Knee Replacement Infection

Hopefully not an infection, but if it is, don’t waste time trying to treat it with the prosthetic in place as my surgeon originally tried. Six weeks with temporary IV PIC line for massive antibiotic doses every eight hours seemed to work, but three days after they stopped the infection was back. I was sent to Mayo and after a long surgery to remove the prosthetic and put in a temporary plastic spacer, went through the same six week PIC line therapy which then worked. Waited a couple of months to be sure the infection was gone and then a final surgery to put in a new permanent prosthetic. All has been well since including a TKR on my other knee. It’s a rare complication, but it does happen.

In my case, not even the surgeon knew until he opened me up for a revision and found a lot of pus. Pre operative blood test showed no infection. In addition to the pain, the old device began to fall apart. He put in a spacer, but the bone continued to deteriorate, and later when he put in the new device, he had to work to attach the patella ligaments.
I had both MRSA and klebseilla, which respond only to a few newer antibiotics.
Good luck with yours.

Oh my. Don't you wonder why the test showed no infection? I was tested at urgent care last night to see if my white blood cell count was elevated, and it was normal. This led me to believe I didn't have an infection...now I worry again. Thank Goodness tomorrow is Monday and I can call my surgeons office. Hope you are doing better now.

Wow. What a nightmare for you. Glad to hear all is well now.

We are still looking for a solution, probably a arthrodesis, ie they put a post in and fuse the tibia and femur. Not at all a favorable outcome.
I should have said, what I have is very rare, less than one percent, so keep that in mind. My orthopedic had never seen it before.
There’s no way to know when my infection started, or whether it or the breaking down of my knee came first.

Your surgeon is the best person to rely on. They look at other signs as well, not just the blood test.

Good luck to you.

No, I haven't had any injury and don't recall twisting or overextending the knee. I am a little better today. I still plan to contact my surgeon's office tomorrow to get it checked out. Hopefully, I'm panicked over something minor.