1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Knee Problems

Knee wound oozes clear yellowish liquid.

Posted , 8 users are following.

maggiemaybe
maggiemaybe

I had TKR on 11th April 2018 and have been concerned by yellowish clear liquid leaking from my wound. At the Physio Class I asked the Nurse to look at my wound. She got a Doctor to come and swabs were taken, bloods, and I was given antibiotics and new dressings. Consensus of opinion was that I had an infection.

I wasn’t able to get an appt. with my Medical Centre for a dressing change for a fortnight. I decided I better replace the dressings myself. Receptionist thought this best. The liquid was running down my leg and into my shoes. I carried on doing the dressings regularly becoming extremely concerned.

Today, the hospital rang me for a progress report. I related the above and they told me to attend the hospital straight away. I was told at the hospital that no infection was found on the swabs or in my blood. Nurse took photos of my wound and I was asked to describe the discharge.

Back home, I received a call from the Nurse. She had told the Surgeon of my problem and shown him the photo. I am not to take any more antibiotics and return to Outpatients on Tuesday. I am concerned.

I looked online tonight to try to discover what was going on with my knee. I read of “Knee Ooze” and “Serous Liquid”. The description of this tally’s with my symptoms!

Has anyone any first hand experience of this, please? In UK apparently, it is seldom discussed, but the US has better info regarding it. Any help or advice gratefully received. MM 🙃

0 likes, 28 replies

28 Replies

Next
  • kim87231
    kim87231 maggiemaybe

    Posted

    Hi. I have had the same problem. I had my op on April 3rd and the wound wept for 11 days afterwards. It then crusted over. My leg has been very swollen & painful to try to do any physio Then the other day I noticed that the wound was very red in two places and oozing. I was concerned & went to see my practice nurse. She took swabs... awaiting results...and dressed it with iodine & bandages. It has been very painful and bending it makes it ooze more. I am on hydrocortisone replacement tablets and read on the net that when on steroids, wound healing takes longer. But struggling to stay positive. Good luck with your hospital visit. Take care x

    • maggiemaybe
      maggiemaybe kim87231

      Posted

      Many thanks Kim for letting me know you have the same. My wound was bright red the night before and running with the liquid. I’d dressed the wound and blow me! when I arrived at the hospital it was dry and only slight oozing top and bottom. I have an idea that the Nurse knew what it was and I would hope the Surgeon does for sure! My visit on Tuesday next will be telling. Are you in UK or USA? Apparently, not as widely discussed in UK, the Nurse and Doctor week before last we’re convinced it was an infection. It stings, jabs of pain shoot through it!

      Please let me know when you get your results. I’ll post my visit next Tuesday and how it proceeds. Until I looked online I was so confused about this. Thank you for letting me know I’m not alone! All the best for your next visit, please let me know how it goes. MM 🙃👍

    • kim87231
      kim87231 maggiemaybe

      Posted

      Hi. I live in South Wales UK. It helps to know that you're not going through things on your own. My wound is still very painful but less angry red and hardly oozing at all now so am feeling optimistic that the antibiotics are working. I get my results on Tuesday afternoon and see my surgeon for 6 wk follow up on Wednesday afternoon so will keep you posted. Good luck...let's keep fingers crossed that we're both out of the woods!!! Kim

    • maggiemaybe
      maggiemaybe kim87231

      Posted

      Thanks for this, Kim! I appreciate your letting me know. Good luck! 🙃

  • Defender
    Defender maggiemaybe

    Posted

    I have the same problem the nurse called the surgeon in he said the incision layers were not lined up and used a silver nitrate stick to line them up that was two weeks ago last Friday went back to hospital to get my dressing changed and still yellow stuff coming out so they put a pic dressing on I have to go back Monday for another check my T N R was three weeks ago and my knee is also swollen.
    • maggiemaybe
      maggiemaybe Defender

      Posted

      My thanks to everyone! I’m so sorry to learn of your experiences, oldfatguy I have to say I don’t believe this applies in my case. So sorry all that happened to you. I see the Surgical Team on 31st May.

      I am slightly dubious of the Surgeon telling me to stop the antibiotics. I don’t like going against Medical advice but I am continuing to take them. I will stop them the night before I go, next Tuesday. Then I CAN say Yes, I have stopped them. The course would be completed on Wednesday next, I’ll have taken nearly the full course.

      After reading about Wound Ooze, if it is factual and not made up, may be that? Today I’m not in pain, the stabbing pains have stopped. I am to leave the dressing in place until Tuesday. I’ll be VERY interested to see what’s under it when the hospital removes it! Don’t hold your breath!

      I did have a cyst which the Surgeon ‘funnelled’. It’s possible this is that liquid rising from the deep? 

      My thanks to all. I’ll let you know how it all transpires! Fingers crossed. Bless all in pain, today for me is a better day. MM 🙃

  • Oldfatguy1
    Oldfatguy1 maggiemaybe

    Posted

    Maggie, this is one of the questions I hate to answer but because of my history I would be remiss in not doing so. Ill try to be brief and not create undo anguish as No one wants to be put on a weekend hold.

    My story is that I have a rare tumor that created my problem initially in 2002. I wound up having a tkr in '04. Fast forward to '12 and the horrible pain kicked in and it was a result of the stem breaking loose and freely turning in the tibia. This resulted in a revision jan'13. The day after surgery, I got overzealous and fell twisting my femur into at a 20 degree angle resulting in a steel plate being inserted from hip to knee and being held next to the bone by 8 screws that went through the bone. 98 months later the decision was made to remove the plate as the bone was solid and the steel was irritating the skin. Three weeks post surgery while taking a nap, the knee broke open and the nasty yellow stuff soaked the gauze, the ace bandage my sweat pants and the sheet. 10 days later, the day before US thanksgiving I was running a temp and became nauseous. The day after I went to ER feeling horrid. They started taking huge quantities of green/yellow fluid out if the knee and it was diagnosed as epitaph. Next day surgery, removing the disc, flushing the entire cavity of the knee, inserting a PICC line and began 8 weeks of twice a day antibiotics and having my knee immobilized in a soft cast with no bend and only toe touch. Now go forward to Nov. I developed a uti and became dehydrated, falling on my knees and forehead on a hardwood floor. Split my head open requiring 7 stitches but sadly the fall on the knees was the triggering effect for disaster. 60 days later I had more food removed and sure as hell, the staph was back. This time they removed the entire prosthesis, flushed the cavity, inserted an antibiotic spacer, closed me up, back came the soft cast and PICC line 8 more weeks of antibiotics,no bend, toe touch weight and 2 additional months or total of 4 months without a knee. Then came the new prosthesis and another rehab.

    Again this is reality and one if this 1 in 750000 odds but it does and can happen. Please don't set worrying and grieving. Buying trouble isn't any way to live life. But, its good that you got on top of this early. Our nephew is an infectious disease doc at a university med center. He tells us that the body is covered with enough st a oh to kill us but 97% of the people have enough immunity to fight it. I don't, that's why it took $30000 worth of antibiotics to keep an old man ticking. Glad they did.

  • nwf477
    nwf477 maggiemaybe

    Posted

    I like the term knee ooze its great!! I had an infection after my 4th TKR  and my symptoms were high fever 103, major pain as an extreme knee was very hot and tender the skin itself was red. As far as the ooze it is possible its just the liquid thats built up in you knee related to the surgery. My knee was pretty much incision wise was healed up after a week. I never had anything come out like you described however when I had fluid taken out yes it looks exactly like what you wrote. Hopefully its nothing since at least for me an infection has more symptoms then just the liquid.  
  • sue64229
    sue64229 maggiemaybe

    Posted

    Hi Maggie,

    Oooooo, not wanting to worry u anymore than u already are but I agree with “ oldfatguy”.   Sounds like a staph infection but then, I’m not a Doctor and my staph infection wasn’t in my knee wound but my foot and it just dribbled yellow liquid and was very red and sore and wouldn’t heal. (  It’s an ulcer by the way).  Doc wasn’t worried but took a swab which came back staph infection.  There is, of course, other things it could be but certainly do all u can to get it followed up on.

    Best wishes

    Sue xx

  • nwf477
    nwf477 maggiemaybe

    Posted

    I wrote my reply wrong last time I had fluid taken out it was a yellowish red not something I thought was good. When it was checked no signs of infection everything came back normal the fluid is a result of the problems in my knee. I have a gut feeling when I see the Dr. I am in for a major surgery YUCK. Well at at least the dreaded ooze will be treated.
    • maggiemaybe
      maggiemaybe nwf477

      Posted

      Hi & thanks for this, it’s helpful to me. My dressing is now showing areas of this ‘wound ooze’ stuff so I’m to keep this dressing on until I see them on Tuesday. Hopefully this will convince them I’m telling the truth about it all. Unfortunate that I’d just had the dressing changed prior to last visit. 

      Dont you find that it’s the ‘not knowing’ that is so hard to take? Such wild things run and run in my head. I’m not sure they believed me last week. This time they should.

      Ho hum! Have a good Sunday everyone! Here in south west England it’s warm and sunny!

      Ta ra! Thanks and good wishes to all 🙃

  • nwf477
    nwf477 maggiemaybe

    Posted

    You are not kidding I have an upcoming appt with the Specialist on Tuesday. Needless to say very nervous and imagining all sorts of bad things. Going by what the Dr. that referred me to the specialist has got me worried adding to that I decided to look at the x-rays of my knees just to verify. By looking at an X-ray of my L knee it looks great no issues however looking at another image that shows both knees then there is a difference. From what I understand the middle of joint should line up with each other fairly even on mine the L knee is approx.an Inch off. So I am hoping that in my mind its blah when I see the Dr. it will not be as bad as I think it is.
    • maggiemaybe
      maggiemaybe nwf477

      Posted

      Hi nwf, please be reassured that because of osteoarthritis it is quite common to have one leg slightly shorter than the other leg. The bad leg gets shorter! I had mine measured so I can vouch for this! I don’t notice it, certainly don’t get wild ideas regarding one built up shoe! I quite like the idea of a parrot on one shoulder though! Jesting apart, please do not worry, I didn’t believe it at first, but never makes slightest difference to walking or to me. Just one of those things. Consider yourself to be different from the herd, but in a perfectly acceptable way. 🙃

  • nwf477
    nwf477 maggiemaybe

    Posted

    Not sure if you read my reply right. My legs are both the same length has not changed what has changed is how the implant was last put in, the Dr. said it was not aligned correctly because of this I am getting a lot of wear which is causing a lot of my pain issues. It can be fixed but it is going to take a specialist to do it. I can look at it and see the problem and think this is not going to be fun but I am not a Dr. One way or another Tuesday I will find out and depending on what I find out I might have to drink a couple beers maybe?
    • maggiemaybe
      maggiemaybe nwf477

      Posted

      Sorry, you are correct nwf, I didn’t read it properly, please accept my apologies. I am so sorry and you must feel absolutely gutted. No one could possibly feel jolly about that! Have the next beer on me! You deserve it! I apologise again for not reading and understanding what you said. I feel desperately sorry you might need more surgery. Life just isn’t fair. 😕

Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.