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Total Knee surgery sucks: Did you get help with a second opinion?
I had my TKS on July 22 ,2024 and I am still in pain straighten hurt like never before and I can't bend my knee I have therapy 2 times a week for a hour .I work out myself during the exercise that was given to me by PT but I am still in so much pain I have told my surgery on several occasions I wish I never got this procedure done at least with my old knee I could bend my knee but they scorn that this knee was gonna be better 3 months later it's worst I cry every night and day because of the pain .
I told my surgery that something pop in my knee on the four day when I was home walking and it hurt like hell but did he do anything I asked for MRI because I don't believe the xray showed what I was talking about but I will get second opinion because it just not right how they get your money the kick you to the curb .Good thing I have everything wrote done when I call to complaints about my TKR and who I talked in case I have to take this any further. I don't won't to be in this pain for the rest of my life and using a cane I have kids who needs me. If anyone has anyone else to refer me to please leave information I'm in Texas
Thanks
Frustrated with pain plus my kids needs me
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Hello cam28, in Texas. I have not made a comment for a while but I am glad that I checked in today. I had TKR Sept. , 2023. ...extremely painful but was told repeatedly that it would take a year to heal. ...gradually the knee began to hyper extend, bending backwards to the extreme. My surgeon said that he had NEVER had a patient that this had happened to. I did a lot of research and chose to go to a young surgeon that had training in revision surgery.
GOOD NEWS, I had revision surgery Oct 29, 2024. It has been a completely different experience.
virtually no pain, very little swelling...I was on Hydrocodone for 2 weeks and am not take anymore pain meds. It has been 3 weeks today since I had my surgery ...I can't say enough about the different results.
BTW I am in San Antonio. Let me know if you want the doctors name etc
All the best.
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4 ReactionsYes please. Who did the revision? What did the revision say the problem was with the original surgery? Did you have all 4 parts replaced during the revision? Aside from pain were you having any other symptoms like clunking or instability?
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1 ReactionI can well relate to your condition. I had replacement surgery in April of 2023. Since then, 3 more procedures to break up or remove scar tissue that has caused pain, inflammation and severely limited my range of motion. With each of those procedures, my knee got worse! My second opinion recommended that they switch me to a hinged knee. They said that they would remove all tendons, which is an area where scar tissue tends to build up, and that the hinge would take the place of the tendons. Studies show that 6-10% of people who have a TKR will experience excessive scarring, which is what many in my condition are suffering from. I am hoping to have the revision southerly done at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Mn.) sometime next year.
Have they said that scar tissue is the cause of your problems?
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1 ReactionThat part about taking pain meds only 2 weeks got me. I have a huge pain tolerance, or so I thought prior to my knee surgery.
I thought it was normal to need OxyContin prior to my PT 3x/wk as it was excruciating when they tried to bend me or get me flat. No coordination with the surgeon. I didn’t like how the pain med made me feel and it really didn’t cover those pushing me off the table times…
Then an MUA, and now I’m getting somewhat better. Almost 6 m out from surgery. But, it still is tight. I can hike and walk better. It still reminds me when I walk ( mid-knee pain) and especially going down stairs. I have to exercise it to get it going. I’ve been told it takes up to a year. So tight. We shall see.
I still take ibuprofen and Tylenol. Never did before all of this.
Hello @cam28. Knee replacements are a big undergoing and don't always have the results we hope for. I struggled a lot after my knee replacement. I underwent two manipulations and struggled for a year+ to get mobility back. Eventually, my ROM settled on 0-105 or so. It is not the ROM that I hoped for, but for 18 years now I have had far better pain than what I had before the surgery. It took work and a lot of frustration to get there.
Not all surgeries and outcomes are linear, or comparable. While I had a hard road of recovery, it did eventually get better, which is not the case for everyone. It can be easy to get in a web of only negative stories, which is why the following discussion may be useful to read through:
"Total Knee Repair Revision: A Success Story" - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tkr-revision/.
The same thing happened after my knee TKA. Apparently, it is rare for the knee to hyperextend. I had a revision to place a bigger spacer. It’ll be 4 years since I had the revision surgery and 5 years since the TKA. The knee functions, really no pain but still feels tight and stiff. I’m not able to walk normally and my situation is compounded with a spinal/disk issue (failed Fusion surgery). I don’t think the docs can help me, so I’ve learned to just manage and do what I can do which isn’t a whole lot. I’ll be 76 in a couple of months, so although it’s not what I’d hoped for in my retirement years, it’s easier to accept these limitations. Best of luck to you.