Will new knees be good enough?

[BigGene]

Jo,
Here are a couple shots. The "bump" does not show up but my finger marks the spot.

 

[old goat]

Is your patella keeping on track? I really don't know, just a suggestion. The second one has been harder for me, and I can feel the first one wearing on me with the second. Overall..... so glad I had the second one done. I know it will be much better by a year out. Hang in there, this is a lesson in patience for sure!

 

[Josephine]

hmmm ........ I can see the bump, very clearly.

What kind of knee replacement did you have?
Meaning, was it cruciate sparing or cruciate sacrificing?

 

[BigGene]

Old goat, patella tracks fine.

Jo,
Sacraficed, I believe.

Just a shot, I am watching it. Still does not seem to effect funtionality, although I am getting anxious about it need to ignore it for a bit, I think.

My thought is that if there is a decrease in functionality then I will follow up with OS. I will see him on 9/20 anyway in the prep area for my LTKR.

Thanks.

 

[Josephine]

In which case, my first thought was wrong which was that the spacer was loose. But if it has a central post like this

then it shouldn't be able to move from side to side.

In which case, it must be the Hoffa's fat pad and perhaps you have Fat Pad Impingement or Hoffa's Syndrome but that's usually painful. But probably doesn't mean the fat pad can't be overly mobile without being inflamed.

 

[BigGene]

Thanks for the reports of possible causes.

Interestingly, I have been doing IT band stretching exercises and the smapping has nearly dissapeared. This is something that was suggested by the OS.

I emailed my OS describing my discovery of pressure at the bump eliminating the snapping temporarily and received the following response.

"I do understand your point on how pressure can stop the snap. You are changing the angle of pull of the tendon and eliminating the spot where the IT band crosses your lateral femoral epicondyle. With pressure, the tendon does not translate across that epicondyle when your knee goes into flexion. However, I still think that stretching that band is the solution. I do not anticipate you will have the same issue with the other knee, because this problem is fairly rare. I also do not think this will be a permanent problem."

I guess this is just another "bump" in the extended recovery from TKR.

 

[Josephine]

Looks like it.

 

[old goat]

Hang in there Gene. For sure I have learned like Jamie says, no two knees are the same even if they are YOURS. And from TIM and JAYCEE it is a marathon not a sprint. Jo gives great advice, along with so many here. Day by day..... you are doing really well.