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Knee Replacement Failure - Need total reconstruction
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Oct 1 10:10am | Replies (121)Comment receiving replies
I agree. I had to do my own research and go through patient advocate to get my surgeon to do an MRI when I complained of extreme discomfort caused by tightness and stiffness. The surgeon placed a lot of emphasis on the x-ray which showed that the healing was going well. He practically sealed my health record ,wrote "no x-ray" on it and would not respond to my request for an MRI. However, I was going through literal hell and x-rays do not identify the problems with scar tissue and other soft tissue issues. MRI's and CATSCANS are the correct tools to use(among others).My understanding is that x-rays mostly/only deal with hard tissue like the implant. It seems as if it is all about the extension and flexion numbers. Discomfort is not important. What are good numbers if you continue to experience extreme discomfort? I am almost 7 months out from tkr surgery after having 2 MUA's and an arthroscopy. I have shown some improvement with the stiffest and tightness and but I still experience a lot of discomfort. The journey continues to be very rough!!! I did some crying today, wondering how much more improvement I am going to experience. I continue to do therapy and lean deeply on my faith to see me through. Otherwise, I will have to suffer through to the end of the year when "Another surgeon will give me a second opinion "The norm seems to be that they will not look at a tkr patient before a year has elapsed.
Scar Tissue seems to be the boogey man for any and everything ( poor surgery techniques??) that might have occurred during surgery.
I feel that more focus is f placed on the schedule to get to the next operation and no allowance is made for those of us who might be prone to "scar tissue build up.
We seem to be the forgotten. We did not do well with the surgery and it seems as if very little research is being done to address the "scar tissue problem"
In the meantime, I will continue to attend therapy and "PRAY"
Replies to "I agree. I had to do my own research and go through patient advocate to get..."
In my research, i see that 6-10% of people having TKR’s have problems with scarring (Arthrofibrosis), to varying degrees. There is little written about this problem, as in the many medical articles i have read, they consistently say that doctors don’t like to report on this. I had a TKR in May of last year and have had 4 subsequent procedures to rid me of the scarring, which causes, pain, inflammation and a limited ROM. I went to the Hospital for Special Surgery (Manhattan) for a second opinion. They recommended that i have revision surgery to switch me over to a hinged replacement. They remove tendons, where they claim, that a lot of the scarring occurs and the hinge then takes on the function of tendons. I have a lot of doubts about whether to have this surgery done or not.
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I have had 4 revisions since my original TKR in 2018 (and 6 MUA, 2 arthroscopic and 3 days inpatient continuously with CPM machine and epidural) and continuous aggressive PT all along and am STILL stuck at 80 deg flexion and -10 extension. I've had 4 different surgeons throughout due to increased complexity with revisions and retirements. I've found that most will want to wait a year (if no infection or loosening) as it generally takes a year for full healing from the previous TKR. My whole world has shrunk through all of this and I am now 51, struggle to do any normal tasks and virtually have no energy outside of work to do anything. I no longer travel, hike, garden or spend time with my active friends. It hurts to sit, stand, walk or do anything other than lay down. I work 4 jobs to keep up with my medical bills and I am exhausted all of the time.
I know that scar tissue is a part of my situation but I'm not sure it's the only issue. Each surgery has yielded some gains and a few new issues, including an 18 month focal dystonia that took quarterly botox treatments in hams and quads to quell- I could barely walk. It has been awful. I'm so relieved to find others out there on this very lonely journey, though sorry for what we are all going through.
Many well-meaning family and friends keep giving "helpful" advice and showing me exercises and implying that I or my wonderful surgeons have done something wrong. I don't know that any of that is the case (I've certainly done the work and spent tens of thousands in PT and other care that was not covered by insurance). I think the research is not yet advanced in complications and solutions for the soft tissues and structures around the joint that make it work properly. I know Mayo Clinic is advancing on this and I am hopeful they have some answers for me now, as my "good knee" is suffering immensely from carrying the load for 6 years and now also needs replaced. If the 2nd knee gets bound by my aggressive scar growth then I will have 2 legs that don't bend far enough for normal activities and I don't know how I can function at all. As it is I cannot go up/down stairs bilaterally. Without 1 good joint I would not be able to go up or down stairs at all, nor walk up a ramp, get dressed, get up when I fall down. I would need to move from my beloved home