Become an Insider

Knee Infection* Stage Two Revision Completed

Thank you so much SusieShoes. I didn't realize that the coordinator is a nurse or PA. You are right she does have my best interests at hand . With everything on my mind as I count down to surgery I'm not thinking clearly. And I guess I'm (erroneously) lumping her in with the staff at my GP's office who while nice are young kids with no real medical experience.

My nerves are getting the better of me and I'm making myself crazy :snork:

I'm so glad I found bonesmart. You guys are the greatest!!:loll:
 
The surgical coordinator at my OS office (in Ft. Myers) is the go-to person if you have problems with home health care or home therapy. Don't hesitate to bug them if something doesn't seem right after surgery. If nothing else they can get you to someone who can help. My OS has two actually and one has been super helpful, getting me a handicapped parking hang tag and even helped us get a refund on airfares for a trip that didn't happen. I wish I had been more assertive with them after my original LTKR.
 
Thanks @MathProf I didn't know that the surgical coordinator could help with all of that . Was wondering how I went about getting a handicapped tag. Good info. I appreciate it. Btw I'm having my surgery in So. FL. Practically neighbors :-)
 
Hi Arizonaone! Cementless here....finally got on BoneSmart and read your story! WOW. I wish you well.
I have decided to live with my loose cementless L TKR implant done on 10/19/2016. No infection (I'm lucky in that respect for now). I am going to have a Bone density done on July 3, 2018 to see how my osteopenia is doing. Next, I found an allergist to do patch testing on me the week of July 9th to see how allergic I am to bone cement just in case. They also test the metals in the implants. Did you know they use bone cement for the spacers in the first stage of a revision. I would be in trouble if my bone cement allergies are severe!
 
@Cementless .Glad you made it over! This is a great forum with really knowledgeable and caring people. Thank you for your good thoughts. :)

Please be careful with that loose implant. And it's good that you are being tested for allergies. Plesse let me know what the results are .
 
So my surgery for the first stage of the revision is Friday and I am starting to really freak out!!

I had my pre-op appointment with the PA at my OS office this past Friday. Don't know what I was thinking but apparently I had not been thinking clearly enough. This is MAJOR surgery. She told me that even if the infection is gone after 6 weeks of antibiotics it will be 3 months before a new knee is put in. I didn't think they had to wait that long and my OS made it seem like it would be soon after I tested clear of any infection. On the plus side I will have a dynamic cement spacer so I will have some mobility in my knee.

The PA is concerned that I live so far away and does not think I should go back home anytime soon as they will be setting me up with their PT people and ID doctor. She is also concerned that if I have any type of complications I will be way too far away. She is right about all of it. This process is going to be far longer than I initially thought.

Also, while my OS is not a fan of rehab facilities in general when his patients have an infection there are only 3 rehab facilities that he recommends and will let his patients stay in. None of which are on the list of facilities covered by my insurance plan. The only person that lives close by is my mother who doesn't want me staying with her. This really upsets me especially since I don't need her taking care of me 24/7. I pray that the case manager at the hospital will be able to talk them into letting me stay at and pay for one of the three rehabs.

Then there is the pain thing. The PA told me that because of recent changes to the laws in FL they can only prescribe 2 weeks of pain meds. She told me that while the surgery is very painful I"ll be ok after 2 weeks. Not sure I believe that. I don't think Tylenol is really going to help.

Since I live so far from my OS I decided to move closer and will be renting a condo in about a month or so. I feel.like I have no choice and it is the best option for me at tbis point.

Can someone who has had a spacer tell me whether they were able to drive an automatic transmission vehicle at some point after insertion of the spacer? At the end of this month I will need to go back home for a couple of days to get my apartment ready to move ( with help of course) Also is it really that painful? Was it much more painful than your tkr surgery? What meds did you take after the first couple of weeks?

Thank you all so much for reading this rather long post. I'm really scared.
 
I can’t answer any of your questions but wanted to let you know I’ll be thinking of you Friday! :console2:
 
I think you can only get 2 weeks of pain meds at one time. The way I understand this new law you will still be able to get a new prescription (I have never been able to get a refill on a prescription in the last 6 years). At my OS office you also have to go to the office and pick up the script as they can't phone it in. To be honest, I saw that this law passed in the spring, and it was one of the reasons I had surgery in June, so I wouldn't have to worry about it. One more thing, my PT suggested a TENS machine, and I was doubtful, but it does help. It was $25 on Amazon. I can't answer your spacer questions - I can't decide if I was lucky that my OS just did the one stage or not. So far that infection is on the run, and we are just keeping our fingers (and toes) crossed. Good luck and I'll be thinking of you.
 
You probably can get a refill if needed. There are also other pain control meds your doctor can prescribe, like Tramadol. So have that discussion if you are concerned. Tylenol can be a good painkiller if taken on a schedule of 1000 mg x every six hours. Never take more than 4000 mg of Tylenol in 24 hours.

Your decision to rent a condo nearby is sensible. And I hope your insurance will pay for one of the rehab places. I never dealt with a spacer, though one of my family did. She spent a while in a rehab before going home. She was not able to drive while she had the spacer, though. Your surgeon may have different advice.
 
I could drive when I had the spacer in my left leg as long as I wasn't on the pain meds. The issue with the car is being able to get your leg in there comfortably. With my first spacer I was able to bend it somewhat so it wasn't an issue.
 
@MathProf thank you so much for the tens advice. I should have paid attention to the law :) Unfortunately by the time I found out for sure that I had an infecion my OS first available surgery date was 7/6 :-(.

@SusieShoes Thank you for the tramadol suggestion. I will definitely be discussing that with my doctor.

@PegGar16 Thank you for letting me know that you were able to drive with the spacer! At least I know I'll be able to get home eventually to deal with the movers. etc .

And once again I want to say how happy I am that I found bonesmart and how much I appreciate all of you! ♥️
 
@PegGar16 forgot to ask you - at first were you in horrible pain after the insertion of the spacer? Was it worse than after your tkr?
 
So I had my surgery yesterday . Beforehand when I spoke to my doctor he told me I will be with him for a year as this is a long process. I felt/feel that I am in very good hands.

The anesthesiologist talked me into having a nerve block before surgery. He said I would be in less pain. That may have been true but I was so uncomfortable yesterday .Felt like my leg was built with all bricks. But it finally wore off at 2 a.m. or so .

The nurses are keeping my pain well under control but I must say the pain I start to feel when the next dose is due does not appear to be as bad as it was before they removed the implant. This is a good thing!

I saw the ID doctor yesterday and they started me on vancomycin until the cultures come back.

My doctor stopped by to see me this a.m. to tell me the surgery went well. He said that the fibia portion of the implant was very secure but the tibia part was so loose he was able to remove it with his fingers. He also believes I only have a low grade infection as there was not a huge amount of pus etc when he went in. He said I should feel alot better with the implant out ( I can tell I do already. The outside of my foot is no longer really numb so appears the loose implant has a lot to do with it .) .He also said that regardless of whether the cultures show anything ( because the cipro I was on for the UTI may mask any type of infection I have) he is still placing me on at least a 6 week course of antibiotics given my complaints and elevated labs. As he said If there is even a speck of infection that is not caught before my new knee goes in the outcome would not be good.

He and the ID doctor will.be meeting with me to discuss antibiotics and the game plan going forward .

All in all some very good news and I am one very lucky person!

One question I of course forgot to ask is why was the implant so loose? Anyone have any answers?

Thank you all for listening. :loll:
 
I’m glad that, all things considered, you feel better this morning than before.

So I take it he was surprised by the loose implant?

I believe I have some symptoms of a loose implant but my X-rays look fine, according to 2 surgeons, who do not know each other.

I hope you have a restful day. Keep us posted on how you’re doing. :console2:
 
Thank you @Jockette Yes he was surprised it was loose and my x-rays showed all was well with the implant.

Maybe the MARS MRI I had would have shown otherwise had it been done correctly.

Are you going to have any other imaging studies done to determine if your inplant is in fact loose? You must be so uncomfortable. :-( I really feel for you. It's a miserable feeling.
 
Good healing prayers are sent your way!
 
In order to have more testing done I would have to have a doctor agree it might be loose. So far that has not happened.

Yes, I’m very uncomfortable, but I don’t have the fortitude (for lack of a better term) to go to doctor after doctor, etc. to get someone to listen to me. I’m going to let it sit for a while. It’s not exactly painful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel
Corganics CBD

Staff online

Members online

Total: 2,404 (members: 1, guests: 2,403)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom