TKR Can't straighten leg or walk eleven weeks post op
- Thread starter JamesAB
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JamesAB
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@Jaycey
An excellent consultation with Mr Zahn who thinks something can be done for me. I need to have a scan done and then appear before a panel of experts who will decide the best procedure.
The good news is, he suggested that all this is done under the NHS.
I think I owe you a debt of gratitude, Jaycey. You may well have started something that will change my life. xx
An excellent consultation with Mr Zahn who thinks something can be done for me. I need to have a scan done and then appear before a panel of experts who will decide the best procedure.
The good news is, he suggested that all this is done under the NHS.
I think I owe you a debt of gratitude, Jaycey. You may well have started something that will change my life. xx
@JamesAB Wow - this is great news! So glad your consultation went well. I found Zahn approachable and very caring. He takes his time and most importantly, listens to his patients.
You don't owe me anything except getting whatever procedure you need done as soon as possible.
Do you know how soon you can get your scan done? Please keep us updated!
You don't owe me anything except getting whatever procedure you need done as soon as possible.
Do you know how soon you can get your scan done? Please keep us updated!
dogwalker2
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Just been reading your story. So glad to hear you had a good consultation with Mr Zahn. So glad things are on the move at last.
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JamesAB
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@dogwalker2
Thank you.
Thank you.
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JamesAB
member
Hello,
I have now received a letter from Mr Zahn which includes some tests which I have to undergo before a decision is made on the procedure to (hopefully) right my knee.
These are:
ESR, full Blood Count, CRP. (These to check for inflammation, I think.)
CT Scan fine cut with rotational profile of the knee joint.
Bone scan (for osteoporosis?)
Leg length mechanical axis alignment scan.
This should keep me busy for a bit!
It seems likely that I will be introduced to the Revision MDM - whatever that is!?
I have now received a letter from Mr Zahn which includes some tests which I have to undergo before a decision is made on the procedure to (hopefully) right my knee.
These are:
ESR, full Blood Count, CRP. (These to check for inflammation, I think.)
CT Scan fine cut with rotational profile of the knee joint.
Bone scan (for osteoporosis?)
Leg length mechanical axis alignment scan.
This should keep me busy for a bit!
It seems likely that I will be introduced to the Revision MDM - whatever that is!?
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Well they are certainly being very thorough! This is good. Looking at all the options for you. Do call the surgeon's office if you have questions. He is very good at getting back to patients. So glad you are working with him!
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JamesAB
member
Hmmmm, its dragging on a bit: Got a NHS appt. too se Mr Zahn on 23/11/21 But no appointments for tests which, I am pretty sure I need to have before I see him again. Repeated email & a phone call to his NHS secretary have gone unanswered. Now 23/11 appointment has been cancelled and replaced with a telephone appointment on 25/1/22! Still no appointments for X-rays etc!??
I am afraid the NHS is in a pretty dire position at the moment. No capacity to do anything except Covid.
I had a question for Zahn that I couldn't get answered and I ended up writing him a letter (snail mail). He actually called me as soon as he received the letter. Worth a try if only to remind him that you are concerned.
Have you tried calling his private medical secretary? You had a private consultation so she/he will know you.
I would ask your GP to order these for you. Your appointment may have been rescheduled due to not having time to get the tests done. Show your GP the letter.
Most surgeons are going this telephone route these days. There is just no place for them to hold clinics in hospitals. Believe me - they are not happy with all these delays either.
I had a question for Zahn that I couldn't get answered and I ended up writing him a letter (snail mail). He actually called me as soon as he received the letter. Worth a try if only to remind him that you are concerned.
Have you tried calling his private medical secretary? You had a private consultation so she/he will know you.
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JamesAB
member
Hello everyone. 
It is getting on for a year since I had anything to report about my "failed" RTKR in November 2018 and my total inability to walk, even with a Walker, without pain, since then.
This due to countless delays in getting an NHS appointment with my consultant Mr Zahn who I first saw privately on October 1st. 2021 (and who then put me on his NHS panel as I did not have medical insurance) and also for necessary investigations by the NHS - Blood tests, CT scan and bone scan.
By far the majority of the delay was that the referral from my GP was sent to Mr Zahn's NHS secretary, but she had left and been replaced. The referral email was not accessible to his new secretary, so nothing happened.
You can imagine my frustration since I only had information to contact his previous NHS secretary which, of course was impossible. I lost count of the times I emailed and phoned with no response. Eventually I was able to contact his new NHS secretary who could not have been more helpful. Once I knew what was happening, I arranged for the referral to be resent from my GP. That was in March this year, six months after the first referral attempt!
I had the CT scan in May and saw Mr Zahn in July still waiting for Blood test and the Bone Scan. He arranged for me to have blood for testing taken at my local GP. That left the Bone Scan - this where I was to be injected with a radioactive compound which after several hours concentrates at sites of inflammation or irritation. It was hoped that this would show up problems with the kneecap.
Not hearing anything for weeks about the Bone scan, in September I contacted the NHS appointments people only to be told that they were working through last November's list! It then occurred to me that maybe I could have this done privately! This proved to be true and I had a very thorough Bone Scan at The Trinity Medical Imaging Centre on September 21 (£850!)
I saw Mr Zahn yesterday and as I suspected and hoped, the results definitively show that the kneecap is in a poor state and requires resurfacing. Mr Zahn says that there is an 85% chance of success in this procedure.
It is now approaching four years since I had the RTKR, before which I was promised I would have no pain after the replacement. The surgeon who carried out the replacement, on seeing me 12 weeks after the procedure, said "I have done my bit" and to my mind washed his hands of me and sent me on a wild goose chase by suggesting that my hips were causing the problem! This and two other referrals, together with Covid, allowed time to slip by. This, as I have reported here following advice from Jaycey, led me to contacting the consultant, Mr Helmut Zahn
Now knowing what needs to be done and being so fed up with all the time that has been wasted, I have asked for a quotation for the procedure to be carried out under Mr Zahn at The One Hospital, Ashford Kent. Unless the cost is astronomical, I will have it done in the next six to eight weeks!
I must admit the phrase "Compensation and closure" has crossed my mind!
Fingers crossed!
Kind Regards, Jim
It is getting on for a year since I had anything to report about my "failed" RTKR in November 2018 and my total inability to walk, even with a Walker, without pain, since then.
This due to countless delays in getting an NHS appointment with my consultant Mr Zahn who I first saw privately on October 1st. 2021 (and who then put me on his NHS panel as I did not have medical insurance) and also for necessary investigations by the NHS - Blood tests, CT scan and bone scan.
By far the majority of the delay was that the referral from my GP was sent to Mr Zahn's NHS secretary, but she had left and been replaced. The referral email was not accessible to his new secretary, so nothing happened.
You can imagine my frustration since I only had information to contact his previous NHS secretary which, of course was impossible. I lost count of the times I emailed and phoned with no response. Eventually I was able to contact his new NHS secretary who could not have been more helpful. Once I knew what was happening, I arranged for the referral to be resent from my GP. That was in March this year, six months after the first referral attempt!
I had the CT scan in May and saw Mr Zahn in July still waiting for Blood test and the Bone Scan. He arranged for me to have blood for testing taken at my local GP. That left the Bone Scan - this where I was to be injected with a radioactive compound which after several hours concentrates at sites of inflammation or irritation. It was hoped that this would show up problems with the kneecap.
Not hearing anything for weeks about the Bone scan, in September I contacted the NHS appointments people only to be told that they were working through last November's list! It then occurred to me that maybe I could have this done privately! This proved to be true and I had a very thorough Bone Scan at The Trinity Medical Imaging Centre on September 21 (£850!)
I saw Mr Zahn yesterday and as I suspected and hoped, the results definitively show that the kneecap is in a poor state and requires resurfacing. Mr Zahn says that there is an 85% chance of success in this procedure.
It is now approaching four years since I had the RTKR, before which I was promised I would have no pain after the replacement. The surgeon who carried out the replacement, on seeing me 12 weeks after the procedure, said "I have done my bit" and to my mind washed his hands of me and sent me on a wild goose chase by suggesting that my hips were causing the problem! This and two other referrals, together with Covid, allowed time to slip by. This, as I have reported here following advice from Jaycey, led me to contacting the consultant, Mr Helmut Zahn
Now knowing what needs to be done and being so fed up with all the time that has been wasted, I have asked for a quotation for the procedure to be carried out under Mr Zahn at The One Hospital, Ashford Kent. Unless the cost is astronomical, I will have it done in the next six to eight weeks!
I must admit the phrase "Compensation and closure" has crossed my mind!
Fingers crossed!
Kind Regards, Jim
I’m so sorry that so much time has been wasted in your case. I hope this upcoming procedure is successful and you finally get on to doing the things you love. 
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JamesAB
member
Finally, I have a date for the resurfacing of my kneecap of January 5th next year. I sincerely hope this will bring an end to four years of pain following my RTKR in 2018. I am extremely grateful to "Jaycee" for recommending my consultant, Mr Helmut Zahn.
