K8 Orlando
junior member
I had a left total knee replacement in May 2011; I considered the surgery very successful although recovery was slower than I wanted. As I said at the time, I know patience is a virtue, but it's not one of my virtues. I found this forum 4 weeks after the surgery and the help & encouragement & comfort I received were so very valuable. Looks like I will need you all again!
A few months ago (August 2016) I experienced severe left knee pain while on a trip. It was so bad on the plane home that I went immediately from the airport to the ER where they did an ultrasound and xrays. The pain started while sitting in the back of a very cramped car for 5 hours; no fall, no severe twisting, just a few very active days with lots of stairs at the hotel and other sites, then the car ride. And then an excruciating plane trip of another 5 hours.
The same surgeon who did the TKR diagnosed this as an MCL strain or tear and told me the recovery could be months long. He took xrays too. So I tried to be patient. Pain, swelling (huge!!!), severe limitations on my job, etc. Back to the doc every 3 weeks and physical therapy after 6 weeks. It improved and eventually I graduated from walker to cane, but the pain and swelling continued.
So, here I am, about 20 weeks "post injury" and I'm still having big trouble with the knee. I've done everything I could think of to be a good, patient, patient - including the loss of 25 pounds! I sort of had a meltdown in the doctor's office last week insisting there was something else going on besides a ligament strain or tear. He pulled up the xray again to show me how wonderful the implants looked and suddenly stopped dead still. That's when he saw on the xray that I apparently have quite a large area of osteolysis under the tibial implant and the whole thing has shifted slightly. How did he not see this before?!?
I'm going for a bone scan tomorrow to confirm the osteolysis, but it looks pretty certain that's what it is. If it is, he'll have to do a revision - hopefully just the lower (tibial) portion. But right now I'm torn between being devastated to have to go through the recovery again and a little bit of elation that it was finally confirmed there really is something wrong and it's not just my imagination. Is that crazy?
A couple questions:
Kate
A few months ago (August 2016) I experienced severe left knee pain while on a trip. It was so bad on the plane home that I went immediately from the airport to the ER where they did an ultrasound and xrays. The pain started while sitting in the back of a very cramped car for 5 hours; no fall, no severe twisting, just a few very active days with lots of stairs at the hotel and other sites, then the car ride. And then an excruciating plane trip of another 5 hours.
The same surgeon who did the TKR diagnosed this as an MCL strain or tear and told me the recovery could be months long. He took xrays too. So I tried to be patient. Pain, swelling (huge!!!), severe limitations on my job, etc. Back to the doc every 3 weeks and physical therapy after 6 weeks. It improved and eventually I graduated from walker to cane, but the pain and swelling continued.
So, here I am, about 20 weeks "post injury" and I'm still having big trouble with the knee. I've done everything I could think of to be a good, patient, patient - including the loss of 25 pounds! I sort of had a meltdown in the doctor's office last week insisting there was something else going on besides a ligament strain or tear. He pulled up the xray again to show me how wonderful the implants looked and suddenly stopped dead still. That's when he saw on the xray that I apparently have quite a large area of osteolysis under the tibial implant and the whole thing has shifted slightly. How did he not see this before?!?
I'm going for a bone scan tomorrow to confirm the osteolysis, but it looks pretty certain that's what it is. If it is, he'll have to do a revision - hopefully just the lower (tibial) portion. But right now I'm torn between being devastated to have to go through the recovery again and a little bit of elation that it was finally confirmed there really is something wrong and it's not just my imagination. Is that crazy?
A couple questions:
- Is recovery quicker if they just redo the tibial implant?
- How angry should I be that he missed the changes in the bone in the first xrays?
- If I've had these changes in the bone in just 5½ years since the replacement, how likely is it that this will happen with the new implant?
- I tried to research options to revisions, but all I found was fusion (never bend the knee again) or amputation (WHA..?!?). Are there other options?
Kate