Amputation Left Above-Knee Amputation, 22 April 2025
- Thread starter WFD
- Start date
So happy to read this from you -- especially knowing what you've been through! A positive attitude really does help us get back to our lives. I think your yard work yesterday demonstrates that you are well on your way!
Please do come back from to time to time and let us know how you are doing!
WFD
graduate
Four months after second revision, left knee -
The scar tissue in my knee and lower quad has definitely matured and my knee has gotten a little more stiff. My RoM is stuck in the 85-90° range depending on swelling.
Over the course of the last two months the swelling in my knee has actually increased about 1 cm in circumference, and the warmth in that knee is not decreasing. On 11/20 I had followup labwork and markers for inflammation, which never got down to the normal range, have started to increase. I have more labwork scheduled for 12/15, and if that shows a continued increase, it's off to the hospital to have my knee aspirated and a culture run.
If the infection has come back, I'm sure the treatment will run a lot longer than the first time, and that was bad enough. Boo to PICC lines and upset stomachs.
At leat I am able to continue my upper body weightlifting and paddling on the ergometer, as well as do an increasing number of chores around the house. Next week I am going to be wrapping presents while my wife is at work.
The scar tissue in my knee and lower quad has definitely matured and my knee has gotten a little more stiff. My RoM is stuck in the 85-90° range depending on swelling.
Over the course of the last two months the swelling in my knee has actually increased about 1 cm in circumference, and the warmth in that knee is not decreasing. On 11/20 I had followup labwork and markers for inflammation, which never got down to the normal range, have started to increase. I have more labwork scheduled for 12/15, and if that shows a continued increase, it's off to the hospital to have my knee aspirated and a culture run.
If the infection has come back, I'm sure the treatment will run a lot longer than the first time, and that was bad enough. Boo to PICC lines and upset stomachs.
At leat I am able to continue my upper body weightlifting and paddling on the ergometer, as well as do an increasing number of chores around the house. Next week I am going to be wrapping presents while my wife is at work.
I sure hope your lab work turns out with no more infection. You have been through enough already!
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Sorry to hear that your swelling and inflammatory markers haven't settled.
Fingers crossed the next blood work is better. At least you are being monitored and being kept watch on.
Fingers crossed the next blood work is better. At least you are being monitored and being kept watch on.
JusticeRider
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I’m so sorry to hear this. I hope you are free of infection and this is a temporary bump.
Thinking of you and wishing for reassuring results with your recent tests.
Last edited:
WFD
graduate
Thanks all for your kind comments.
Here is something I noticed about a month ago - I am no longer receiving email notifications when someone responds to this thread or quotes me. I haven’t changed any preferences. Anyone know what’s going on?
Here is something I noticed about a month ago - I am no longer receiving email notifications when someone responds to this thread or quotes me. I haven’t changed any preferences. Anyone know what’s going on?
@WFD I checked your profile and the option to receive notifications if there is interaction on your thread was not checked. All fixed now.
But remember that you will only receive one notification if there is a post on the thread. No other notifications will be sent until you interact with the thread again. Not ideal - but that's just the way system works.
But remember that you will only receive one notification if there is a post on the thread. No other notifications will be sent until you interact with the thread again. Not ideal - but that's just the way system works.
If you have threads (including your own) that you want to keep track of, you can also mark them to WATCH and then check through your WATCHED THREADS when you log in. The threads with new content you haven’t seen will appear bold on the index listing.
WFD
graduate
@dotski , I see you ‘liked’ my post where I answered @JusticeRider ’s question about whether I thought my arthroscopic surgery was worth it. What I didn’t know at the time that I answered her question, was that I had an undiagnosed infection and that the tibial component had already broken loose and was in the process of hammering its way out through the side of my tibia.
If I had not had the infection, I think I would have had a successful outcome and ended up with about 100 degrees of flexion. That doesn’t sound like much but it is a lot better than 80-85, which is where I am today.
I hope this is useful information for you.
If I had not had the infection, I think I would have had a successful outcome and ended up with about 100 degrees of flexion. That doesn’t sound like much but it is a lot better than 80-85, which is where I am today.
I hope this is useful information for you.
Thank you @WFD. Reading about your journey, as much as my heart hurts for your arduous rehab journey, has been helpful, I read the long article about arthrofibrosis, and had also already discovered Dr G’s very insightful website (it was his site that led me to undertake the long slow stretching routine that got my flexion back…but unfortunately it may have been too little too late (quads shutdown post op also) as I think I still probably have overgrowth of scar in the wrong places. This in spite of following the general Bonesmart advice on managing inflammation and swelling. I managed it well but didn’t start Celebrex until 2.5 weeks post op. I think I should have been on it right away from day 1. Or perhaps I have had progression of kneecap arthritis (mine wasn’t resurfaced), I suspect the issue is both feeding off the other - scarring in peri-patellar tissues and quads tendon area pushing kneecap too tightly against femur. Since I’m almost 3 months in I hope I can beat this and am crazily researching all I can in the hopes of avoiding risks of further surgery - and your story has been educational. I think I have undiagnosed inflammatory arthritis that has stayed under the radar for years due to NSAID use (autoimmune).
I’m in awe of how long you lived with a bone that was basically slowly breaking. When I saw your X-ray photo my jaw dropped instantly and I knew right away why your shin hurt so bad. I am so sorry you’ve been through all this. It just isn’t fair sometimes. You do all the right things and stuff still goes sideways.
I think you are spot on about keeping on top of the lab results. And also X-rays. Was it CRP lab marker by chance that they missed seeing?
I’ll be watching for your updates and hoping the infection fully clears. I hope you have a Merry Christmas in spite of it all.
I’m in awe of how long you lived with a bone that was basically slowly breaking. When I saw your X-ray photo my jaw dropped instantly and I knew right away why your shin hurt so bad. I am so sorry you’ve been through all this. It just isn’t fair sometimes. You do all the right things and stuff still goes sideways.
I think you are spot on about keeping on top of the lab results. And also X-rays. Was it CRP lab marker by chance that they missed seeing?
I’ll be watching for your updates and hoping the infection fully clears. I hope you have a Merry Christmas in spite of it all.
@WFD I just read your whole thread and am in awe of the way you have never stopped looking for solutions in the face of much pain and lack of information. I will think of you as I try 1) not to catastrophize small things and 2) to meet actual challenges and setbacks with courage. Thanks for sharing your story and I hope to read more of your updates.
@WFD
This is so true. I am aghast at the number of people who don't know the first thing about their lab results or medical conditions. I have had a couple incidents happen that taught me this lesson early on in my adult life.
You either ask more questions or research things on your own.
I'm sorry you had to learn this lesson the hard way. Thank you for talking about it on your thread.
It will help somebody else on the forum, I am certain of it!
WFD
graduate
I don't know, but it certainly was the CRP that was most sensitive to the presence of the infection. WBC never got our of range; ESR and and CRP did, but CRP skyrocketed. My infection was from staph ludenensis, a skin bacteria, and very slow growing inside the knee, so I didn't get the dramatic numbers that someone with a staph aureus infection might.
@dotski and @AnnYo , thank you for your kind words.
I just got back the results from Friday's lab work, and they are, naturally, ambiguous. CRP is almost unchanged at 1.99 (normal is <0.5), ESR has ticked up and WBC has ticked down, but both are in the normal range.
It may be that the infection has not returned, but that the bug that has been going around is triggering the CRP levels. I've felt kind of run down the last few weeks so that may be the cause.
I'll talk to the doctor's office this week and probably we'll schedule another blood draw in a month or two.
I really hope for you it’s not more infection! CRP was one of many labs checked when I was being investigated for rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, as it’s an inflammation marker that can show up in many different conditions. Mine went up pretty high immediately post op but then returned to normal a few weeks later (elevated due to the normal post op inflammatory cascade).
