Revision TKR Im baaackkk time for a TKR revision

eeskiracer

member
Joined
Nov 11, 2010
Messages
101
Age
64
Location
NM
Country
United States United States
Gender
Female
Well never give up....I was told in 2010 with all my sports injuries (9 knee surgeries and 3 spinal fusions) that I should chose one knee to do and the other would follow in a few months, both were bad bad bad. I chose Left.

Through all the rehab I had more pain than expected (the doc said, it was very tight in there, he had a hard time getting it in) horrible issues with ROM and I kept pushing myself through massage, PT, arnica, DMSO, you name it, and finally starting doing some crossfit and back to ski racing but it kept getting worse.....catching, stiffness, pain like before I had it done.

Every year I went for my yearly X-ray and doc just said, it's scar tissue, its maybe a reaction to the metal....not sure...no answers. I really needed to get the other one done but this one was so bad that I wasn't ready to commit to the other surgery and have really struggled. Finally I went to the Director of Joint reconstruction at a major university in Washington D.C. to see if maybe he could do something while I was under anesthesia getting the other one done to fix the original one. He took one look at the Xray and showed me.....no question....the prosthesis was too BIG!!

The metal on the tibial component overlapped the bone and both the medial and lateral sides and thus the pain! I was extremely thankful that the answer was so obvious, but really mad that I had to wait this long to find out why. 5½ years. So I have to get this one redone before we move on to the right one. Interesting that the first doctor never said anything and yet is was plain as day on the X-ray.
 
eeskiracer,
Welcome baaackkk!
Sorry it is because you need a revision.
Your story is all to common, the original OS says everything is fine. You go for a second opinion, and immediately they identify the problem.
Happy to hear you have found someone to help and give you the proper prosthesis, and perhaps the confidence to have the other one done at sometime in the future.
Keep us posted!
 
Welcome to the revision club. Your experience sounds similar to mine. After 3½ years of struggling with my TKR I'm having a revision. Original and next OS couldn't see anything from X-ray so had a 3 phase nuclear bone scan and it showed loosening. Good luck with your revision and I'll talk to you on the other side.

Dorothy
 
I'm also another member of the revision club. I was very fortunate that I found another OS that would see me so soon after my original TKR. As soon as I saw the X-ray I could see what was wrong. The original OS just kept telling me all was well. I had my revision 8 months after my original surgery and I could not be happier. The first week or two were tough but my recovery after that has been amazing. I hope your experience is the same.
 
Hi eeskiracer - it's good to see you again but not for this!
Interesting that the first doctor never said anything and yet is was plain as day on the X-ray.
It begs the question about that surgeon's experience that they either can't recognise such an obvious error or can't be bothered to do anything about it. What a clutz!
 
Josephine I agree with you, and I thank god I have good health insurance because in addition to pain and suffering, the cost and risk of these procedures is extremely high. My original OS was a highly esteemed OS in the metropolitan DC area (VA) My mistake was not insisting on a second opinion during the first two years post op, but what did I know as a patient, this was the only experience I had with that kind of surgery. I found out later that VA has a 2 years statute of limitations for malpractice in healthcare so I was past that. I was really quite shocked that the OS I finally did get that second opinion from showed me how blatantly obvious the mistake was on the Xray....I am a RN and I usually the best advocate for myself and my family and I even got tricked...that is scary....
 
I'm a RN and got taken in also. The statute of limitations is two years in PA also however when I contacted a lawyer (plus my daughter) I was told that if the revision fixes the problem then there is no grounds for a lawsuit. So just concentrate on getting better. I felt betrayed by the original OS but I try to keep looking forward.
 
IMG_0918.JPG IMG_0917.JPG Update- 8!weeks post op now, doing much better than first time! Only real pain appears to be in the tibia, saw the X-ray and very long rods, anyone experienced this type of pain.
 
I had the same type of pain post revision. It eventually diminished and i haven't had it for a few months now. I did take it very easy as far as exercising and really completely followed the info I received here. I did go to PT but was very careful as to what exercises I did and I never, ever allowed anyone to push on my knee at all. I'm glad to hear you are doing so well and am sorry that you had to wait so long to have it fixed.
 
Hello @eeskiracer
I'm glad to read that things seem to be going better this time around.
Although it's several weeks now since you had the revision, I'm going to give you the BoneSmart recovery reading list. You may still find some articles useful and relevant.

First are the BoneSmart mantras ....
- rest, elevate, ice and take your pain meds by the clock
- if it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physiotherapist (PT) - to do it to you. exercise only gently
- if your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again
- if you won't die if it's not done, don't do it
- never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can go to sleep!
- be active as much as you need to be but not more than is necessary, meaning so much that you end up being in pain, exhausted or desperate to sit down or lie down!

Next is a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) thread.

And here are some very crucial articles
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs

Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Activity progression for TKRs
Heel slides and how to do them

Extension: how to estimate it and ways to improve it

Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling

Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR

Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

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

Best wishes from yet another person who had a revision. :flwrysmile:
 
Thank you for the comments, much appreciated! Newly bionic I can relate to you, as well. You probably understand the point where your old knee starting hurting more than the new TKR? At 8 weeks now that is the case, the tibia pain is bad but I can honestly say that my new knee hurts less than my old knee now, but Im not ready to go through this again so soon, others who do I have great respect for. I am going to try and wait until next summer to get the right one done.:scaredycat:
 
IMG_0918.JPG IMG_0917.JPG Update- 8!weeks post op now, doing much better than first time! Only real pain appears to be in the tibia, saw the X-ray and very long rods, anyone experienced this type of pain.

Hello,
Glad to hear that you are on track with a good, new knee! I too have a longer tibial stem and my OS had to remove 2 screws from my tuberosity (from a TTT I had when I was 17). I did have quite a bit of pain in the tuberosity because of this, but it has thankfully subsided at 3 weeks out. I think it's like with anything, the pain will go away as you heal!

Good luck on your continued recovery!
Jen
 
I am so thankful to read these posts! I am an RN also and am angry at myself for not picking up on the fact that something was majorly wrong in the first 4 months after my TRKR. I am headed for a revision of somesort. They think that a new spacer might fix it. Or that just replacing the femur piece with the peg that is needed might work. I will have to go to sleep on the OR table and not find out what they did until the recovery room......which is majorly scarey. The hard part is that I am a single person in a new city with not much of a support system now. Not knowling what recovery will be like is scarey. Timing is scarey. And the fact that I could possibly go through another tough recovery is scarey. So I have made no decisions and am walking around with a brace on. At least I can walk this year for Christmas! Last year I was still on a walker 3 months post op!!! Angry that my OS did not put the right prosthesis in! But thankful that at least I can walk. I am in pain all day everyday. Everytime I stand up. I cannot do stairs either. I can't even do uneven surfaces yet as my knee is so unstable not having an ACL, PCL or a peg in the prosthesis. I could use words of encouragement about the recovery!!!!!
 
Update....I finally found a revision specialist. He said the only way to do it right would be to put in another whole prosthesis. It is just so hard to choose a surgeon after having had this experience with the first one. Lots of prayers going into this. I have not set a date yet as I have to build a support system, move into a house with master on main floor and wait for FMLA to be approved. More to come
 
jacksv153,
Glad you found someone for a revision. Hope your move and a support system are behind you soon.
My revision prosthesis looks like the one Roy has. You will feel better once this is over, and you can get back to your life.
 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

  • Jaycey
    ADMINISTRATOR Staff member since February 2011

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,167
Messages
1,596,864
BoneSmarties
39,356
Latest member
JanieMarie
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom