very well, not as bad as the pain from my initial tkr? Is it because the bone had been cut already, not sure . I slept almost right though the night last night, possibly because of the sleeping pill they gave me.

I will keep everyone posted on my progress and see how things pan out. Sorry for the long post. It won't be next time. I think this is also great for my sanity.

Keep well everyone, heres to a positive journey and outcome!!

Kurt
 
Hi, Kurt....and welcome to BoneSmart. I'm so sorry to hear you've needed a revision because of infection. But it sounds like you are on the right path to set things straight. I'll look forward to your updates.
 
Thanks Jamie! I must say I've been reading through this forum and it's certainly an excellent source of information and inspiration.
 
Hello Kurt, as an unwilling member of the Infection Revision membership, I can relate to your story.
Best wishes for quick answers and treatment. Keep us posted.
 
Day 1: I choose to be positive, take things as they come, be patient with myself and others, have realistic expectations but not giving up. This is temporary. Look to what I can do during this time as opposed to what I can't! Appreciate the smaller things. Catch u with loved ones and old friends. Reading, studying and binge watch series. Celebrate small sucesses, learning from mistakes. Breathe!! We all don't have the same situation but mindset and approach is so important. I choose to overcome this, today tomorrow however long it takes!!
 

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Hello and welcome to BoneSmart. I'm sorry you've had to go through all this. I'm going to leave you our recovery articles to read-they're actually very helpful and not too long.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

6. Access these pages on the website



The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds


We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.
While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
:wave:Kurt. Sorry you have joined the Infection Club ... and you had a long journey before you even got there!

I have been through the 2 Stage Revision on my hip ... and little wimp me made it through so I know you can too.

Stay with us for support ... you always have someone to talk to or winge to here, day or night.

Take care and be positive.

Hugs.jpeg Izzy xx
 
Thanks Izzy so much for your support
 
@Kurt_H So sorry you are dealing with infection. We do have quite a few members who have been on this journey. Your positive attitude is definitely a benefit. Yes indeed - this is all temporary.

We are here for you!
 
Hi and Welcome! Best wishes for your recovery!
 
Day 2 : uneventful I guess, my physician did say my hemoglobin was low at 10, but they'll monitor it. I walked around the bed with the walker today. Not easy with all the tubes and lines over the place. Well coordinated by my physio and myself The spacer not the best gliding motion. I can hear it crutch and clunck as I walk along. Pain 1-2 which is not bad at all. 12 more days in hospital, hopefully less.....
 
@Kurt_H , I have moved all the posts about your knee infection from LDB63's thread and started a recovery thread just for you - you had unintentionally hi-jacked her thread.

Please continue to post everything about your recovery on this thread now.
Many thanks.
 
Oh ok thanks!! Great Celle!
 
Taking it easy with the temporary spacer, my physio holding on to my dignity "behind the scenes"
 

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Day 3 : Please bear with my updates, really want to keep a full account of my experience, even if nothing is going on.

Pain level: 0 - 1

Mental state: Highs and lows throughout the day. Hate it when visitors leave. I'm all alone in a room, and then I'm left to my own thoughts. It's a waiting game now, so used to being on the go. It's weird not seeing the outside of a room for so long.

Medication: So the antibiotics IV makes me feel a bit yuk and stomachs bloated.Not sure how this impacts my body wholistically. Does this have any impact on Liver and kidneys? The stipane seems to be doing the trick for pain, but I also think that the infected prothsesis was causing me a lot of pain. The spacer from a pain perspective feels good. From a mobility aspect not so much with all the cluncking and crunching. Feels like it could shatter.

Other than that, I dream of bubble baths or showers at least.

My doc seems to be very impressed with recovery, but I guess no matter how good things look on the outside it's really the blood tests and infection clearing that counts. That being said, he might take off my brace tomorrow, so I'll see how the bending goes.

Happy Monday all!!:yay:
 
Good Morning Friend.jpeg Hi Kurt, you sound like you are doing well.

Does this have any impact on Liver and kidneys?

I was given Omeprazole every morning to coat the stomach. Also, I constantly had blood tests as I had E-Coli second time around with my hip (MRSA with my knee) as it could easily go to my liver and kidneys.

I dream of bubble baths

I can now enjoy a soak in the bath although I am still avoiding bubble baths because of the possible slip factor although I have a non-slip mat in the tub. Your day will come ...

Have a peaceful day and week.

Hang .. Better.jpeg Izzy xx
 
@Izabel thanks so much for your response, I will mention to my doc tomorrow!!
 
Welcome to our group of knee replacement patients. I bet you'll do really good with that great attitude of yours. As for your tummy, try to get them to give you some Prilosec or something like that to protect it. Also, protein takes longer to digest and stays in the stomach longer, so a higher protein diet could also help coat it. I'm with you. Antibiotics do a number on me, too. I pray this trial of yours will go away quickly!
 
Wishing good things for you now, and welcome to the community. It's very supportive.
 

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