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Fluid retention after a knee replacement
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Apr 24 6:31am | Replies (12)Comment receiving replies
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
Replies to "Please check for nickel allergy. I had fluid and swelling after knee replacement Drained 3 times...."
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.
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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.