Has anyone experienced their knee cap degenerating after TKR?

Posted by rknee @rknee, Sep 14 7:44am

I had a TKR in 2020 and beginning in 2023 it began hurting when I rose from sitting. Dr showed me x-ray and explained that my knee cap is disintegrating! I never fell or hit it but it has a crack in it and looks like gravel. One piece is hitting ligament when bending it. The proposed surgery would grind down kneecap leaving me barely any (since it’s so degenerative) and then replacing the femur piece of hardware and middle plate. It sounds horrible and furthermore he said it’s about 80% success rate. I asked about a replacement patella but he said he doesn’t do that??!!
I’m getting another opinion next week. Just wondered if anyone else has experienced this and had better solutions.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Joint Replacements Support Group.

Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Sep 14 11:23am

@rknee Some doctors do replace the patella after a TKR, you probably need to seek one out. Revision after joint surgery is not something every surgeon does, possibly because it is more time-consuming with more uncertainties of what will be revealed when they open the knee. But it certainly is worth checking out, since you are young and want to stay active.
Do you have and orthopedic teaching hospital near you? The professors are surgeons themselves, and generally keep up on the latest best practices and techniques.

Please sign in or register to post a reply.