Damage from Iovera Nerve block prior to TKR

Please do as much research and homework about the IOVER Treatment before considering having it done. I do not recommend this treatment! Today marks 7 days since I had the IOVER Treatment, and it did not provide any pain relief at all. The treatment was very painful, and my pain has increased since having it done. No pain relief at all! My knees are now more swollen and filled with fluid. I have been icing day and night, still taking a lot of Tylenol, elevating and taking it easy in hopes that it will all remedy with time and care. I had the treatment done in hopes to dodge knee replacement surgery. I know it has only been a week but was hoping for immediate pain relief as promised. I am doing my best to stay positive and hopeful for better results, but the last 7 days have been painfully frustrating. Please take care...sending warm hugs and much aloha.

Hello. It has been over one month and I am still having the same issues ....I wish I did my homework although I have to admit a neighbor did mention it to me ..

The swelling and fluid are never ending and the shocks from the nerves hurt so bad ...

Wishing you a quick recovery

Hi again, may I ask both of you if your doctors used ultrasound to find the nerves before injecting? I'm reading something about a 'tape measure' was used in a comment? I know ultrasound is supposed to be used to identify the nerves. Thanks!

Thank you for the positive encouragement. In regard to doing research and your homework, what I recommend is to definitely watch a video about how the procedure is performed. How a needle is used to poke under the skin in the upper thigh area to numb about 3 inches in length across the thigh...this is very painful as the skin tissue and muscle in that area is tender and soft. Then the IOVERA three-pronged needle is used to poke again across the same thigh area. This is also done in the inside area of the knees...also very painful even with numbing. Look at a chart showing the different nerves around the knees and be aware which ones will be numbed. Know that the numbing sensation will be felt all over on the outside of your body and not just on the nerves on the inside. Tingling and itching occurs when the numbing begins to wear off and can also move to different areas on your leg such as the lower leg and ankle. I never really experienced much nerve pain prior to having the IOVERA but now I feel sharp, stabbing, burning pain inside my legs. In my opinion this procedure is harsh and a very invasive procedure. Really consider why you are wanting to have it done and if there are any other options. I can attest that the procedure alone causes much more pain than the end result...which provided no pain relief to my knees and legs at all. I do not recall the person using an ultrasound device during the procedure. Please also note that the cost of this treatment was not covered under my health insurance and was very costly. I'm still trying to stay positive about my experience but beginning to feel regretful. Icing, elevation, rest and care does not appear to be helping so I have resorted to taking a round of prednisone which seems to be helping with the inflammation, pain and healing. Thank you for your comments, replies and concern. Thank you for listening and sharing...sending warm hugs and healing to you.

Aloha, I would love to hear more about your surgery, how long did you have pain before you considered surgery, what helped you make your decision, details of surgery, recovery, therapy and end result. Did your health insurance cover the cost and your out-of-pocket expenses? One knee or two? Please do share...I'm afraid this may be the road I may be heading down in the future and want to make the right decision. Thank you, Meiwai

Cathleen. He did use an ultra sound. No tape measure but using the ultra sound did nothing because he hit something. Who knows where he was looking. It’s one month and three days since I had the IOVERA and if it were up to me it would be taken off the market

I personality think it should be taken off the market period. I have not heard or read anything too positive about it

Again, I am so sorry about your reaction! It does make me nervous to know that this can happen, so I have to decide which is the worst of the two evils...taking the chance on Iovera (I, personally, have heard of so many personal positive reviews of Iovera and even told my pain management about it, and he is now in training for it since there are very few who do it here in California) or going through the horrible pain of the recovery of the TKR itself. I have lost weight, do exercises to strengthen my thigh muscles every night, and stretch daily. That alone has helped my pain go way down (that and cortisone injections) so I am still in the 'holding' phase of this..But I have to say I have heard so many positive reviews of Iovera, too, so it's hard to know what to think and/or decide...

Hi

To be honest I did not do my research as I trusted the Dr ....His PA did it and now that I go online to see ..I see more negative than positive ....It was just too painful and the outcome was negative and it is now 34 days ....

I wish you luck in whatever you decide ....

Thank you! Also, can you tell me where you see the negative outcomes? Do you have a particular website, like Facebook, and the comments are negative? I really want to know! I am on FB, and I am on 3 different groups (Total knee replacement; Knee Replacement Support Group, Knee surgery support group) etc, and when you google Iovera in the group, the comments are mostly positive...I just started going on this chat after I googled, 'Iovera.' So again, I want to know the good, bad, ugly and then make a decision! I did just read that those with larger thighs (not sure how big, if it's someone morbidly obese) have more problems. Other than that, not a lot of negative reviews...