Knee Replacement Failure - Need total reconstruction

In reply to @babette : Wondering if you are still active on this Blog? What you have been through and your story is very distressing and I sincerely hope your revision was a success for you. I also have had a TKR that never functioned well after the initial surgery in March of 2020. I'm 2.5 years out and still cannot walk well. Fortunately, pain is minimal. I achieved a good degree of flexion but the knee and leg hyperextend. Another surgeon performed a revision for a larger spacer hoping that would help. It made little to no difference. Unfortunately, my clinical picture is complex due to co-morbidities of lumbar spinal stenosis and degenerate disk ds. I have been told by spine surgeon that there are no surgical options due to the multiple spinal levels involved. The conundrum I experience is: I don't know what is causing what as my back fatigues easily and I don't feel stabile on the leg. I pretty much walk with a walking stick otherwise cannot hold myself up. I can only walk short distances and have limited my activities a great deal. This then becomes a quality of life issue. I am a young 73 y.o. and was hoping to enjoy life after retirement. I'm not expecting miracles at this stage but thinking another knee consult ion might give me more definitive answers.

Hi all I had my tkr revision yesterday …. All I can say is amazing …. The new dr had to downsize my tkr 2 sizes I did not wake up in that sever pain even today no tight band feeling …..I was able to do knee slides yesterday in my whole year of recovery from original tkr could never do knee slides ….. I text dr and thanked him over and over …. I am going to get my life back my depression has lifted and I am feeling so positive….I am seeking a lawyer my old dr blamed me all year for not pushing hard enough, blamed migraines, arthritis in my hip you name it he blamed ….never once saying it was slightly hung over and that could be the problem….. I am so angry at him I want to reach to him but I let lawyers do the talking ….so anyone looking at a revision don’t be scared pretty much I felt like I had nothing to loose I could not go on like I was…..so certainly the nerve block has worn off now so I have some pain but I am still doing my exercises …: I just know when swelling subside I will able to do so much more….I start mfr for edema next week and pt …. So morale of the story here if you are not happy with your dr you feel like he is not doing enough probably not ……second opinion can not hurt ….

Congratulations! I too am seeing a second opinion as I must have revision surgery. I am in awful pain and disabled with this bungled Knee replacement. Dreading another post operative recovery period though.

My story in 2023 is the same as yours. Can you share with me how you resolved the pain and mid flexion instability?

In 2020 The Mayo ended up putting in a larger spacer which tighten up the joint. It mostly resolved my “mid flexion laxity” issue. Just recently (2023), I had a left hip replacement. My left side is in total alignment now, and I’m doing PT now to get back to my active lifestyle. My best advice is to “never give up” and seek out the most experienced Ortho surgeons in the country. IMO, they will see you if you are persistent.

I had a TKR on Jan 23, 2023. It was pain from the beginning. I was in therapy and the pain was so intense that I would catch the looks between the therapists as they looked at my knee. So the doctor was like hey, let's do a manipulation under anesthesia. He explained it to me and i was like ok. I woke up with a cast on my leg from under my privates to the ankle. I immediately burst into tears because i thought my leg was broken. However when my therapist saw it. she pulled me aside and said something is wrong get a second opinion. Come to find out the parts were to big. I had to keep the parts in because my knee was inflamed and had to be aspirated several times. I went a year, wheelchair bound, buried both parents 2 months apart in a wheelchair. after the revision on March 6, 2024. i am being told because my knee is still bent, and ROM is only 80 that it might be the tendons and ligaments because of how bent it was from the botched surgery. I was literally tipping on my toe on that side. Now i have so much pain in my foot and i am worried about my knee. Please does anyone have any suggestions. Has anyone experienced this?

Hello @teajackson,

I moved your discussion and combined it with an existing discussion titled, "Knee Replacement Failure - Need total reconstruction" - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/knee-replacement-failure-need-total-reconstruction/.

I did this because the discussion is centered around members who have experienced poor outcomes after their replacement surgeries. Many members discussed having to put in larger spacers, but it sounds like you have experienced the opposite in that the components used were too large. @ezas123 talked about their experience with a replacement that was too large in this discussion and may be able to relate to some of your experiences as well.

It sounds like you sought out the second opinion and had a revision - but the outcome has not been much better. Does your surgeon who performed the revision think atrophy in your ligaments is the cause of your lack of ROM? How did physical therapy go after the revision? Is the knee pain less than your first replacement?

@djn1954 - I'd like to invite you to this discussion to read through some others' experiences and those who had to face the possibility of a revision.

I struggled with scar tissue after my knee replacement in 2006. I had to manipulations and all sorts of devices to try and get my knee to bend more. I was fighting years of atrophy in my ligaments and muscles. I am now 18 years into my knee and still going strong, although there is some occasional discomfort as I have to imagine I am getting near the end of the knees lifecycle.

I only ended up with 100 for my flexion. I wish I would have got more, but my scar tissue got too strong and that is as far as I could push it without needing surgery to remove the scar tissue. I opted to not do that as I didn't want to risk infection.

Hi teajackson….like you my knee was twice the size …. I woke up in pain from surgery had manipulation pain throughout trying to do pt… after manipulation at 6 weeks I think it was 8 weeks or got second opinion … I told my dr I was getting a second opinion because I was not getting anywhere and my knee does not feel right was not listening to me … all he said was it’s a good ideal to get other opinions ….. I took my x- rays from my original dr office after my surgery as soon as dr seen it told me was to big that is why I was having pain and not getting any more flexion I was at 65-70 than … I waited a year for surgery also … I woke up with no pain was awesome….i have 100-105 but I can do everything …..I still have pain at time …. I have issues with scar tissue because of having to have two surgeries….and the issue of having oversized knee for a year that’s another issue … but so glad found my other dr … so good luck it does get better just keep on moving … I go to the gym 5 days a week it helps so much to move ….. I practice what I preach lol if you have any questions give me just ask ….

I am where you were at 12 weeks, contemplating what my future will be. I did not have atrophy before the surgery, but because of a hospitalization 2 days post TKR and bleeding and hematoma on quads after manipulation, my leg is becoming atrophied. I really can’t chance another manipulation and very reticent about a surgery to remove scar tissue. At 74 and last experience I feel at risk.