Total knee replacement

Very worst decision of my life. I am in constant pain now for 13 years and all the docs do is marvel that i can still bike 40-50 miles.
Yeah i can deal with pain but have near suicidal at times. Cannot hike or walk far or do projects that require getting low. I have seen at least 10 docs in 5 states with no success. Have had arthroscopic but that didn't help. Would consider revision but 6% chance of infection/ amputation.i shoulder on but i gotta say- this single worst decision of my life.

Hi tkr,

The Stryker/Mako assistant, as far as I know, did not eliminate the need to cut slightly into the quad muscle(s) just above the knee. As far as I know, this is required to release the patella and move it to the side so the surgeon has easier access to the knee capsule. The patella itself is also "refinished" by removing any arthritic growth and placing a piece of very hard plastic on the back. This also allows the patella to slide easier with the hard plastic prostheses that take the place of the menisci.

As far as recovery, I never even noticed that the quad had been cut. I had no pain, and my surgeon told me it was a small incision necessary to release the patella.

The main purpose of the Stryker/Mako assistant is to take a CT model of the knee and identify the bone that needs to be cut before placement of the metal prostheses. I haven't heard of "quad sparing" - but advancements happen so fast in surgery - it wouldn't surprise me if this was possible.

But even if the quad has to be cut, it's a minor cut and didn't affect my recovery - well, as far as I can tell. The first two weeks of rehab are hard as flexion returns. Bending the knee just hurts, but is necessary (progressively) to restore flexion to the knee (120 degrees or greater). The good news - the pain lessens each day as flexion returns.

I don't think I answered your question. Hopefully you will find some of this useful.

Joe

Hi lilaj,

Good for you for your persistence in recovery. No two TKR patients are alike, and no two TKRs on the same patient are alike. It takes work to recover, hard work everyday for about 1-2 months. But each day gets better (less painful) and the result is worth the effort.

Great work!

Joe

I'm sorry to hear about this outcome Mark. I had better luck, but I don't walk for exercise, rather I ride a spin bike 5x/week. I'd bike outside but my lumbar spine is in shambles and I don't want the jarring the road can give. I do love spinning though.

I certainly don't have any answers beyond what your surgeons have provided. I don't know where you live, but have you considered one of the Mayo clinics or the Cleveland Clinic? These are the best hospital/medical facilities in the USA. Maybe you could get a referral from your surgeon...

All the best to you Mark.

Joe

hi there - glad to hear you are improving, bit by bit. Sorry to hear you had to have an MUA. I have had a revision surgery - pretty invasive. Which ice machine did you get, if I may ask? Thank you.

After dealing with severe Arthrofibrosis for 10 years, I do understand, and have had the same types of dark thoughts. Recent research though, is finding ways to reverse this debilitating scar tissue. Here's hoping it comes sooner rather than later.

Thank you for posting. I’ve been getting knee injections for a few years. First Hyalgan, then steroid. I think I’m getting closer to needing a TKR. My biggest concern was inability to kneel post op. Most people that I know who’ve had one are unable to kneel.

The only surgery I know of that doesn't cut the quad is the Jiffy Knee. As a result the recovery is much faster. I'm scheduled for this surgery on July 11 and second knee on Sept. 28th. The second knee is a replacement of a partial knee which I had done using Stryker/Mako.

There are two parts to being able to kneel after TKR's. First is getting back the ability to bend your knee to the needed arc, this depends a lot on putting in enough push through effort during early PT. Some people may not achieve this due to excessive scar tissue or other complicating conditions.
The second is understanding that you are kneeling on a piece of metal which pushes on the surrounding tissue when you put pressure on it, so yes -- it will feel very uncomfortable unless you use a thick soft padding under the knee. When gardening, I use a boat safety cushion with loops that I can drag behind me. When I kneel, I try to position my kneecaps over the edge of the cushion, so I am actually putting pressure below the knee cap along the leg, not on the knee itself.

I kneel on both of my replacements. But not until 6-8 months after survey. A pad is a must. Feels odd because of cut nerves. But I work in my yard with kneeling pad.