Hi everyone! I am new here and forgive me for any errors. My TKR on my Right knee was 8/15/2017 in Houston, yes two days before Hurricane Harvey. I was rushed out of the hospital, had one day of PT, one day PT in my home area, then everything flooded (not my home thank God). I was on a continuous motion machine. My wonderful therapist did home visits until he could get a temp facility. I ended up doing a year of PT. I have had three "cool leaf" ablation procedures to try and eliminate the continual knee pain. I have had numerous x rays, and an arthroscopy to check and see what is going on with that knee and nothing comes up. I had metal testing which was negative. My pain is almost exclusively upon standing. I can walk but not stand! After cooking, standing at a function (pre covid of course) I would be in agony. My sweet doctor who was the chief of staff at Tx Orthopedic in Houston has about given up. I am going for a second opinion this week to another Ortho at UT. Any suggestions?
TKR Five years later, and still many regrets. Is there a doctor in the US who can fix this?
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to BoneSmart.3 years - that's awful. I'd just make sure that the new person (a) has no attachment to your original surgeon (2) is a well-respected revision specialist. Best wishes.
bellarina
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I'm not sure he is a revision specialist....He is well respected and has no attachment to the first. How can I find a revision guy or girl? My husband is a physician, which is probably two strikes against me. I am not in a major med area but am about 100 miles from Houston and am close to Louisiana.
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Such a one is what you need IMO, to find whether the original surgery was done wrong. Google can help, and there are staff members here who'll be along in due course.
You might also think about a new physiotherapist, not for exercises but to help find what's wrong.
I always google the doctor’s name and look at the links provided there that describe what they do. It will list the word revision or complex joint.
You really do want someone like this as they have more experience fixing problem knees, if there is a fix.
The bigger/busier area you go to, the better, in my opinion. That way they see lots of cases where the outcome of the surgery wasn’t optimal.
My partial was done in Delaware, in an area with a small town feel. My results were not good. I didn’t know any better at the time, but I’ve learned a lot since then, and I know better now. If/when a revision time comes for me, I will go to someone in the Philadelphia area.
bellarina
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Greetings folks. I had my knee replaced in Houston 2 days before Harvey ( it was supposed to go West!). Discharged quickly and after things died down my PT even did home visits. I went through years of PT. Five years later I can walk mostly without pain, it cannot stand longer than 5 minutes comfortably. And after a week in Disney my knee is a swollen mess. I brought a cane which doubles as a seat and took frequent breaks. I did walk about 6-7 miles a day there. But I was very active prior to surgery! I want to get back to that. Have had a specialized CT, another arthroscopy, needle biopsy to test the knee all of which have shown nothing. Metal testing showed very minor issue. Is there a guru anywhere in the US who can fix me? Willing to go anywhere.
@bellarina, I’m sorry still have so much pain.
Maybe consider Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City? I think you can at least get a video appointment with them for a start.
Maybe consider Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City? I think you can at least get a video appointment with them for a start.
Cementless
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I would recommend Dr. Stephen Kreuzer in Houston, Texas but he did mess up my knee revision on Oct. 6, 2018. Very unusual situation. He is still the best!
I hate to put a damper on things but there will come a time when you realize you now have a prosthetic knee. I've even heard an orthopedic state "your knee will never be normal again." I'm a little better than four years following my first TKR and totally dissatisfied. My quality of life went down the toilet not being able to do the things I could do before the TKR. I went through all the recommendations of PT, home exercise, follow up with different doctors, etc. The Doctors all came with high ratings and the "best of the best." I think to give yourself peace of mind except what it is.
bellarina
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I am too young to just accept this. After this summer I am going to do extensive research. A video appt with HSS is a great option. Docs are hesitant to operate sometimes as I am a docs wife. Going out of state may be what is needed.
I agree that you probably do need to go out of state for your surgeon.
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bellarina said:
Hello,
My husband had a TKR 3 years ago here in South Florida at Holy Cross Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale. He had Dr. Raul G. Gosthe perform the surgery. This young man is incredible. Not only knowledgeable, but has the best bed side manner. He also is the one that the hospital itself recommends for doing revisions on other TKR and THR as well. I myself had Dr. Gosthe perform a THR on my rightt hip last Sept. ( so almost a year ago ). I would highly recommend him and the hospital. Holy Cross is in the top few in the Nation for knee replacements and in orthopedic surgeries in general. They have won many awards. They are in the top 10% in the nation for TKR and THR. Each hospital is given a score based on these ratings and the 50 top-scoring hospitals are nationally ranked, the top 10% within the specialty are considered high performing which is what Holy Cross is considered for these procedures, Granted the actual stay usually it is done out patient or only 1 night is not the best due to the poor nurses being over worked without extra help, but the physicians are amazing. Dr. Gosthe studied at Miami University Medical which is highly rated. His residency was also at high rated hospital: Jackson Memorial Hospital, and Cleveland Clinic. His office is at
5597 North Dixie Highway
Oakland Park, Florida 33334 954 - 958-4800
It was a friend of ours who had Dr. Gosthe do a TKR on her that recommended us to him in the first place. My husband's knee was a real mess due to being broken as a child and never being fixed. It had bones and misalignment. It was a long operation, but a very successful one. Please check him out! Good luck.
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I'm happy that you've found a doctor and hospital you like. Reading many forums/blogs it seems that TKR recipients make claims that their particular doctor and/or hospital are rated in the top 5, 10, etc. Could it be it's nothing more than advertising hype? They can't all be the best. I had a bad outcome from my Top rated TKR surgeon and he still remains top - go figure!
A person does need to take all those “ratings” with a grain of salt. There is much more to surgeons than the various rating systems and websites that provide “feedback” on their services. It is important to do a lot of research when you’re trying to resolve a problem. Starting with HSS in New York is an excellent beginning.
