Knee replacement swollen and blood filled 8 months later

Hi, I am 5 years post total knee - Zero problems for 5 years, the all of a sudden it started swelling for no apparent reason - I'm active and play lots of pickleball (very competitive!!). My 2nd time back to the Dr and he drained it - it was all blood. he suggested conservative activity, some PT etc... I continued to have swelling, and he drained it again, and again it was all blood. He at that point suggested Genicular Artery Embolization (GAE). Its a procedure that an Interventional Radiologist performs - its considered minimally invasive. It was developed for excessive bleeding in patients with TKR, (its also being used pre TKR for pain relief to avoid having a TKR). I've had my knee drained 2 more times; one of them was extremely painful - I couldn't bear any weight on my knee, I called the office and said, i'm either coming to you or going to the ER; they had someone available to drain it (more than 130cc's of blood). Anyhow, I am scheduled for the GAE tomorrow morning! I've been miserable not being able to do any activity whatsoever now for over 2 months; I have yet to know what movement is causing my bleeding. It may take me a few days, but I'll post back here to let you know how it goes; although it will be a week or so before I can test it to see if it was successful...

OK, sorry I haven't followed up with my situation prior to this... (I'll try to keep it short!). I was 5 yrs out from a very successful TKR, until it suddenly started swelling - initially while playing pickleball, but eventually when simply walking. so (after having blood drained from knee 6-7X), I had the GAE done in February 2025 . The very next morning, my knee swelled again - talk about disappointment! We scheduled another GAE for 3 weeks out; but due to continued bleeding and a 24 hour stint in 2 different ER's on a weekend, my knee Dr indicated he felt it was best to have a revision (replacing the replaced knee)... so we cancelled the GAE and did the revision surgery. The revision went great for about 10 weeks until I felt a very familiar feeling... more bleeding, confirmed with another drain - (I could actually feel my knee filling with blood) ugh! The bleeding was minimal, much less than all the prior bleeds, but enough to still be painful. After a few more appointments and conversations, we decided to do the GAE again - same Interventional Radiology dept, but different IR Dr. After about 3 weeks, I wasn't convinced the GAE was working, I was having moderate discomfort, but not debilitating as before. So I finally went for a second opinion. (I was trying to get one before this, but could never get an appointment that wasn't 6 months out). The 2nd opinion Dr wanted me to see their IR dept for a 2nd IR opinion... so I did. This IR Dr gave me more info in 20 minutes than the previous 2 IR Dr's that actually did my procedures. The 1st thing she said was that the GAE takes between 3-8 weeks for the emboli to actually settle in and be effective, (I was about 3 weeks post GAE #2). She said she typically tells her patients that she expects to still drain them one, maybe two more times after having the GAE. I was stunned. Neither of the 2 previous Dr's had ever indicated it could take a few weeks. (the 2nd GAE Dr even asked me how long the 1st GAE lasted, and when I told him less than 24 hours, he didn't say a word about it taking longer to be effective!).
So she wanted me to take it moderately easy for another 2-3 weeks to give it more time... I did, and eventually added more activity. The GAE#2 was mid July and I can happily say that since mid September I've been back playing pickleball and my knee is doing great...

I try to not let my mind think "What-if", but I honestly believe that had I had this information (about the GAE needing more time), I wouldn't have had the revision surgery. I don't think it was necessary. I remember when I first started having the swelling/bleeding, telling the Dr on numerous occasions, that my knee feels "normal" when it isn't swollen - it felt stable. It was only when it was full of blood that it was painful. That tells me that my implant was still good. The problem is you end up so depressed and frustrated from all the pain and discomfort, and no real answers to all of your questions...

Overall, I'm happy with the GAE, it was successful for me, (the second time, which isn't unusual). I have no idea how long it will last, but its a pretty simple procedure and worth trying if you are having similar issues.