Revision surgery because of scar tissue in knee

Hello @jeansugg, welcome to Connect. You may notice I moved your discussion and combined it with another discussion titled, "Knee replacement revision." I did this so you could see some of the posts already made on this topic and so you could meet members like @sgp1949, @barbwire, @szqyoung, @amberpep, @maryann1753, @jmacvol, @franciesusan, who have all talked about having a knee revision.

@jeansugg, this is the first I have heard of an antibiotic spacer being needed for a revision as part of the normal routine of things. If you are comfortable sharing, does your provider have infection concerns or have you had issues with infections in the past?

This is what I know. The device attached to my tibia is loose or loosened. And I had an aspiration and the fluid from that showed infection. My bone scan showed loss of bone so I just assumed I had infection in the bone as well.

Hi there, I am 3.5 yrs post TKR and have dealt with enormous scar tissue issues. The best ROM I could ever get was 120 degrees under extreme pain. Best advice I can offer is keep moving, stretch every day and ride a good quality excercise bike. I am facing revision surgery, the last couple of days I have experienced sharp pain on weight bearing. In your case your ROM is severely limited, I would most definitely get a second opinion from an unrelated surgical group- even if just for peace of mind! I wish you all the best, please keep us posted

I’m one year post op TKR my knee replacement clicks every time I move and I have scar tissue does any one else have that problem.

Hi @memeblair - Welcome to Connect! Glad you found this forum. I've had 2 TKR's and did not experience that noise although my orthopedic surgeon told me it was one of the three biggest complaints he usually got from patients regarding their knee replacements. I have heard other people on this forum speak of it. Here are a couple of threads that might interest you:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/i-had-a-partial-knee-replacement-in-january-all-was-fine-until/?utm_campaign=search
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/scar-tissue-after-knee-replacement/?pg=10#comment-109702

Meantime, have you had your 12 month re-check appointment yet? If so, I'm wondering what you OS says? Also, other than the noise, are you feeling comfortable with your TKR?

Yes. My primary surgeon wants to do revision. Remove implant then cut out scar tissue a second time, recess/remove some bone on tibia and femur to give more room to straighten knee. And put new implant in. Yesterday I met with another surgeon for 2nd opinion. He said I need revision. But wait a year from my last surgery on Aug 8, 2022 to allow knee and current scar tissue to settle down. So about 7 months from now. Remove implant, remove scar tissue, do one dosage of radiation to help slow down scar tissue growing back again. put in hinged implant. Give more stability, improve bending and straighten. Currently Bend at about 65-70 degrees and straighten to 5-7 degrees only. He says I can improve both and have better functionality. But most likely will not get me to where I was prior to initial TKR. He say maybe 35-40% improvement. Get me to 90-105 degree bending and couple degrees straightening. Thinking about getting yet another opinion to see if same plan would be proposed.
Best wishes to you,
Wayne

Yes I have excessive scar tissue. I tried posting a reply but don’t see it posted so am trying again. Had TKR Jan 2022, two manipulations Feb and Apr 2022. Scar removal surgery Aug 9, 2022. Scar tissue has come back. ROM is about 65-70 bending and 5-7 degrees straightening. Surgeon is proposing revision surgery. Remove implant, remove scar tissue then cut back bone on tibia and femur to make more room for knee to bend. Then put in knee implant (didn’t say anything about hinged implant).
Had second opinion recently and this guy proposes revision. But wait a year since last surgery on Aug 9, 2022 for knee and scar tissue settle down. About 7 months from now. Remove implant, cut out scar tissue, do radiation on knee. Removal of implant will remove some bone. Put in hinged implant. Provide better stability. Better ROM, better functionality. 35-40% improve in bending. 95-105 degrees, less than what I’d like. Currently at 70 degrees and 5–7 degrees in straightening.
Thinking about getting another opinion before doing anything. Best wishes to you.
Wayne.

Hello…I had TKR 4 years ago. My extension was at a 0 almost right away. I struggled with ROM but kept going. I did ok(not great) for about 6 months. Was able to ride stationary bike and walk stairs normally. Then my knee slowly started to get stiffer despite exercise and PT . Had a MUA at 7 months, then a release of the PCL. Basically I have been told my stiffness is due to scar tissue/ Arthrofibrosis. My current ROM is 80-85…it sucks!!!
Afraid to push for open surgery to remove it and then for it to come back or other things to go wrong 😑.