Revision TKR Revision TKR - Total Revision August 5, 2022

[BTKRmarch11]

I am three months post op for bilateral total knee replacement. I still have a lot of pain in my knees and the soft tissues around them, can’t walk more than 10 yards without pain, I feel very disappointed so far. I do all the exercises and go to physical therapy and take pain medication twice a day, Celebrex And sometimes Norco.

I read about a lot of people who have got up and walking without pain after a few weeks, fully active by three months. I don’t see myself anywhere close.
I am have my visit with my surgeon in three weeks, I don’t know what to tell him, yell at him or tell him he has butchered my knees. I am upset with him.

I wanted to have minimal invasive surgery, and two weeks before my surgery date, I find out that he does not perform minimal invasive surgery. On their office web site they talk about using the latest technology and techniques and they even talk about using minimal invasive surgery. It was too late for me to drop my surgeon and start with another surgeon because I had been waiting for that surgery date for four months.

I regret my decision to go with this surgeon.
Did any of you had minimal invasive surgery? How was your recovery?
God Bless

 

[Qdogpa]

Don’t worry about what others are doing, as I concerned myself with it, and it didn’t solve anything..I found that the stories of people up and about without pain in a few weeks is weak..Do some do that, likely..Do many do that, NO!!! I had PKR , now 4 months post op, and have progressed, but not near 100%! The first 3 months were difficult, but looking back, the incremental changes were good... Not sure how much PT you have had, but in my opinion, PT is good, however TIME is our best friend... Recovery takes time! Not 2 hours of PT weekly, not bending your knee til it hurts..simply time!

best Wishes in your recovery!

 

[Pumpkin]

@BTKRmarch11
to BoneSmart, glad you joined us!

You are still very very early in the year+ recovery, though most start feeling better between 3-4 months.

I read about a lot of people who have got up and walking without pain after a few weeks, fully active by three months

We also have read and heard about these remarkable recoveries, never having met any of these people, it is a myth. Many people forget about how rough recovery was, and relay how great their recovery was.

I do all the exercises and go to physical therapy

In the early days our knees need to to rest and heal, they are not weak, they are injured, and need the to settle down. Suggest you cut your exercising way back and focus on letting you knee heal with Rest, Ice, Elevation, and Medication as prescribed.

I wanted to have minimal invasive surgery,

The only difference between minimally invasive surgery and other surgeries is the size of the incision, the trauma to soft tissues is the similar.

Here is your copy of the Knee Recovery Guidelines, the articles are short and will not take long to read.

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.​

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.​

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 these pages on the website

​

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 a 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 history before providing advice.

 

[Tykey]

You seem to have formed the opinion that if only you had stuck out for minimally invasive surgery, all would have been well, and it would all have been over after 3 weeks.
Sorry, but that's a red herring (is that a phrase known to all, or is it just a British term?)
It would have made virtually no difference to recovery, because our knees are still butchered exactly the same, it's just achieved through a smaller incision.
Recovery is a magical mystery tour, comparing ourselves with others does absolutely no good, there are people who do better, some who do worse, many are just the same..
So clear the rubbish out, and let's concentrate on making the best job of it for you, starting from where you are.
I reckon the people who do best in recovery are those who don't try too hard, just getting on with life with a few gentle exercises, but No pushy PT. That includes me

PS I'm sounding like Dr Phil again, aren't I

 

[bikinglynn]

I agree with Pumpkin, your knees probably need rest. The most pain I had, after the initial surgery pain, was from doing too much. Unfortunately, my knees did not give me warning, they just punished me later. On top of that, one day of overdoing could take 5 days to get over it.

 

[Jockette]

On top of that, one day of overdoing could take 5 days to get over it.

This is so true! I actually had a major setback at 4 months, when I would have thought I was well past setbacks, and it took my leg a month to improve!

 

[sistersinhim]

Your knees are not out of shape needing exercises. They are traumatized by very major surgeries. Would you exercise a broken leg or arm? Well, your knees have two bones each that were sawed off, drilled and foreign objects pounded into them. Your poor knees need to heal, which takes up to a year or more. Just walking around the house taking care of your daily needs, and gentle movements is all they need to rehab themselves. Remember, if your knee swells and is painful during or after certain activities, then it's not ready for it. You might have one that swells and hurts more than the other, which is normal because more work was probably done on it. No two knees are the same, even on the same body!

 

[BTKRmarch11]

Anyone could identify where I could purchase a foam shaped like a triangle for fully elevating knees. I see a lot of foams online but none that I could find shaped like a triangle all the way up. Most of them bend halfway to rest the feet on a flat. I want to keep my entire leg elevated straight and not to have bend it halfway.
Thanks

 

[Celle]

@BTKRmarch11
You'll notice that I have merged your two threads together as we prefer that members in recovery only have one thread.

This is for three reasons:
1. if you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts others have left you in the old threads
2. it often ends up that information is unnecessarily repeated
3. it's best if we can keep all your recovery story in one place so it's easily accessed if we need to advise you.

Please keep all your questions and updates on this thread. If you would like a new thread title just post what you would like it to be and we'll change it for you.

Don't worry that we won't see your new question as, between us, ths staff read all new posts every day.

 

[Celle]

The type of elevation wedge you need is called the Lounge Doctor.
It's illustrated here, in the article, Elevation: the do's and dont's


Click on the link for more information. When you purchase a Lounge Doctor through this link, BoneSmart will receive a donation. It costs you nothing and we receive funds to help keep the forum operating for you and others who need us.

 

[BTKRmarch11]

Thank you for: called the Lounge Doctor.
I just ordered one on line.
Great.

 

[InkedMarie]

The Lounge Doctor was a huge help to me!

 

[eaglemom]

The Lounge Doctor is used daily here. I wish I would have had it for all of my surgeries. I think you'll like the support it give you.

As for being up and about, stop pressuring yourself. Take it from me, I've had numerous knee surgeries and I used to think if doing 10 heel slides was good, I'd attempt to do 20, or more. You get the idea. This last Revision #4 (first a TKR, then 3 revisions) I said no to pretty much everything except ice and elevation. I can't say I've 'healed' faster or any differently, but I can say I've not had the pain that was always brought on by PT. I am still quite swollen at 7 months and initially stiff when walking, but it dissipates after several steps.

We are all different and heal at various rates. Any surgeon whom says you'll be 'fine' by 2 or 3 months just isn't dealing with the truth. Maybe he thinks you'll be fine, but we all know you need at least a year or more for everything to heal. (In my case I was told 18-24 months - because of all the trauma my knee has been through. There is a huge difference between what you think you can do and what you actually can do. Take a breath and try to let your knee heal in it's own time - you can't change that. You have a baby knee and its just not happy.

 

[BTKRmarch11]

I still have a lot of pain, even at rest. How is your experience with pain at rest three months after your knee replacement surgery. Thanks

 

[5531stuart]

I find that if i elevate my leg when resting it s really sore, especially shin pain. Ive started sitting in the chair with both feet on the ground and it certainly helps me, not sure it d work for everyone mind you. Im 3 months also.

 

[Jockette]

Some pain at 3 months is fairly normal, especially if we do more than the knees are ready for. What activities are you doing?

And, Stuart, I think you are the exception. I had a very tough time sitting with my feet on the floor for many months. Amazing how different we all are and what works best for each of us.

 

[Jaycey]

@BTKRmarch11 you will notice that I have merged your two threads together as we prefer that members in recovery only have one thread.

This is for three reasons:
1. if you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts others have left you in the old threads
2. it often ends up that information is unnecessarily repeated
3. it's best if we can keep all your recovery story in one place so it's easily accessed if we need to advise you.

Please keep all your questions and updates on this thread. I changed the title for you. If you would like a new thread title just give a shout.

 

[5531stuart]

Some pain at 3 months is fairly normal, especially if we do more than the knees are ready for. What activities are you doing?

And, Stuart, I think you are the exception. I had a very tough time sitting with my feet on the floor for many months. Amazing how different we all are and what works best for each of us.

Jockette, i think i suffer with legs raised as ive been workjng on trying to get my extension a bit better as i can still get most of my hand under my knee, so whatever it is that stretches in the back of my knee really hurts when i raise my legs. As you say it takes all sorts lol.

 

[Rockgirl4]

@BTKRmarch11 I still had LOTS of pain at the 3 month mark. I was still taking pain pills at night to sleep. I occasionally took one later in the afternoon/early evening if I'd been on my feet more than day, assuming I had nowhere to go that evening (I wasn't taking any chances with driving under the influence).

Everyone is so different with this recovery. It is not a quick recovery for most, though some claim they had this easy, miraculous 12 week recovery. Sorry, but that's just not the norm.

I also wanted to mention I had more pain when trying to get my leg straight, such as when sitting on the floor with my legs straight out in front of me. I had so much swelling that this wasn't possible until 15-17 weeks, so before then, it definitely caused pain. I also had issues with having my legs down on the floor (such as sitting in a chair) for any length of time. I found I needed to alternate the way I sat every 10-15 minutes for many, many months.

So just know you are normal, and you have a ways to go in this recovery. I know it is frustrating, but hopefully it will be worth it in the end.

 

[Sara61]

@Rockgirl4 I'm impressed you actually sat on the floor at 15-17 weeks I'm nearly at 8 months and still terrified I won't be able get off the floor I knelt once by (necessity) earlier on in my recovery but not sure i would repeat any time soon.