Hi Rest Assured and other TKR patients! It was here you you and a few others I first read about Dr. Maale a few months back.
My quick history is: 20 year old motorcycle accident created dramatic ligament instability in my left knee. Had my first knee replacement in 2003. Made it 5 years until 2008 when PCL tore loose. Once this happened, I had severe instability in my primary TKR. It was revised in August of 2008 to a posterior stabilized TKR. Within 8 to 10 weeks instability was back and causing effusions which prevented walking on it. February 2009 it was revised again by replacing the poly or spacer with a thicker one. The idea is it would fill up the slack and stabilize the knee a bit, no luck.
October 2009 I flew to Chicago and met with Henry Finn who invented the Finn Rotating Hinge. None of my local doctors in Houston wanted to put a hinge in my leg at 38 years old. Dr Finn in Chicago agreed that I needed a hinged prosthetic but was worried about my height (6'5) and my young age. He did agree to revise it and if while he was operating could not get it tight... He was willing to put in a Finn Rotating Hinge. He did the revision without putting in a hinge and did a capsular embrication to contain swelling. Within 6 months the knee was very loose again.
However, this time around I could walk with no swelling. So I was able to make it five years on this revision. But after five more years of walking on an unstable knee it led me here. It was here I first heard of the Legion HK Hinged knee that had a better design and would last longer. 6 weeks ago Dr Maale performed an operation taking out all my old hardware and installing the Legion HK Hinge. While in the hospital I also worked with a great physician who called on Maaale's patients named Dr Anthony Anderson.
Overall, it has been a very rough procedure to make it through... but I am hanging in there. This was the 5th the surgery in the last six years. This knee is stable and I mean stable. Almost too tight. I still have a ton of swelling and was wondering how long did the other Legion HK patients had pain and swelling? I was able to push my ROM to 112 degrees in therapy the other day, so I know I am progressing. Just still a lot of pain and swelling.
Anyway, wanted to thank everyone for all the input and generosity for listing their doctors and success stories. If it were not for you all, I would have never heard of Maale. And, he was only 4½ hours from my home.