lisabl
member
A long post I know, but here is my history. If you have RA beware of PKR.
In May last year I had medial partial knee replacement. Initially recovery seemed good but with all the swelling and meds I had no idea what problems would lie ahead. Physio progressed well and within 8 weeks I was at 5° extension and 120° flexion but swelling still bad.
I had spent 10 weeks with my leg raised and iced using a Cryocuff for most of every day and all PT could say is give it time. At 6 months I still needed walking stick and still iced 3-4 times a day and twice during night. I had good muscle tone and strength in the knee and could even slowly walk leg over leg upstairs.
However at 9 months, as swelling started to go down, full pain started when I tried to get out of chair, more night pain (back to continuous icing) and sticks. The only relief from pain was in the swimming pool. So at 10 months I went back to consultant who did xray and said he couldn't find anything wrong, but was prepared to do an arthroscopy to see what might be amiss.
Three days later I got a second opinion from a consultant who showed me an info sheet on the prosthesis which clearly said not suitable for patients with inflammatory arthritis. I have RA and the original surgeon knew that. The other half of the knee joint had started to rapidly deteriorate but due to swelling I was unaware of the problem.
I am currently walking with 2 sticks and a knee brace, and can't wait for my full revision next week. Will need lots of support on 2nd time round recovery.
In May last year I had medial partial knee replacement. Initially recovery seemed good but with all the swelling and meds I had no idea what problems would lie ahead. Physio progressed well and within 8 weeks I was at 5° extension and 120° flexion but swelling still bad.
I had spent 10 weeks with my leg raised and iced using a Cryocuff for most of every day and all PT could say is give it time. At 6 months I still needed walking stick and still iced 3-4 times a day and twice during night. I had good muscle tone and strength in the knee and could even slowly walk leg over leg upstairs.
However at 9 months, as swelling started to go down, full pain started when I tried to get out of chair, more night pain (back to continuous icing) and sticks. The only relief from pain was in the swimming pool. So at 10 months I went back to consultant who did xray and said he couldn't find anything wrong, but was prepared to do an arthroscopy to see what might be amiss.
Three days later I got a second opinion from a consultant who showed me an info sheet on the prosthesis which clearly said not suitable for patients with inflammatory arthritis. I have RA and the original surgeon knew that. The other half of the knee joint had started to rapidly deteriorate but due to swelling I was unaware of the problem.
I am currently walking with 2 sticks and a knee brace, and can't wait for my full revision next week. Will need lots of support on 2nd time round recovery.