Knee Infection* October 20th original knee surgery, infection, October 31st clean up for infection

[the dude]

I’m in the hospital after getting a knee infection on October 31. The doctor expected that the clan up would take,about an hour and a half but was over three hours long. The surgeon operated on me from 7pm until after 10pm. I’m having a hard time walking
, actually moving. Anyone else have a second knee surgery done? ………and what was the time line of healing?…………..Did the second procedure have any hiccup….

 

[Jockette]

Hi and Welcome!

Here is a list of our members with infections, take a look at their threads. With the right treatment, this can be successfully treated. Do you have an infectious disease doctor on your medical team? If not, you should.

I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Just keep in mind all people are different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary

2. Control discomfort:

rest​

elevate​

ice​

take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

don't overwork.​

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If you want to use something to help heal the incision, ​

BoneSmart recommends hypochlorous solution. Members in the US can purchase ACTIVE Antimicrobial Hydrogel through BoneSmart at a discount. Similar products should be available in the UK and other countries.​

3. Do what you want to do BUT

​

a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​

b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

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4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

​

the BoneSmart view on exercise​

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Activity Progression for TKRs​

6. Access to these pages on the website

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Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications​

Wound Closure​

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

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

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.

 

[LaJudes]

l had an infection in my knee replacement , they actually took all the hardware out and put in a temporary spacer that l could not walk on . Then l was on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks , then almost 3 months later l had a second surgery where they put in a whole new knee replacement . So it was a long haul for me. A clean out like you described was not an option for me.. l don't ever want to go through that again !!

 

[Jazzerguy]

How are you doing now? Better, I hope.

I’m doing my best to remain optimistic that the revision process will work. During recovery I’ve realized that it’s hard to separate the pain from the surgery from the pain created by the infection. My blood markers are good and I have antibiotic spacers in the knee for another seven weeks, so most of the pain is just related to the trauma of the operation. Fingers crossed.

 

[Annie3791]

I had my revision in 2021 and still in a lot of pain and stiffness, this has not been easy for me. M;y doctor says I can go out and play golf, bike and walk, I can't do any of those things, as the pain becomes worse. I wish I could find a way to ease the pain. I was thinking of acupuncture, but not sure if this is ok because of possible infection. I would love to find out if anyone else has had a similar story. Best of luck to you.