Bilateral PKR Greetings from the other side

[Jaycey]

@TKAA So sorry you are going through this. Have you ever had a reaction to adhesive? Please let us know how your appointment goes.

 

[Rick951]

@TKAA Yes, I would like to know what you OS / PA says. My OS had suggested I might have had some reaction to the adhesive also. But, where the blisters / ripped skin was in an area where the skin would have been affected by my moving. Kind of like a friction blister. There was no damage at the top and bottom. Just my observation.
I will be a test case in less than 2 weeks. I will not be moving the operative knee more than about 30 degrees till the dressing is removed.
Rick

 

[marieltha]

Ouch. Maybe BSmarties need to start sharing what kind of bandages they get? Mine (knees and shoulder) were AquaCell Ag Surgical by ConvaTec. Waterproof. Flexible. No problems w irritation or movement. I frequently have a problem with bandaids, but my skin was fine with these.
Hope you got help.

 

[Wolvesfan]

@TKAA ... Oh my goodness. I just saw your post bandage removal photos. I had my staples removed at my surgeon’s office, even though he wasn’t seeing patients due to the pandemic. He wanted to personally see my PKR incision and then develop a wound after care plan, if needed. I’m puzzled about why your PT would remove the dressings? Glad you’re seeing your doctor and best wishes for healing!

 

[partialfixFeb]

I am very sorry you had this unfortunate complication. Like @marieltha I too had an AquaCell bandage and it was comfy and very flexible. I can't imagine what advantage there would be to a rigid bandage that wouldn't allow you to bend your knee.

 

[Jamie]

It's highly unlikely those blisters are the result of some type of friction. Usually they appear as a reaction to adhesives like the surgeons suggested.

Sometimes a home health therapist will remove bandages although this is usually done by your nurse. In most cases there are no problems. But, When she saw the blisters, she should have called your home health nurse in for a visit immediately so you could have been evaluated right then.

@Rick951 ... I suggest you not try to make yourself a "test case." Tell your medical team that you had a reaction to the dressing on your previous surgery so they can use an alternative.

 

[TKAA]

@TKAA So sorry you are going through this. Have you ever had a reaction to adhesive? Please let us know how your appointment goes.

Hi - thanks for your concern. No, never had a reaction to adhesive or latex or anything like that.

Will post more about my appointment in response to Rick's last message.

 

[TKAA]

It's highly unlikely those blisters are the result of some type of friction. Usually they appear as a reaction to adhesives like the surgeons suggested.

Sometimes a home health therapist will remove bandages although this is usually done by your nurse. In most cases there are no problems. But, When she saw the blisters, she should have called your home health nurse in for a visit immediately so you could have been evaluated right then.

@Rick951 ... I suggest you not try to make yourself a "test case." Tell your medical team that you had a reaction to the dressing on your previous surgery so they can use an alternative.

Thanks Jamie. The PT did in fact call her supervisor and together they got the ball rolling on having a nurse come out. She arrived about 5 hours later. She re-dressed the wounds, and I've since followed up with my surgeon's PA (addressed downthread)

 

[TKAA]

@TKAA Yes, I would like to know what you OS / PA says. My OS had suggested I might have had some reaction to the adhesive also. But, where the blisters / ripped skin was in an area where the skin would have been affected by my moving. Kind of like a friction blister. There was no damage at the top and bottom. Just my observation.
I will be a test case in less than 2 weeks. I will not be moving the operative knee more than about 30 degrees till the dressing is removed.
Rick

Thanks Rick. I saw the PA this morning. The mobile nurse came last night and re-dressed the wounds so I was a little less concerned about getting through the night without infection, though the pain made sleep pretty hard to come by and the oxy didn't cut it at all.

The PA still speculates it's an adverse reaction to the adhesive or the bandage material. I've never had a similar reaction to any other product. And it's interesting that the specific areas affected on each knee are almost identical mirror images.

He re-dressed the wounds again and told me to take it easy for a couple of days - a reassuring but unnecessary admonition. I cancelled the PT session scheduled for this afternoon. The wound pain has subsided a bit - good thing too as the meds don't touch it and the cold can't really get to it through all the gauze etc. But it's still a pretty much constant burning. I told the PA that he might have thought he was about to see an ortho patient but he's actually seeing a burn victim.

My plan is to lay low (literally) until Monday and then see if I can resume activities then. If this thing stays clean and there's no further aggravation, I think it's a reasonable aspiration.

 

[Jamie]

I think this will heal just fine for you, but it may take some time. The burning should ease off in a few days. It's too bad you couldn't see or feel this happening sooner or have had more frequent dressing changes. You're handling it correctly, though.

 

[TKAA]

Update 13 days post-surgery - recovery is progressing well. Wounds from reaction to bandage adhesives are slowly healing. Range of motion is good, pain is well-controlled and subsiding a bit each day. Progressing to outpatient physical therapy.

Had a checkup and x-rays today - shared here for those who may be interested.

 

[Rick951]

@TKAA a matching set. Glad things are going well!

 

[TKAA]

Quick update - recovery is progressing nicely. Pain is subsiding and well-controlled, swelling is pretty much gone. Range of motion is good and improving daily.

Best of all, the injuries to my skin which we believe were a result of an adverse reaction to the original post-op bandage adhesive are clearing up. This is slowly eliminating a source of pain which was harder to control with meds (essentially chemical burns), and is allowing better flexibility.

Outpatient PT will start on Monday.

The ability of the human body to repair itself is really remarkable. See below.

 

[TKAA]

Time for another update. Three weeks post-op today. Started outpatient PT this week. It's been great. A lot of massage, some stretching and balance. At second session he put me on the bike and was amazed that I could pedal full cycles with relative ease.

The last of the steri-strips came off in the shower today. Incisions look good, burns from adhesive have healed. Still some swelling but that varies with activity level and usually decreases with ice machine treatment.

I'm beginning to slowly step down the opioids. Very pleased with my progress.

Thanks to those of you who have offered advice and support. This is a great community.

 

[Rick951]

@TKAA Looking good! At least you don't have to worry about having staples removed.

 

[sistersinhim]

It sounds like you are doing really well. I see your right leg is more swollen than the left. Maybe you should treat it with more TLC until that swelling comes down some.

 

[TKAA]

Just thought I'd share a picture of a little device that has been helpful to me both pre- and post-surgery. This "desk cycle" fits under a desk or table (provided there's enough clearance) and is like the bottom part of an exercise bike. There are tension settings (before surgery I used 4 to build up leg strength, since surgery I've had it at its lowest setting 1 and it's just about getting the knees in motion. Of course I asked my doctor first before using it post-surgery

).

You might notice that the pedal arms are very short so you don't have to lift your knees very much to get full rotation.

I feel that it's helped me a lot.

 

[Mamamoe]

Hi Everyone,

I am having a bilateral on July 14 and all this information is helpful. I hope that everyone has a good recovery. I am very nervous about the surgery, I think it is just the unknown but ready to get this behind me. I’m so tired of not being able to walk and always in constant pain.

 

[TKAA]

One month update:
Not much news to report. I'm still hobbling around with the use of the cane. I've made a couple of failed attempts to reduce the dosage of oxycodone - slowly starting to get it down now but still having the occasional setback.

Still hard to sleep for more than an hour or two at a time. Lately I've been experiencing a lot of bone pain on the tibial side. Is this typical? At night sometimes my leg gets mildly twisted and the pain is intense (7-8), and I start to worry about spiral fractures and other demons that lurk in the night. Can anyone help assuage my concerns?

 

[sistersinhim]

At just one month out you will have all kinds of different aches and pains. Some of them you can know the cause of, others you can't. Increasing your daily activities too much will increase your pain at night. Try cutting those back some. Are you elevating and icing at night? That will help to lower your pain. If you are overly concerned be sure to call your doctor and tell him about your pain.