TKR Where did my energy go?<

[Timetolive]

@Third joint, do you mind telling me where you got the knee pads? I am 9 months out and kneeling is like kneeling on razor blades right now! I am very happy things are going well for you.

 

[Third joint]

Hello All Bonesmarties....After making only a certain amount of forward progress and continuing to have popping, pressure, sensation of stabbing and a tearing feeling; my doctor has decided that my kneecap is out of place. The xrays bear this out as it is thinner on one side and definitely has slid to the right and the distance from the implant is not equal side to side. Has anyone else had this problem? He is planning operate in a few weeks to repair. I am optimistic, but very nervous.

 

[Celle]

Before letting the same surgeon operate on your knee again, can I suggest you seek a second opinion from a surgeon who specialises in revision surgery, and who is not connected in any way with your current surgeon or his colleagues, either professionally or socially? You may need to travel out of town.
Surgeons who specialist in revisions see problem knees every working day and they can often spot something that has eluded the original surgeon.

If this surgeon also sees the same problems, you will know you are on the right track. You might even consider asking the new OS to do the surgery.

 

[Third joint]

That does sound like a very good idea, but I am in a real time crunch right now. I am going to be losing my job the beginning of March along with my insurance, I have to move from the house I am selling into my new house before March 1 and am leaving for a month in Florida on March 17.

I have a lot of confidence in this surgeon and I am not an expert on orthorpaedics, but the xray is very clear that my kneecap is out of alignment. The difference in spacing from side to side is very obvious and the fact that it is pushed off to the right is also.

This will be the second joint that I have needed a revision done and have accepted that sometimes things just don't go as planned and a repair is necessary. Or maybe the quality of Orthopaedic surgeon in the Dayton/Cincinnati area is lacking.

 

[Celle]

Did the same surgeon do all your orthopaedic surgery? If so, costs aside, I'm flabbergasted that you're letting him operate on your knee again. Balancing the alignment of your kneecap can be quite a difficult procedure to do accurately.

 

[Third joint]

No this surgeon only did my most recent arthroscopy and knee replacement. My hips were done many years ago.

 

[newlybionic]

I had the same problem with my TKR. I sought out a revision specialist who replaced the prosthesis and fixed the tracking of my patella. My ROM is better than my OS predicted due to following the Bonesmart way.

 

[Third joint]

Glad that went well for you. I was actually looking more for information about the surgery itself and the recovery time.

 

[newlybionic]

I can tell you that my recovery seemed much easier with my revision than my original TKR. Part of the reason probably was because my ROM got to one point and then kept declining as the pain kept increasing. I was extremely anxious going into my revision and had to have a lot of support from this forum to follow through and have my revision.

 

[Third joint]

I have amazing ROM and can crawl on my knee and really do almost anything I want. My issue is that I have a lot of pressure when climbing steps and a pinching feeling. I also have a lot of pain when rising from a chair and when sleeping. My poor kneecap looks like a lump of ice cream sliding off of the cone. I don't need the prosthetic replaced thank goodness. I had that done with one of my hips and it was a very long drawn out experience that I hope to never repeat.

The doctor thinks that a month of recovery is all I will need and I hope he is correct.