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Revision TKR 2 failed revisions & a stress fracture, all in 14 months

@Smokey253 thank you so much for your reply and encouragement. Sounds like you have had quite a few obstacles to overcome. Sorry to hear about your stroke. I know that had to be a bummer for you. I hope you are heading the right way with your recovery now.

My gait had been off for 28 years following a car wreck that crushed my left knee. Had to use bone from my pelvic to graft bone in my femur and they also put in a plate and pins. So over the years the knee deteriorated greatly and my degree of valgus increased to the point of affecting my mobility a lot. So that and pain caused me to break down and agree to the
TKR.

Now my PT is telling me she thinks my limp is coming from my hip and not my knee. And now my hip has started hurting significantly since yesterday. I guess it only makes sense that after so many years of dealing with misalignment, and now that my knee is fairly straight, that now my hip is suffering some of the consequences.

I have an appointment with OS next Monday and hoping he can tell me something but usually leave his office feeling discouraged more than hopeful.

Thanks for listening.
 
I'm sorry you're having hip pain as well.
Sometimes it happens because your body is still adjusting to a change in gait after the knee replacement.
I hope that's all it is for you.

If it's not that, I hope your surgeon can find out why you're having hip pain.

As for your gait, while you're still limping you need to keep on using your cane. Don't feel pressured into giving it up. It's just a tool, to help you.

As you're still going to PT, ask your therapist to concentrate on helping with your gait, so that your limp starts to decrease.
 
Your body has been adjusting to one thing or another for a long, long time. I had some valgus correction and can feel areas of tightness or ashiness which I attribute to that. Just the IT band itself, a very fibrous structure that gives rigidity to the leg, that has to adjust which I'm sure is a slow process. In the words of a doctor I know, sometimes the "Tincture of time" is the cure.
 
@Celle Thank you so much for your reply. Yes I am still going to PT. She is working with me on my gait. Started working on a few hip exercises also.

I still use my cane but I’ll admit sometime I forget it and walk away then have to look for it. Always use the cane if outside or running errands.

I will ask my PT to concentrate more on improving my gait.

Thanks again
 
@maryo52 Thank you so much for your reply. I’m sure my valgus misformation just added to all the other problems that needed correction. Therefore adding to the time it takes to recover.

I’m trying to be patient but when new problems keep coming to surface, it’s just difficult sometimes to stay focused.
But I know there are others on this forum that have gone through or are going through much worse problems than I’m having. I look at them as such troopers and feel ashamed to even complain.

Wishing and praying for the best for all of us.
 
@Ilovecruising perhaps the hip is kicking in with painbecause it will be taking the strain off the knee? I had rtkr two years ago and for last year more or less forgot that it had been done. Had ltkr 6 weeks ago and last week my first tkr started to get uncomfortable, not pain as such but grumbling away to let me know it isn’t happy at having to support lefty!! I also have OA in my right hip and the pain levels in that have significantly increased in last couple of weeks since I’ve become more mobile. Certainly isn’t a straightforward recovery process that’s for sure!!
 
@Ilovecruising.
I had gait problems as well, and was really scared that it might be permanent. Attaining the best gait possible is extra important to me, as I am (was) a long distance speed walker. I've walked up to 90 miles in 24 hours.
About 6 weeks after surgery, I still wasn't walking symmetrically. The surgeon had corrected a valgus deformation, and changed the angle my foot pointed as well (more straightforward). I thought I'd never get my gait worked out.
Luckily, my problem was neuromuscular (not skeletal) and it was cured as my various muscles regained their activation and coordination. Walking on a treadmill in front of a full length mirror helped this process. At six months, knee pains are still keeping me from going fast or far, but my stride looks great/healthy.
You likely had more corrective work done than me, so this process may take a long time. Don't give up!
 
I have to agree with the many who have responded to you. It is possible because of your incorrect gait for so long you have strained or worn something down. This is a crazy recovery and I’ve noticed pains popping up in places I never had before but they seem to work they way out. I hope it’s the same for you.
 
@Ilovecruising I've had an intermittent clicking hip and, as others have said, put it down to an altered gait. I do also find that there is sometimes discomfort/ache/pain in my hips when walking, but contributed that to the gait change too. I haven't noticed it at rest though. I hope your OS can pinpoint the cause for you and that time will ease it :console2:
 
@Lilli215 thank you so much for your response. I know what you mean by one joint having to compensate for the weakened one. It’s just that sometime I feel so overwhelmed and down when it’s just one thing after another, that I forget a lot of the basic knowledge that goes along with recovery. Thanks for reminding me!
 
@rustic WOW that is amazing, 90 miles in 24 hours. I’m so glad you got your symmetrical gait back again. I can imagine how important that was to you. Before my surgery last June, I was very active working full time as a travel nurse and then traveling for fun between contracts. It was getting harder and harder for me to maintain that active lifestyle because of pain and decreased mobility so I gave up for the TKR.

The first TKR failed as the knee never
regained stability. Every time I put weight on the affected knee, the joint would shift to left causing instability.
I wore a brace and did extensive PT
to strengthen the quads for 4 months.
Nothing seemed to work and I was still walking with a significant limp and a cane 6 months post surgery. Surgeon thought it was my ligaments not working, so I agreed to a revision using a hinged knee implant, a different kind of implant that works without the lelp of your ligaments. However when he went back in to do the surgery in Jan 2019!my ligaments were fine. So he then replaced the femoral and spacer components with larger ones. I still have instability but don’t think it is as bad as it was last year. I’m hoping with PT and time, everything will start to improve and I can obtain my normal gait and dish the cane! Then hopefully I can get back to traveling again. I know it’s only been 8 weeks and I still have a long way to go in recovery process.

Thanks for sharing your experience.
 
@Smokey253 thank you so much for your response. I agree with you and other posters that the hip is now carrying some of the brunt from walking on a misaligned knee for so long. I just hope the hip exercises that they have added to my knee exercises will help.
 
@Lindylee thank you so much for your response. Sorry to hear you have also had the clicking sound in your hip but hopefully it will resolve soon if not already. I had not had real pains in my hip until Sunday. But I had noticed slight occasional discomfort since the popping started with my TKR last June.
But mine seems to be more at rest than it is with walking. Like now, I am resting in bed and significant discomfort started about an hour ago.
Hopefully the OS will shed more insight on the problem when I see him next Monday. I hope he doesn’t just brush it off as insignificant this time.

Thanks for listening
 
Ilovecruising said:
Nothing seemed to work and I was still walking with a significant limp and a cane 6 months post surgery.
Click to expand...
Ilovecruising said:
I’m hoping with PT and time, everything will start to improve and I can obtain my normal gait and dish the cane! Then hopefully I can get back to traveling again. I know it’s only been 8 weeks and I still have a long way to go in recovery process.
Click to expand...
Because it took a long time after your first surgery for you to regain a normal gait, it might take you longer than most this time as well, possibly longer than you'd like. But don't give up. It will happen, given time.
 
@Celle It was 7 months between my first surgery and my second and I never did get a normal gait! I was still walking with a cane and limp at time of second surgery. But I’m not giving up. I’ve come too far and endured too much to give up now. If I did then all my pain and suffering over past 9 months would be in vain. Thank you for your encouraging words.
 
I have a 9 week followup with my OS today. So afraid I’m going to be disappointed again. My knee is still wobbly ( TKR revision in January was suppose to fix it) plus, I have a very bad limp that I feel is now causing my hip and back to hurt. I can also feel a clicking in my hip when I walk.

Wish I could get some kind of answers other than “your X-rays look great” I know I am being somewhat a pessimist, but when you hear the same info every visit and now two surgeries later and worse off than prior to original TKR, it’s hard to be much of an optimist. I feel like Dr doesn’t believe me or just doesn’t want to deal with it. But, Maybe he will try to find answers for me this time. Thanks for listening
 
I feel you... it’s so discouraging to be sitting in that doctors office and they don’t or won’t offer you any encouragement. But like you said a couple of posts back, you can’t give up or the past 9 months would have been for nothing. We have to keep going. I went for 15 months before my OS finally agreed with me and decided to go back and try and fix his mistake. Yes I feel like I lost 15 months of my life, but I just have to keep going. Don’t give up, keep moving and going forward, even if it’s only a baby step.
 
Well after seeing my surgeon today, I am feeling pretty numb right now. After telling him about my knee wobbling and giving away, he checked it and said “yes it’s unstable, your ligaments are bad and you need a hinged knee replacement “ .

Well HELLO! Exactly what he told me in December before doing the revision surgery in January to do just that! However when he went in there he decided ligaments weren’t bad after all so he replaced the femoral part and the spacer with larger ones. Now after going through a second surgery for nothing, I am back to where I was after the first surgery.

Does anyone care to comment on this one? If any of you can think of any bright spot on this, I should would like to hear it

Thanks for letting me vent!
 
#1 - take a deep breath. #2 - get copies of all of your surgeries / procedures. #3 - find a new surgeon whom is not associated with that clinic.

My story isn't exactly like yours but you need new eyes on your leg. Maybe a teaching hospital? So sorry your continuing to go through this. Vent here............
 
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