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TKR RubyWhitesocks TKR recovery

Remembering that you are the one in control and the boss of the others is the best way to have a less painful, happy recovery! You are doing a good job of that!
 
So now the plan is to call the surgeon first thing Monday morning and see if I can see him prior to my 2:30 afternoon PT appointment to look at the incision, because it has been "weeping" all day today and the area of the incision itself is pretty red looking and warm to the touch. Hopefully it hasn't reached infection stage, but I'll know more after tomorrow. I hate the idea that I may be going backward on this knee, but I can only do as I am told/advised in proceeding from here.
 
The surgeon took off the dressings including the steristrip today and went over the entire area with 3 alcohol pads ( that really stung) and then let it air out. By the time he came back in to look at it, the whole area looked like it had beads of sweat coming out of the pores, rather than any one spot on the incision area oozing or dripping, for whatever that info is worth to anyone who has already gone through a TKR infection scare. He aspirated it and collected fluid to send to the lab (which mostly looked like blood and not infected, again for what it is worth).

He put me back on antibiotics and put me on benadryl, thinking that some of the redness might be irritation/reaction to adhesive (which I doubt, given that the other knee didn't have any such reaction--but I do know that sometimes you can develop sensitivities/allergic reactions over time and a certain amount of exposure). I am to leave the wound exposed to air as much as possible, and he sent me to have some blood work done also. He should be getting back with me on Wednesday as to results of the labs. I am hoping that the new round of antibiotics will clear things up, but I am aware that they may have to go back in and clean things up if it is truly an infection.

I am at least glad that this is happening on TKR number 2, because if it had happened on knee one, I'm not sure I'd have been up for doing the second one. At this point I am trying to remain calm and just follow and wait instructions as results become known. One thing that kind of got to me was the surgeon saying he deals with infections often, but usually it is the infections of other people's work, not his own. Not that is couldn't be the truth, it just sounds kind of self-serving to say that. Another thing I will say is that I'm not superstitious generally, but the next time I have surgery scheduled for Friday the 13th, I might try to move the date after this one.
 
When I was at the ER for what they thought was an infection in my incision, they drew bloods for culture which took approximately 4 days to come back and determine I indeed did not have an infection. You should have had preliminary blood tests such as CMP and BMP to check preliminary levels which would indicate infection.
My surgeon was sent a picture by the ER and determined it was an allergic reaction. It appears he was correct, as all my tests came back negative. I was also on Benadryl but only took it at night to help sleep (took it tonight and you can see how well it's working...).
Praying yours is an allergic reaction as well! Take care!
 
Oh my gosh @RubyWhitesocks , I am sorry for you! I hope it clears up and your recovery starts again!
Your surgeon's comment was quite arrogant, very off putting. My surgeon is so awesome, I couldn't imagine home putting down another's work. He usually leaves me laughing
Anyway...be well and keep us posted!
 
Well done getting knee done - knowing what the process is, that takes courage, but you know the eventual outcome will be well worth it! Just having the "balking" in muscles, etc. is far better than the pain of bone on bone because you know it means healing. You're a trooper, for sure!
 
MARYCOOL said:
Oh my gosh @RubyWhitesocks , I am sorry for you! I hope it clears up and your recovery starts again!
Your surgeon's comment was quite arrogant, very off putting. My surgeon is so awesome, I couldn't imagine home putting down another's work. He usually leaves me laughing
Anyway...be well and keep us posted!
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In general, I've liked this surgeon's demeanor and straight talk and I will try to not dwell on that one comment, but hopefully he is indeed well versed at dealing with infection if that is what it proves to be.
 
Atkinson8 said:
Well done getting knee done - knowing what the process is, that takes courage, but you know the eventual outcome will be well worth it! Just having the "balking" in muscles, etc. is far better than the pain of bone on bone because you know it means healing. You're a trooper, for sure!
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thank you, I needed to hear that encouragement, today was a rough day. the wound/ incision area seems to be a little less bright angry red today, but it is still warm to touch and painful and tight. So much so that it had me in tears a couple times today before it was time to take my pain med, but part of it is just the emotional toll of feeling like I'm not doing as well with knee 2 as I did with knee 1. I just need to know for sure about whether or not it is indeed infected and what the game plan is at that point either way to feel like I know where I am going.
 
I can't believe that it has been almost a month since I posted, life just got busy and I wasn't sure I had much that was of value to add to this forum. However, I do think I should make sure I start out by saying that my second TKR (right knee, or Junior) was NOT INFECTED, thank goodness, but rather, the surgeon says that I has SEVERE FOLLICULITIS which was causing the redness and terrible itching and was presumably caused by all the scrubs and pre-surgery treatments. I just thought it would be remiss of me to not specify this in case anyone else may end up going through that, just to say don't assume the worst.

Sure, it wasn't any fun, and it put Junior behind the eight ball on healing and progressing through PT, but at least it didn't require another surgery. However, I just had my six-week follow-up with the Surgeon today, and he says that based on my flexion being 114 last week and then back down to 110 this week, he will want me to get to 120 by Oct. 4th or he will get me back in to have the machine get me there. That really makes me want to do everything I can to get there on my own.

How many of you have had to have the machine manipulation to get your flexion where they want it, and how much of an ordeal is that? Please be completely honest with me, I want to know what I may be facing if I can't get there by myself. I'm thinking and hoping I can make it to 120, but it may incentivize me even more to get there if the machine is as much of a torture device as it sounds like it might be.

And if I am wrong about that, it would probably still be good to know just in case. Here's hoping that your healing journeys are continuing in the right direction. I know I will get there eventually, but I have to say, from the first TKR to now has been 12 weeks, and that has let a bit of fatigue and weariness with my own process start to set in. I will take any encouragement I can get at this point.
 
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@RubyWhitesocks
You are still very early in recovery, your ROM is fine, my surgeon did not expect 90 degrees until 12 weeks, you are way beyond that already. We have many members who gained ROM over a year after their surgery. Time is on your side, time to heal, time for the swelling to go down, and time for your knee to reveal the ROM that has been there all along.

To gently increase your ROM, here are two gentle activities you can do.

Heel slides and how to do them and Extension: how to estimate it and ways to improve it .
 
RubyWhitesocks said:
based on my flexion being 114 last week and then back down to 110 this week, he will want me to get to 120 by Oct. 4th or he will get me back in to have the machine get me there.
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Your doctor is being way too impatient. Your bend is above the average TKR recovery. He should be thrilled. Besides that, your doctor can not force you to do anything. Your knee and you are in control. A MUA is unnecessary, you are doing great!
 
Thanks for the responses to my query regarding the Surgeon's "deadline" of October 4th for reaching flexion of 120 or him wanting to do MUA on my right knee. I really in my heart think I'll have reached it by then and thus it will be a moot point, but if I'm even as close as 114 or certainly any better, I'll tell him thanks but no thanks most likely, based on things I've seen on youtube...I know that my body will get me there when it is ready to do so, and I'm pretty confidant that I am closer to it than my last measurement anyway. I will do my best to have the PT people measure prior to wearing myself out with the therapy exercises and not get to worked up if I have some days that aren't as good as others.
 
RubyWhitesocks said:
I will do my best to have the PT people measure prior to wearing myself out with the therapy exercises and not get to worked up if I have some days that aren't as good as others.
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PT and surgeons stress way too much about numbers. It's not what that bend number says, it's what your knees can do. I didn't take PT and I didn't measure my ROM, I measured my success and recovery on the small improvements I saw in my knee weekly.
 
It took me a full year to reach 120 degrees of flexion @RubyWhitesocks, but my ROM continued to improve throughout my second year of recovery and is now ~140+. Time and reduction of swelling will bring ROM.
It is a long journey but if you stick with the BoneSmart approach the journey will be less painful and you will still reach the same final destination. Ultimately you get to choose the path, the tough rocky road through painful PT, or the BoneSmart path through the meadow with the pretty wild flowers. :flwrysmile:
 
okay, I go see the Surgeon today about my "deadline" for reaching 120 degrees or him wanting me to do MUA. Based on what I am seeing/reading about that I am inclined to tell him thanks but no thanks. I am consistently at 110-114 and got to 116 with a small push from my Therapist before I said no more pushing, so I don't want to go backwards, and would rather progress as my body itself allows. Since the right knee was done on August 13th, I think I should give it a bit more time/effort before I go to any drastic measures. I have since recalled that this is the leg that 10-20 years ago went backward behind me on my first and last attempt at snow skiing, so maybe there is long ago gained scar tissue responsible for some of my current woes. I will inform the Surgeon about that, and listen to his sales pitch, and get back with you when I know how the appointment goes.
 
I don't understand why your surgeon wants to do a MUA when you are already over 110. Most surgeons won't do a MUA after a patient reaches 90 degrees. You are improving. That proves that you don't need a MUA, just time. Most of us required that time to allow our bends to get better. Mine improved over years. It's not numbers that count it's the function of the knee that matters!
 
Well, good news on 2 fronts. Firstly, I did get the surgeon to admit that 120 is just a box that they like to tick off and that if I was happy with my progress and trying to reach that through continued PT, he was fine with that. Secondly, with a little help from the Physical Therapist today, he was able to get me to 120 after I had gotten to 115 on my own. So I know that it is only a matter of the pain and the swelling keeping me from reaching it on my own and that will only get better with time. So all in all, feeling much more positive about the whole thing.
 
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