Scar tissue after knee replacement

All of us w terrible bone problems. Has anyone asked Dr. if stem cells/PRP would help w Faster Healing?

I have a question regarding sideways/twisting motion after TKR. 11 weeks after the surgery I am making very good progress regarding ROM, and forward/backward movement (as in squats, lunges, going up and down stairs). HOWEVER, things are nor really progressing with sideways motion, as when you are standing and bending your knee out and your foot up - as you would when pulling off a sock, for example, or doing heel touches. I have been working on that some in the pool, but it is still pretty painful. Is this common, how long will it last, will it ever get better?

i did stem cells on my left knee when i had a tkr that has proved to be a failure. 6 years later my tkr is still swollen and painful. Stem cells proved to work along with prp injections. I realize it is costly but i am now seeing insurance paying for it. It proved to be a great alternative to doing tkr on the second knee.

How about Robotic surgery - Isn't that the newest and Best. It goes where fingers cannot. I get complements on my scar. 1 long scar.

@ellerbracke - After my right TKR, sideways/twisting was way harder than forward/backward. A year and a half later, it still doesn't feel like a normal movement. Wish I could give you more encouragement and maybe others can, but for me it hasn't gotten "normal" yet.

8 months ago, I underwent an unplanned total knee replacement as a result of a running injury. Initial PT got my movement to-15/120 forced, but for the last 5 months the flexion has gone downhill to 105. I was diagnosed with arthrofibrosis, but the amount of movement in my knee made that diagnosis questionable.

A second opinion with a professor at an Orthopedics’s ruled out infection (thank God), but revealed I have a metal allergy to nickel - but only at a .1mm concentration. He thought the allergy combined with arthrofibrosis was possibly causing my pain. Unfortunately, due to my age (54) this professor, who teaches revisions, said he would not recommend a revision for me at this time or I would not be able to walk by the time I’m in my mid sixties. He said “I’d recommend a nerve ablasion and find a way to deal with the pain for about 10’years”.

My initial surgeon consulted two other surgeons and all 4 of them agree with the professor. No revision. The initial surgeon however recommended an arthroscopic lysis of the adhesions and aggressive PT - focusing on stretching first before resigning myself to 10 years of pain.

The professor has said the arthroscopic lysis is not successful for arthrofibrosis.

Does anyone have experience with an arthroscopic lysis of adhesions to treat arthrofibrosis and if so what was the outcome?

@melcpa86, you may noticed I moved your recent discussion and combined it with an existing discussion titled "Scar tissue after knee replacement." I did this so all of the members discussing scar tissue, or arthrofibrosis, would see your message and share their thoughts with you. I also had a really rough time with scar tissue after my knee replacement. I had two additional manipulations to try and break up the scar tissue and those were unsuccessful. Fortunately, after about 18 months, I was able to pop the scar tissue loose on my own. My initial movement after surgery was extremely limited, about 15-50 degree ROM. I eventually, through lots of pain, managed to get to 0-110 or so. I was not a candidate to have the scar tissue removed because they thought the risk of infection was not worth the 50/50 gain I may or may not get.

@melcpa86, here is another discussion on metal allergy you may find interesting too, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/need-tkr-and-had-positive-allergy-testing-bone-cement-and-metals/. If you don't mind me asking, is the lysis surgery something you are considering, or has it been ruled out by the professor?

PLease - i only want to help HIP replacement people - i have No scar tissue. i'm 2 weeks out and All Drs. - PTs nurses etc. are amazed at progress. I walked up and down a Full flight of stairs in 4 days. Don't put me all over the place. I can't relate to scar tissue.

I had arthroscopic arthrolysis and debridment of left knee following a knee replacement at the end of September. For me I could only bend my knee under General anaesthetic to 70 degrees, I now can bend my knee to around 96 degrees, can drive and now work. I am still hoping to bend my knee further, but am restricted due to neuropathic pain. For me the surgery has helped

Yes that’s good to hear