Revision surgery after TKR

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My TKR was last November and i waiting for revision surgery. i would be interested in hearing from other who have had the second surgery. Mine is occurring as my knee cap is on the side and it turns out my leg is not straight. My knee cap also had a piece that has broken off. I also initially may need a brace that will the doctor to control the bend at a slower pace.

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13 Replies

  • Posted

    i had TKR 1 year ago in may....had arthroscopic surgery for excessive scar tissue in april this year, and now, 3 weeks ago, he tells me i need to replace my replacement! It is loose, it clicks and slips, is swollen, and hurts like hell. By end of day is is stiff and sore, but am NOT having it redone anytime soon.....wish i would of never had done in the first place. We shall see how long i can "limp" by! good luck to you.

    • Posted

      Oh my , you sound like me. I had my TKR Jan., 2018, subsequently had MUA and scope to clean out scar tissue. Scar tissue is back, My ROM is only 103, and I have been to 4 Pt's, and it s documented. They say they cannot help me any longer. going to get a third opinion in Nov. Much as I would hate to go thru this again, at this point I would welcome it. Tired of the pain, the swelling the heat(fever) in knee, and the stiffness. Did you surgeon come to the conclusion that you needed a revision according to x-ray or MRI, or neither??

    • Posted

      My knee cap was a problem during my first TKR as if kept slipping during surgery but the surgeon thought it was stable and centred. Within 4 weeks the knee cap was on the side. The first surgeon had me wear a brace for 3 months to try to centre the knee cap. i went back for more xrays and it hadnt budged. He said i needed more surgery to pull it into place. he did tell me after my first surgery that he hadnt seen this problem in years. i said i wanted a surgeon who had experience with my problem. I asked to go to an orthopedic hospital where i had my first knee done 11 years ago. my new surgeon was shocked at how well i could walk....I limp...and that i can exercise. im glad ive pushed the exercises as my leg muscles are strong. ive had a lot os knee and leg xrays.

  • Posted

    Hi there

    I had my right TKR in February 2015, left TKR in November 2015 and Right Revision TKR in February 2017! The Revision was necessary as the prosthesis had loosened (aseptically). Unfortunately 6 months after my Revision, which my Surgeon advised would take a good 2 years to fully recover from, I suffered a Perforated Bowel and ended up in Intensive Care instead of going to physio twice a week! Im currently going through investigations as Im experiencing severe pain and Im having a bone scan in a coulle of weeks to see if they can work out whats going on.

    Good luck with your Revision

  • Posted

    hello i had first TkR April this year infection set in and i had a revision wash out and liner replacement in May. initial op i could get good bend to 120 this time i am struggling at 85 with constant burning pain. i am told its a matter of time and keep walking and gentle exersise but this time more scar tissue. i hope all goes well for you

  • Posted

    thanks for your responses. Im lucky that Im not in pain. Im very stiff it ive been sitting too long or whan i get out of bed. i have to be careful when i roll over in bed as the knee cap gives a sharp pain.

  • Posted

    Hi Jean, I had a TKR in September 2017 and after a year the implant was found to be loose after having an xray and then full body bone scan. i just thought recovery was tough and didn't realise something was wrong. Before i had the revision done they told me it was aseptic loosening but the surgeon that did the revision said he found cavities and lots of scar tissue. The infection that caused the loosening had been and gone as all the samples taken were all negative from infection. During my recovery from initial TKR i did have lots of swelling and my knee got hot but i was constantly being told that it was normal.

    I had a first stage revision done in May this year so half of the implant is plastic and sometime in the near future i will need a proper revision doing but i'm not in a rush to have that done. Recovery this time has been a walk in the park in relation to last time and my flexion is a lot better at 110 the surgeon said in theatre he got it to 120 but he says what im achieving now is excellent for a temporary knee. I'm more or less pain free now, so after having pain for so many years i'm over the moon with what this surgeon has done, It's just a shame its only temporary but he said he had to treat it as if it was infected due to finding the cavities.

  • Posted

    Hi Jean, just to wish you well with your surgeries and whatever you decide. I believe it's different for everyone. I've seen people have a super easy recovery with with right knee TKR and then have a horrendous time with their left TKR. Even our individual limbs are different. I had TKR November 2017 followed by MUA approx 4 months later. I thought I was doing fine. Surgeon wanted more bend. Turned out prosthesis was/had been damaged. Went for revision April 2019 and surgeon accidently fractured my tibial and fibia plate.. When they got around to first changing dressings some hematomas on wound had burst. No surgeon around to check wound. Transfered to rehab and later discovered wound had ruptured. 5 months on and wound still not healed and I'm getting gut wrenching pains in leg effecting previous RTA wounds. It's funny though, I could run and play soccer before I had 1ST.TKR.I wanted to be able to be more active with 4 year old grandson as I was with his older sister and brother. If I have learnt anything it is to follow my sense of logic. Resist intensive physios. They put me on cpm day after procedure,despite hematomas about to burst. Anyways, best wishes and good luck Jean. Stephen

  • Posted

    Hi Stephen

    Thanks for your response. One of the reason i had my 2nd knee done was to be able to walk my 4 year old granddaughter to school this year. I took her today but we drove. Im going ahead with the surgery as I have been advised that it will get much worse and they are concerned about me falling. I am having the surgery at an orthopedic hospital and i have two surgeons who specialize in revisions. My surgeon has also told me that this is a much longer and slower recovery period. Also he said with my first surgery you push the knee...however this time you dont. At this point i dont feel like i have any options unless i want to end up in a wheel chair. They have prioritized my surgery and my date is in just over 3 weeks.

    I am a young 75 who still likes to travel and its very difficult with my knee as is. I love going south in the winter but with my current knee and the knee cap off to the side i cant walk in water. i was hoping to do water rehab but my leg wont move.

    So sorry to hear of your journey. I hope it gets better. Your words make sense to me and hopefully Im making the right decision with the surgery....i just dont think i have other options

    JEAN

    • Posted

      Hi Jean, hope you are well. I was wondering how your surgery went. Hope it went well for you. Let us know whenever you are feeling up to it. Best wishes, Stephen

    • Posted

      Hi Stephen,

      i am four months post op and I am very pleased with the results. The surgery was 31/2 hours and my hospital visit was 6 days. My surgeon had told me it would be 5 days and the extra day was for bladder problems. My first appointment after surgery was at 3 weeks and up until that time was not to bend the knee more than 75 after that visit i could push it to 90. I have steel posts both above and below the knee. i didnt do physio as the surgeon said they would push me too much and that is a problem for replacements and he knew that i regularly worked out at the gym and was familiar with all the exercises from physio.

      I had less pain with this surgery than my other 2 and was off day painkillers at 2 weeks. i took them at night. Very quickly i was able to sleep through the night. i am pain free and walk without a limp. i have no problems going upstairs but need to hold a railing coming down. I had been warned that this would be a 2 year journey.

      thanks for asking

  • Posted

    Hi Jean, seems like you have a good team around you. Wish my surgeon had given me advice that yours are giving you pre revision. Best wishes to you for surgery and I will say a little prayer for you. Kind regards, Stephen

    • Posted

      Hi Jean, wow, that's absolutely brilliant. I am delighted for you and it is very heartening to know that one can get results like that if you can get the right surgeons/hospitals. It's very encouraging for me to know how well you have done. Well done to you. My wound only healed(sort of) at the end of December, 10 months after surgery. Having really bad time. But, after hearing your results I shall go again once infection is ruled out. Many thanks Jean for getting back to me and I wish you well for the future. Kind regards, Stephen

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