Zimmer High flex knee failure "Device problem or surgeon problem"?

[Jonnytkd]

At the age of 43 I had a high flex "zimmer" knee replacement following many years of trauma to my knee following an RTC when I was 17.

I am fully aware of knee replacement after working in an OR for over 20 years. Within three months of my TKR I noticed gross instability. My surgeon sent me for a course of intensive physiotherapy, which did not solve the problem. I had to retire from work becuse of continued pain and instability. My symptoms are now pain and dislocation of both the patella and medial aspect of my knee particularly on uneven surfaces/stairs, which cause me to fall often. I have 0 degrees extension and 140 degrees extention, but have around 10 to 15 degrees rotation.

I was told that due to extensive surgery in the past I may has a skin vascularity problem if I was to have further surgery or indeed loose my leg. anyone have any ideas. I am now 45 years of age and in a far worse position than before I had my surgery. No job, lots of pain and discomfort and a real mobility problem due to instability.

Thanks
Jonny

 

[Texas]

Hello Well Im sure Jo will be on soon, she could surley better help you.. I would see a revision specialist. Totally diff opinion.....Before I went any further. Cant lose anything getting another opinion. It is your leg were talking about here. You don't want to lose your leg thats for sure. Sure hope everything works out for you. Take it easy for awhile till you figure this out. Rom and all sounds fanastic wish I had that.....I truely hope it gets better for you...

 

[Jamie]

Hi, Jonny....welcome to the BoneSmart forum. I'm so sorry to hear about the problems you are having. As you know, yours is a very unique problem and one I think our forum nurse, Josephine, needs to comment on. She is out of pocket for a couple of days, but she should be back on the forum on Wednesday.

My thought (if you have not done so) would be to get several more opinions from revision specialists. These are the surgeons that orthopedic surgeons recommend their most difficult cases to. In addition, since you have been told there could be a vascular issue, I think an opinion from a vascular specialist would be in order too.

Once you had several opinions from independent sources (not in the same practice), you should be more able to decide the best course of action.

Please continue to post on the forum. We care about you and will provide whatever support you need as you work through this.

 

[Nancyo]

Hello Jonny and welcome to our forum.
I too am so very sorry that you are having these terrible problems. Yours is certainly way out of the norm and I understand your pain and frustration. You have a right to be as upset as you are, but as Jamie has said, you need to talk to several revision and vascular specialist and get their ideas. Have you seen any other physician or surgeons concerning these issues?
I truly am glad that you have found our forum. We are always here for you. No matter if you want to compare notes, ask questions or just talk. We are here for you.
Jo will be back on line soon and I'm sure she will have ideas of what you need to do next. You will be in our thoughts and prayers. Don't give up there is bound to be some answers for you. Post often. We care.
Blessings to you
Nancyo

 

[Motherofmany]

Jonny,

Don't know what to tell you, but I'll be praying for you. So sorry for all your pain and difficulty.

I would seek other opinions if it was me as Jamie and others have suggested and compare recommendations. Your surgeon many not be comfortable in this particular area.

Prayerfully,

 

[Josephine]

Johnny, I see you haven't been back since this post. I'll keep an eye out for when you return and post then. As soon as you post here it will pop up on my notice board.

 

[Jonnytkd]

Hi Guys

Thanks for all your thoughts and good wishes. Its good to know that there are considerate people like you out there. As I mentioned my background is in orthopaedics and I have a vast amount of experience in this subject including biomechanics, tribology and surgery. My post was more with an intrest in research regarding problems with the zimmer High flex Knee, and wondered if anyone had similar problems to mine.

Thanks again

Jonnytkd

 

[Josephine]

My symptoms are now pain and dislocation of both the patella and medial aspect of my knee particularly on uneven surfaces/stairs, which cause me to fall often. I have 0 degrees extension and 140 degrees extention, but have around 10 to 15 degrees rotation.

I'm not sure I understand this .... is this intentional or unintentional rotation? If the latter, then it indicates a loosening. I'm unaware of a knee that gives so much rotation, not even the rotating platform but if someone knows differently I'd be happy to be educated!

All in all, it sounds like you need a revision but then there's this ...

I was told that due to extensive surgery in the past I may has a skin vascularity problem if I was to have further surgery or indeed loose my leg.

.... which means, I take it, that you have so many surgical scars on your knee the blood supply to the skin is compromised. This can happen. Even three or four incisions close together can mean the areas between them are unable to get a blood supply because the scars don't have any blood vessels. That's a tough situation to be in. I wish I had some answers for you.

btw - what did you do in the OR?