TKR spacer replacement

I had a spacer replacement as well but also a Lysis of Adhesions (removal of scar tissue). I left the morning after surgery, had about 4 or 5 days of pain meds, but then a slower recovery since my OS was adament that if you exercises a hot, swollen knee you caused scar tissue to develop. I took it easy for 8 weeks and then began to work on strengthening my knee. By 8 weeks, I was really doing great, just did not stress the knee until after 8 weeks.

 

My first knee surgery was a diagnostic arthroscopy prior to having the replacement. I worked with the surgeon so asked him over coffee, how long I'd need to take off and would one week do it. He looked astonished and said "Hardly! You'll probably need more like 6 weeks off". And he was right - I did!

 

A spacer replacement is a revision of the original TKR, as the knee has to be opened up again.
However, recovery should be a bit faster than a total revision of all the hardware - but you won't be fit to go back to work in a week..

 

I think we do class them as a revision here on BoneSmart.

 

After my spacer broke, I unavoidably had to wait several weeks for a replacement.
During that time, without the spacer to protect them, the metal components of the replacement were articulating against each other, even though I was only partially weight-bearing.
That had caused some damage, resulting in metal fragments being worn off, so I had to have all the replacements hardware removed.

I'm glad your surgeon has warned you that could be a possibility, @Hayden .

 

You can still ice your knee without a machine - see this article:
Ice to control pain and swelling

You'll probably be given TEDs compression stockings in hospital, to prevent DVTs.

As for returning to work - you'll need your surgeon's recommendation on that. Since you will have a wound (the surgeon will open up your incision again) when you return to work should be a negotiable matter. There's no reason why you shouldn't start weight-bearing and walking before you leave hospital, but you won't be fit for work at that stage.

 

I had what is called an "Open Lysis of Adhesions and a Spacer Exchange". Basically my knee was opened along the old scar line. The doctor removed extensive scar tissue and put in a slightly larger spacer. I had pain for three or four days and then just the boredom of yet another recovery!!

My doctor stressed that if I exercised a hot, inflamed knee I would cause more scar tissue to form---especially since I had already had a large amount of scar tissue. So, for the first two weeks, I just stayed home on the couch with my knee elevated and iced. I did a few heel slides and some leg lifts, but that was about it. He told me if I do any activity that increases the swelling, I was to put ice on it immediately until the swelling went down.

At three weeks, I began formal PT, but my PT agreed with my doctor. His advice, we will go very slowly until 8 or 10 weeks. If the scar tissue reforms, at least we will know that we did everything we could to prevent it.

If I had limited insurance coverage for PT, I might have waited another week or two to even start it.

We did only table exercises---leg lifts, clam shells, heel slides for another two weeks--no weight bearing exercise at all. I did ride the bike for 15 min prior to PT. If we did anything that made the knee warm, we stopped and iced it.

I was so impatient!!! I hated the forced inactivity, but I was determined to give the knee the best chance I could give it. We started light exercise at 8 weeks. step ups---very small lift. bike for 20 min. no squats or serious weight on any machine.

I am now three years out from that surgery. I have some scar tissue there, but it does not impair my movement like it did prior to surgery. I have pretty good rom---138. Most of all, my knee is much more stable with the bigger spacer. My doctor told me that since the knee was moving a little too much with the first spacer, that alone might have caused some of the scar tissue. Am I glad I did it? Yes.

The biggest hassle was the slow recovery. The pain was really nothing compared to a TKR.

 

Don't worry - we don't have that in the UK!

 

Hi, Claudia, Welcome to Bonesmart! I’m sorry you are disappointed with your replacement. Mine isn’t great, either.

How about starting a thread of your own, on the Recovery forum, so we can get to know you better and offer you some personal guidance. If you need help doing that, post here and we’ll help.