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Three years after surgery,rejection

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mpapkov

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I am three years since my knee replacement surgery. I am having pain all the time it feels like my knee is filled withfluid and tight. I had cortizone put in the knee and Ihad three days of no pain it was great but its back again. NY dr thinks I am having allergic reaction to the implant or the glue any information would be helpfull.
 
Well, if he thinks that then he should be sending you for allergy testing. IMO, it would be rather odd to develop a reaction after that length of time. It's been okay before this occurred, then? You don't give a time scale for this problem. Perhaps you should get a second opinion on it, preferably from a revision specialist.
 
I was under the understanding you couldn't reject a new knee. I asked this question a few days ago and was told that was not possible.
Jayne
 
Jayne, Jo's response is consistent with what was said before. There is no "rejection" of the new joint itself. In rare cases a person may be allergic to the metal in the device (normally a nickle allergy) or to the glue, I suppose. But an allergic reaction would certainly not take 3 years to develop.

Welcome to the forum, Mpapkov. My question would be regarding the use of cortizone once the knee joint is replaced.....I don't understand that. If you have an artificial joint, what would the cortizone be working on to relieve pain? Jo's recommendation is best if you are having pain after 3 years.....get a second opinion from a doctor who would recognize if there was a problem with the replacement.
 
I was under the understanding you couldn't reject a new knee. I asked this question a few days ago and was told that was not possible.
Jayne

Depends upon your definition of rejection. Though you may have meant it in a very general sense, the surgeon may have taken it to be in terms of transplanted organs being rejected. In that case it is not possible.

 
Purely for Information ~ Locally, there is a gentleman who had TKR and is allergic to the cement glue which was used. His components are loose as they did not adhere...
He had a revision with different cement and that is not working either. Apparently the next course of action will be fitting his bones with some type of sleeve and attaching the components to the sleeve to protect the bone. I do know there is a procedure to do un-cemented TKR where your bone grows and heals to hold it in place........ I believe it takes much longer to recover and you need to use aids longer for standing and walking. I feel very badly for him as he has had such a tough time. I do believe his situation is rare.
Best,
Crystal
 
It is rare indeed and my heart goes out to him. People do have reactions to the bone cement which is a chemical called methyl methacrylate. Cementless prostheses are quite commonly used, however, and while some surgeons prefer non or partial weight bearing for some weeks, others tell their patients to fully weight bear from the get go. Both seem to do well regardless!
 
That poor fella! Jo,,,,,what happens if he's allergic to all cementing options,,,,what does he do then? Hoe
awful for him! :(
 
All the more reason he needs to get to a revision specialist for a second opinion. I hope that happens and we receive another post with news of options and/or improvement!
 
I had the surgery three years ago but have been in pain all the time it is just worst now almost unbareable. The first surgeon said it was tendinitus. I went to NY and the hospital of specialty surgery has an MRI that can see into a metal knee and he told me the inflamation was under the knee cap. Depu is the manufacturer and has been slow in getting back to me with the metals in the insert. I will be going to an allergist nest week and that a decision has to be made.
 
I had the surgery three years ago but have been in pain all the time it is just worst now almost unbareable. The first surgeon said it was tendinitus. I went to NY and the hospital of specialty surgery has an MRI that can see into a metal knee and he told me the inflamation was under the knee cap. Depu is the manufacturer and has been slow in getting back to me with the metals in the insert. I will be going to an allergist nest week and that a decision has to be made.

I don't understand the connection - you say you have pain under the knee cap which is actually quite common. How does this relate to metal implants?

Do you have a patellar button? If so it will be plastic not metal. If you don't, then you need one if you've developed symptoms in that place.

Has someone mentioned anything about an allergic reaction?
 
Good luck next week. Please let us know how things go.
 
Do you know if your surgeon replaced the knee cap when the new joint was put in 3 years ago? Your description is sounding like he did not and wants to do it now. Is that the case?
 
I think we are having a small communication problem here, mpapkov. Jamie (and I) know you've had a total knee replacement. What we both asked was, did you also have a button on the underside of your knee cap?

Otherwise, any pain after the op is a very individual thing. To ask 'is it common', well, I'd have to say no but it depends upon various things, one of which is - if you did NOT have a button put on your knee cap, then it seems that the arthritis has worsened there and now needs to be dealt with. That IS a common occurrence. See what I mean?
 
Jayne, Jo's response is consistent with what was said before. There is no "rejection" of the new joint itself. In rare cases a person may be allergic to the metal in the device (normally a nickle allergy) or to the glue, I suppose. But an allergic reaction would certainly not take 3 years to develop.

Welcome to the forum, Mpapkov. My question would be regarding the use of cortizone once the knee joint is replaced.....I don't understand that. If you have an artificial joint, what would the cortizone be working on to relieve pain? Jo's recommendation is best if you are having pain after 3 years.....get a second opinion from a doctor who would recognize if there was a problem with the replacement.
I have seen four surgeons. One said my knee cap is too low,the other said he would take it out and replace and the next said it must be allergic reaction.I have been in pain for three years but it has gotten worst in the four months year.I have notived that if I pull the knee cap towards the implant it gets better. So I am walking around with tape on the knee.Now I am finding the achills heal of the other leg is hurting me.
 
Mpapkov, were any of the surgeons you saw revision specialists? If not, it might be worth your while to see a surgeon with this speciality. In my opinion, having pain 3 years after your knee replacement means something else is going on it there. But you need to find a GOOD surgeon that you trust and put yourself in his hands. It's really impossible for anyone here to know what is causing your pain. And, I don't think you should just "settle" for it either. If you don't live in a major city, you may have to travel a bit to see a revision specialist. If you need to, you can use a search engine here on BoneSmart to find clinics and surgeons in your general area. Contact them and ask if they have a revision specialist on staff. The link is as follows:

(broken link removed: https://bonesmart.org/clinic_lookup.php
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