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Revision TKR Lovetocookandsew’s long road to recovery

@Nana moon 27 , @KarriB and all. I had the knee aspiration today. OMG...it about killed me! The pain was intense and he had to keep moving the needle around inside to get fluid from different places. Horrible.....My daughter went with me and I squeezed her poor hand to death...lol. But at least it's over, even though it's still hurting. Anyway, if it's positive, he's going to do a clean-out and 6 weeks of IV antibiotics and see if that works so I can avoid the revision, since that's what I want to try first. If it's negative, he's going to go in and replace the plastic parts and clean everything up. I may know the results soon, or it may take the two weeks for the bacteria (he explained it all to me thoroughly but I forget all the types of bacteria he told me he's testing for) to grow. Plus, they're re-doing the LTT metal allergy test to include the bone cement. I'll let you know the results, etc, when I get them.
 
I'm sorry the aspiration hurt so much. :console2:
You'll need to baby the knee for a few days, with lots of rest, ice and elevation - pain relief too, if necessary.

I hope the test results come back negative. :fingersx:
 
Let us know what the rules are. Waiting for the cultures to grow is awful. I was in the hospital already on antibiotics while they were growing. I'm sorry it was painful. I cried just eyeing up the LONG needle the nurse prepared!
 
Thanks @KarriB and @Celle. I don't have culture results yet, but the fluid result has already come back cloudy, and some of the numbers have come back. I don't know what the numbers mean, but I'm sure my doctor will call me.
 
Just found your thread @lovetocookandsew - you have had quite the ordeal! Aspiration sounds horrible! Bless your heart for having had to endure it. Before my replacements I had been getting "rooster comb" injections for some years, and toward the end, my MD was having to aspirate tons of fluid before she could even inject me. Not sure which was worse ... the injections or the aspirations.

I hope the test results reveal a clear course to get you healed and moving well!! Good luck.
 
Thanks. Also, @Pumpkln. It's getting more and more frustrating as each test comes back normal. I'm waiting for the culture result in about a week. I emailed my doctor last night who responded about some of the test results and their meanings, and the culture that we're waiting for. I replied to him and told him I have reached my limit of pain tolerance and patience and we need to get this taken care of. It's been a long road and I am tired, and tired of being tired and I want my life back. I'll keep you posted.
 
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I am frustrated to tears right now. Somehow the lab made a mistake and did my culture as a normal one; it came up negative after 5 days, then they tossed it. My OS and his assistant are furious and I am really, really upset. Not only have we lost the time, I have to go through the agony of another aspiration. His assistant is going to go through my labs for the last year or so, then we will see what we are going to do. I am so frustrated. I told his assistant (the OS is gone until Monday so she's communicating with him by email or phone until then) I don't know if I want to go through the aspiration and then still have to do a spacer exchange. I am seriously considering skipping the aspiration and culture, and letting him do the exchange and clean-out that he wants to do. And maybe he can do a thorough culture then. I also told her I want to do a trial of IV antibiotics to see if it helps, if it's at all possible. I told her to let him know how upset I am and that it's time to move on this. I knew when I switched back to him it would take a while as he is soooooooooo busy, but it's time now to get a move on. He's one of the best doctors for me right now, and I am now going to make sure (with his assistant's help and encouragement) that I am one of his top priorities. :bawl:
 
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Ugh! This is awful news! I would be furious too! An antibiotic washout/debridement with a spacer exchange worked for me, along with IV and oral antibiotics together. For me it was important that my ID and revision surgeon worked together. The spacer exchange wasn't as painful as the TKR, after the first day I needed less pain meds, but I also wasn't allowed to bend.
Does the OS want to do another aspiration or go straight to surgery?
 
@KarriB I haven't spoken to him today. He's out of town, so his assistant called me. I know he told me when he did the aspiration that negative or positive he wants to do the washout, etc. He said they want to do IV antibiotics if it's positive, but I told his assist. I may just want to do it anyway to see what happens. I have an appointment to see him next week when he returns, but will get a call early tomorrow am after she/they go through my records. How long were you on IV antibiotics? Were you in the hospital the whole time or just some of the time, etc? How hard was it? He did mention the ID doc, and will get one involved if I need antibiotics.
 
I was on IV and oral rafapim (?) for about 6 weeks, then my body stopped making white cells, so I went off both. When my white count came back up my ID put me on 200mg of doxycycline, I stayed on that for about 8 months and then went down to 100mg. The surgery was emergency, I hadn't met the revision OS until an hour or two before the surgery, but he was great. I was in the hospital for three days, then my OS wanted me to go to the transition unit of the hospital, the cultures weren't done growing at the three day mark, a picc line had to go in and I think he felt safer with me there than at home. I had an imbolizer on my leg to keep it from bending for two weeks, (that grew into a month) so I only did stretches, walked and learned to climb stairs.I stayed there for a week. I had been in the transition unit for the TKR a month before.
Now the scary part was when he took out the staples in stages (half one week, half he next week) the seeping started again. A huge bubble developed over a weekend and I refused to go to the ER because my OS wasn't on call and I didn't want anyone else to treat me. By my Monday appointment the bubble broke. I was petrified, the dr took me off blood thinners, I began wrapping my leg with an ace bandage under the imbolizer and eventually, with lots of prayer, the seeping stopped a month after the infection surgery. I did see both my OS twice a week and the ID once a week until the seeping stopped, then they saw me less until it was once a year. I do believe God gave me a miracle. We prayed nonstop.
When I was allowed to bend (a month after surgery) my OS ordered non-aggressive therapy. I didn't start riding a bike or doing heel slides until three weeks later. He said he'd be happy with a ROM of 90, but I have no problem with steps, squatting in the water, swimming laps and I just rode my daily 4 miles on my recumbent bike. The last time my ROM was measured it was 115 (that was two years ago).
Your OS said he wants to do the washout no matter what? Sorry I wrote a novel!
 
@KarriB Thanks for the novel-it was informative. So sorry you had to go through that, so glad you got your miracle. My OS just emailed me and said if it's infected, antibiotics won't fix it. I think he meant I'd need at least a spacer replacement and clean-out, since he knows I DO NOT want a revision unless there's no other choice. I emailed him back for more info, so we shall see. I also have a low grade infection, if I have one at all, as we know the 5 day culture was negative; so I don't know what to expect. I'm thinking I can easily do the spacer thing and live through that as it seems fairly simple, as opposed to a revision. (And if he does the spacer, he can do the other carpal tunnel release at the same time...the one he did in October is getting better finally). It's just all a major pain and I've reached my limit over the whole thing......:hairpulling::gaah::banghead:
 
My heart dropped for you, throwing your culture away after 5 days, :tantrum2:.
If you do antibiotics prior to the washout, an infection would be masked. Your OS has the right idea to go ahead with the spacer exchange and washout, taking samples at that time for the lab. Hopefully they will give them time to grow so you know what is happening in your knee.
 
Yes, he's right, if it's infected antibiotics alone won't help. When I went into the dr office the day my knee started seeping like a small creek I was thinking I'd walk out with an antibiotic script. Ha! When the dr in the office took off the washcloth we had taped to my knee, pus ran down my leg. That's when he put away the aspiration needle and said I was going to the hospital.
After the surgery I was on an IV antibiotic, but once the cultures grew the ID changed the antibiotics. When I went home a nurse came to the house to teach me how to work the IV pump and another nurse came weekly to change the dressing on the picc line and draw blood for lab work.
I was exhausted. The energy drain was worse than the pain. My body was fighting an infection and trying to heal from a second surgery. I really just went back and forth to dr visits and slept. The only thing that kept me sane was stopping for a meal after a dr appointment. Housebound for two months was difficult and it was during the Polar Vortex. The first day my knee stopped seeping and I had a clean bandage was the day after Christmas. Oh and my infection surgery was on Thanksgiving Eve. Ha!
But I always tell people, if I can get through this anyone can. I had never been admitted to a hospital and never has a procedure before. I was so afraid of the TKR surgery, but by the grace of God everything is ok.
 
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