Truth about Total Knee Replacements

Ouch89,

If you had it all to do over again, would you decide not to do a knee replacement?

I would not have a TKR! One knee turned out O.K. but the other has turned my quality of life upside down. An unsuccessful TKR can have an adverse effect on your total health from lack of exercise, weight gain, poor sleep, etc., not to mention the mental impact. I'm very pain tolerant but seven years is a long time. I have not kept up with the latest TKR procedures but I understand there are advancements. I understand there is a procedure where they enter from the side eliminating cutting the quad muscle and other ligaments. It's a more complicated procedure and they claim less pain and quicker recovery. From what I read on forums including this forum my confidence in having another surgery is low.

I have asked before if there is anyone who has the Jiffy knee tkr. Some time has passed and there now may be someone who has had it. If so, can you comment on the procedure and outcome. Thanks

@diana61 I hate this for you…
My wife who has been a fit, healthy woman started having some pain about 4 years ago had TKR SURGERY 3 years ago per the advice from a local surgeon who she previously worked for and respected
After the completed the procedure he came out to discuss that he straightened her knee somewhat. She has always had slightly bowed knees and I don’t believe that any of the bow was caused by arthritis so I feel from what I’ve learned is that the knee replacement should mirror the other knees natural alignment as much as possible

After 3 years she hates her new knee as it always hurts, CLICKS,
TIGHT BAND FEELING, TINGLING IN TOES, BASICALLY MISERABLE DUE TO PAIN
As many experience , her surgeon says everything is fine and dismissed her concerns

She feels like she’ll be miserable the rest of her life and no one can do anything to help (

@paint1956

Time for a second opinion? There are a number of orthopedic surgeons who will do revisions if that is indicated. I imagine there are a number of people on this site who can recommend someone for a consult if that is what you decide to do. What state are you in?

We are all different. Our bodies are different, our surgeons are different, there are different ways to do the surgery, etc. So the only generalization I can make is that our experiences will differ. Some like me will be an outlier on the no pain side with good ROM and some will have severe post surgery pain and ROM well below 90. Most will be somewhere in the middle.

Having said that here are my comments:

Your new knee will never feel as good as your original old one
I am only two months out and my knee feels almost as good as my real knee.

For most people it takes a full year to get most of the benefits of the surgery
That is true for many but some take longer and some get it almost immediately. I had no pain post surgery and my surgeon has me starting PT in the third week and my PT measured my ROM at 122 that week.

Many people experience a clicking sound when walking for years or forever after the surgery

You should do physical therapy for a year after the surgery to get the best range of motion results even though your therapist will discharge you after several months.
I completely agree although if you have a medicare advantage plan it might be a battle with your insurer.

There are no studies which will tell you what activities you can do after TKR. Is doubles tennis OK? Golf? What you read online varies. There are no clear answers.
That is correct. Trust your body as to what you can do post surgery. I was playing golf on the 28 day past surgery.
Many surgeons are finished with you after the surgery. If you have issues with the surgery's aftermath, they may not be that helpful.
That is terrible. My surgeon replaced my left hip about three years ago and my right knee two months ago. He has been available when I needed him but both surgeries were so successful that I didn't really need him much.

The scar is big, and no amount of ointment (vitamin E, etc.) will substantially reduce it.
My surgeon did a plastic surgery close and it is disappearing.

Good news: If you had bad knee problems before the surgery your knee will feel a lot better after the surgery.
100% agree, I was in severe pain pre surgery and now I am painless. I am 80YO male and I am back playing golf.

@paint1956
There are several approaches to straightening the knee. For years and years the gold standard was mechanical alignment. Draw a straight line down the leg. Well, that is not how people are made. So newer approaches are kinematic, inverse kinematic and Functional. These are all designed to provide a knee that more closely resembles the natural alignment of the individual.

I suspect that your surgeon "straightened" her leg with a mechanical alignment. Mine did a Functional alignment and both of my legs seem similarly aligned.

I think it is time for a new surgeon. She needs a skilled and very experienced knee revision surgeon. Finding the right surgeon is difficult. My brother in the midwest went to a hip/knee surgeon who was highly respected; I went to what I believe is the best hip/knee surgeon in the US. We had our knee surgery one week apart two months ago. My brother's surgeon used a tourniquet and my brother had related pain for weeks; my surgeon did not. His surgeon did a traditional surgery, my surgeon went in with a mini midvastus method. I don't know what implant my brother had; I had the very, very rate bicruciate retaining implant which I wanted. I also don't know what type of alignment my brother had but I had a Functional alignment.

Most importantly, my brother had and has considerable pain and range of motion (ROM) in the 90s; I have had no post surgical pain and in my first week of physical therapy my therapist measured my ROM at 122.

I also suspect that her surgeon is a traditionalist. I have posted my criteria in several posts in this forum. My surgeon, who met all of my criteria, spends about 20% of his time doing revisions. You need a surgeon like that. As @gravity3 said, you need to see another surgeon. But I don't see it as a second opinion. I see it as a first opinion. She goes into that surgeon and explains her symptoms but she doesn't blame her original surgeon, she just has a bunch of symptoms and has heard great things about this new surgeon and wonders if a revision would help. My concept is that she wants to get around the band of brothers.

@mackad2024
No I wouldn’t do it

@steveinarizona
If you don’t mind who was your physician? Where did you have the surgery? What technique did he/she use ?

Thanks in advance
MPH

I am 15 months post TKR surgery. I am left with a knee that hyperextends backwards quite severely. Has anyone else experience this condition or have undergone revision surgery to correct it? I have had extensive PT and strength training . I am using a brace and a walker due to this.
Any advise