Fluid retention after a knee replacement

I have been told I have very little fluid....however still at 16 months have soreness and stiffness. Not nerve issues, no vascular issues and getting a bone scan Monday to show if there is inflammation. My surgeon basically told me the same thing....some people just have pain, soreness and stiffness and have to live with it. I went and got a second opinion. The surgeon may have done a great job with the actual replacement but nothing after. I"m still hoping for a answer...I hope you find out what is causing the fluid to build up like that because that is not normal after a replacement. Praying you find some relief.

Please check for nickel allergy.
I had fluid and swelling after knee replacement
Drained 3 times.
Bloodwork showed I had nickel allergy.
Had to redo surgery

Going through this now and probably have been for 5 years… only just a few weeks ago,
FLUID + Floating mysterious “bodies.”

I had a TKR in Sept of 2021. Luckily, the orthopedic surgeon who did my knee asked ahead of time if I had any known nickel allergy. All that I knew was that when I bought cheap earrings, my ears would swell up and get itchy. I told him that and he sent me for “metal allergy testing” to a specialized allergist. The allergist did testing for nickel, a few other metals and also the bone cement that they use for the surgery. The reaction to nickel was very high!!! I had never known this! The rest of the metals came out fine, along with the bone cement. Because of that allergy to nickel, the surgeon ordered a knee replacement that had no nickel. He told me that many of the replacements have nickel, so I was so grateful to him for his thoroughness ahead of the surgery. I would not be a bit surprised if the swelling and fluid is due to an allergy to nickel. Many people who react to this have to have the surgery redone. All of my best wishes to you……check out nickel.

Thank you for heads -up. Seeing surgeon on Monday. Was already tested for cobalt allergy…negative.

Cindy I am sorry to hear you are having pain. Hopefully you will find some answers as well.

I am bein told the implant that was used is hypoallergenic. It contains zirconium. But I will check into that as well. Thank you

Hi healthtalk. I'm sorry for what you went through. A few questions - do you think the nickel is from the metal prostheses? I thought those were made out of titanium. Or maybe there is nickel in titanium?

Second, even if there is nickel in the prostheses, how is it getting into your bloodstream? I think that would only happen if any of the metal prostheses used in the femur, tibia, and patella rubbed against each other. I didn't think that happened in a TKR. The metal does touch the polyethylene in the prostheses to replace the meniscus, and some in the patella, but I'm not aware of a TKR where these different pieces of metal rub against each other - the only way any metal would wear away and be present in your blood.

Just curious because I had both knees replaced in 2022 without incident. I worked very hard to achieve a successful outcome and had a terrific surgeon. I also know this is not everyone's experience.

Finally, when your surgery was redone, what metal was used in the new prostheses?

Thanks very much. I hope you're better.

Hi Yvonne and so sorry for what you are going through.

In some patients, there is a negative reaction to the cement that is used in TKRs. Cement is used if the patient has weak bones - osteoporosis - literally porous bones.

Have you checked to see if 1) cement was used and if yes, 2) could the cement be causing a reaction?

I hope you get an answer and a solution so you don't have to keep getting your knee drained. All the best to you.

It was definitely nickle. Another surgery was done to remove it. Believe it or not surgery was done at hospital of special surgery at NY
Supposed to be best in the country