Revision TKR Revision RTKR due to laxity in ligament 3rd March 2015

[chereb]

Went to physio yesterday and measured 90 yay! However by time physio was over the knee is really painful and swollen like a balloon. :-( I really wasnt pushing it either. Not sure if the serrapeptase are doing anything to the knee although all the spider naveus i have faded to a pin prick and a scar on my arm that was raised has went flat

 

[JackiFL]

How is your knee today, in regards to swelling and pain?

 

[chereb]

Well the pain is a bit less today as is the swelling. Guess physio is not what i want to be participating in. I was getting somewhere with the gentle bending prior to this. Bonesmart way is the best way. Dont know why i have it my head that i must do physio or wont recover!. My go has prescribed me a silicon sheet for the scar as its keloid and still growing lol. Hope your doing well @JackiFL

 

[JackiFL]

Slow and steady, for sure! I'm glad you're feeling a bit better...

Jacki

 

[chereb]

Well no great difference here. Still in pain and knee definitely sticks out. Wondering if its overstuffed. Still floating between 85-90 degrees at 4 months post op. Walking up and downstrairs is not good. Its really painful above and below kneecap. @Josephine i have a worsening sharp pain in the back right side (my right) of the knee. Its getting progressively more painful and i have a deep pain in the bone above my ankle. Any thoughts? So fed up with this. I have had no real change since 6 weeks.

 

[chereb]

This is a picture of my knee from front in sitting position at 87 degrees.

 

[Josephine]

That's not an 'overstuffed' knee, it's just very swollen. In fact, it might even be full of fluid! So yes, I do think you need to get second opinion. That's not right, specially not at 17 weeks.

 

[chereb]

@Josephine i can not stand for more than 15 mins without it swelling even more than that and in severe pain. Really seems to be getting worse and im terrified. At 42 i really cant afford this to go wrong. Will update after i see consultant on Monday. If he dosent give me some answers then im definitely going to have to see someone else. Where do i start though? Do you have any advice on best Scottish hospital to attend? Thank you

 

[speccybecky]

Where was your op done?

 

[chereb]

@speccybecky Glasgow Royal infirmary

 

[Josephine]

I'm afraid I know nothing about Scottish hospitals or surgeons. Sorry.
Maybe @forbesy can help or @ochaye

Perhaps @Orthodoc would tell you what he thinks.


Or alternatively, can you come south of the boarder to Sunderland?

 

[speccybecky]

Just read through your posts, I am so sorry you are struggling. My op was in golden jubilee , I also had computer navigated surgery. When felt I had pain that I shouldn't I phoned the arthroscopy team in the hospital and saw the surgeon 2 days later! They have always advised that they, the hospital , want to be first port of call for any problems. Guess I've been lucky there. Maybe you need to see someone, even if just to set your mind at rest. Is there another GP in your practice you could see? I also had anti depressants and they did help but take time to kick in.

 

[Jozilla]

I hope you get some answers soon! Your knee looks very swollen and i imagine it is hard to do anything without pain. Hopefully your doctor visit on Monday gives you some answers. I do think a second opinion with a different surgeon might be a good idea. Let us know how you make out!

 

[chereb]

Todays knee :-(

 

[Dezzie]

Cherub, I had a TKR in Dec last year. The new joint is solid as a rock but I, too, still have a lot of painful swelling & inflammation over a year later. It might interest you to know that my surgeon is convinced this swelling is caused by peroneal nerve entrapment and is recommending a nerve decompression procedure. Reading your post made me wonder if something similar is happening to you. This large nerve branches into two further down the shin - one branch is called the deep peroneal nerve and the other branch is called the superficial peroneal nerve. By palpating certain points on my lower leg (including the front of my ankle & my knee) there was aching nerve pain. He couldn't even palpate the outer side of the knee, it is far too sensitive.

I had a lateral release at the same time as my TKR. Crucially, my patella had been badly positioned directly on top of the peroneal nerve. He thinks that the nerve entrapment further down the leg combined with the fact I was chopped about a bit during the process of having my kneecap repositioned, has not only slowed down soft tissue healing but has actually aggravated the knee pain, causing the swelling.

I have other symptoms too. A bit of a numb big toe. Also I get foot cramps sometimes AND when trying to do my ankle circling exercise, it's much harder to do on the operated leg. These are all areas touched by the peroneal nerve. Basically the sheath surrounding the nerves is tight & pressing on the nerves, causing a chain reaction aggravation up into my knee.

The op I'm having involves the widening of the nerve sheath, using two incisions, it is done as day surgery under general anaesthetic & I'm told it has a very good success rate. My surgeon feels that this op combined with being able to do more exercise (I empathise with you regarding the pain - it holds you back from exercising if all it does is increase swelling) will do the trick. I am very relieved to think there might be a solution to my continuing pain & have an excellent surgeon. When you mentioned the front of your ankle hurting, it rang bells for me. It may be worth mentioning this to your surgeon next time you see him/her? Good luck to you, & let me know how you get on

 

[chereb]

@Josephine I don't think my GP would refer me that far. They have no problem sending me for a second opinion but was hopeful there was 'someone' around here I could ask for.

 

[Josephine]

You can go where you like - NHS choice: Patient's Charter and your right to choose

 

[speccybecky]

@chereb . I heard nothing but good things from my physio about Richard Burnett who consults in St. John's Livingston and ERI. He was to have been my surgeon until I was transferred to Clydebank. He was very nice and took time to explain it all to me at consultation stage. My own surgeon was mr Deep. Not much help as not a professional opinion but maybe your GP will know of them and advise you.?

 

[chereb]

Thank you @Josephine @speccybecky Was assured the surgeon i have was a very talented one and very highly thought of by patients and staff. When i had my failed osteotomy the plate stuck out at the side of my leg. Was supposed to be the latest blah blah. It was very uncomfortable and painful it knocked against anything. He simply said oh thats a bit big for your leg. After the rest of the femur split and the knee joint collapsed i was still fobbed off for another six months. My leg was curved inwards and you can imagine the 6 months of pain walking caused. The day after the surgery...i have never shared this with anyone only carried guilt.....a junior doctor came round and told me the op went fine and only the plate was holding my femur together when they went in. He then proceeded to tell me that as a smoker the failure was most probably my fault. He was quite nasty and left me in tears, and the patients and nurse all heard him and passed comment about his treatment of me. My husband wanted me to sue for negligence. I just blamed myself as the doctor said it was me. When i next seen the consultant he said this failure had never happened to him before and it was just one of those things. Bad luck. Now can i call this bad luck again or is there incompetence involved. I no longer smoke so that cant be the reason this time. Thats why i asked about overstuffing as i already had a much too big plate put in my leg. Sorry for rambling on.

 

[speccybecky]

Was all this the same surgeon? It does sound like you need someone else to take a look.