Foot neuropathy (numbness and pain) after total knee replacement (TKR)

Hello, My numb and tingling in my right foot directly from my TKR is different. My surgeon totally pinched the popliteal artery behind my knee. chances of that happening are .003%. My surgeon kept telling me that it was normal. Well normal does not have purple toes! My primary dr. is the one who said to do more tests. After popliteal artery surgery I went back to my TKR surgeon and all he said was why did I wait so long to get it fixed and that I could of lost my leg. As it was my leg lost almost all muscle tone and is visibly smaller then my left leg. It has also messed up my back because of the way I walk...limping and have done therapy on and off since Feb. 2019. My knee is still not right and has a sharp pain from the piece of bone floating around my knee from the fracture that just happened. Was told because the bones had no blood supply which causes bones to get brittle and break. I didn't fall; was just walking up the stairs at home.
Good luck with your issues on your knee.
Lori

Hello, my numbness and tingling started as soon as I woke up. was told that it is normal and it apparently can happen, but my surgeon pinched off the popliteal artery which supplies blood flow to you leg and foot. my toes were turning purple and he still told me it was normal...well it wasn't normal and I ended up having to have surgery to open the artery. part of the feeling came back to my foot, but it is still tingly and numb in areas of my foot and it gets cold very easily. That surgeon said it could be permanently damaged from lack of blood flow to my leg and foot and could have cell and tissue damage.
good luck! Lori

Thank you for your response. FYI. I turn 78 years old yesterday I'm in generally good health , but I do have type 2 diabetes . Tomorrow I will see my regular doctor for another routine follow-up on my type 2 diabetes. What is quite interesting is that I was told it would take up to year for my knee to heal.

I don't remember having numbness in my foot before the total knee replacement and my wife does not remember me talking or complaining about it. I feel some tingling and numbness in the lower part of my left leg, but mostly it's on the top of my left foot.
Obviously, the subject of neuropathy comes up in my mind. Over the past couple of years my blood sugar has been 7 or less on the A1c

Yesterday was one year to the day from my total knee replacement on the left knee. I was told that it would take up to a year for my knee and leg to completely recover.

So I guess what I'm trying to find out it has anyone else have numbness or tingling in their foot on the lake where the total knee replacement was done. Did it last 4 a year? I can tell you that I feel a bit of numbness from the knee replacement down in the leg but it's mostly on the top of my left foot not the bottom. Any ideas or responses would be most welcome! Thank you all!

Hi, @billjan1950 Welcome to Connect.

I have had two TKRs and have not had any numbness. If it's been a year what does your ortho say about it? If he/she does not have any answers then I would get a second opinion from a highly regarded doctor with no association with the original doctor. Preferably a doctor at a major medical center.

One of the real questions is, is this so problematic that it impacts you greatly? It sounds like a nerve issue which I guess may happen sometimes during surgery. If that, it may not be correctable so hopefully it is something that you can live with and put in the back of your mind. It would be good to know precisely what the problem is though.
JK

Hi billjan1950. FYI, I am having the same problem as you. I am 73 years old with Type 2 diabetes and my A1C is usually below 7 and TKR was done on my left knee 9 months ago. Other than the diabetes I am keeping good health. I still get pain in the knee and and there is numbness. My surgeon tells me it takes a year to 18 months for the numbness to go away and so also the pain. He says each one is different and the healing process differs for each individual. For the past three months or so I have started feeling numbness and tingling in my left foot toes, just the small three toes only on the top. I have been massaging with coconut oil every night but no effect yet. I am waiting to ask my surgeon at my next appointment coming up soon what it is due to.

I am also getting pain behind the left knee and the surgeon told me once I have the TKR of the right knee it will get better. I have had the TKR of the right knee 2 1/2 months ago but the pain behind the left knee has gotten worse and so also the pain in the same knee. I am also starting to get the pain behind the left knee also.

I am also having scar tissue problem with my left knee which turned out to be a keloid. I was recommended to see a dermatologist which I did couple of weeks ago. The dermatologist gave me a steroid injection to flatten the scar and may have to take couple more doses of the steroid every 6 weeks. I am also starting to develop a scar tissue on my right knee too. The dermatologist told me to massage at least three times a day with Vaseline which I am doing.

Any advice or recommendations on the problems I am having? Thank you!

@billjan1950, @jnoronha, It does appear that you two have similar quagmires.........recovering from TKR procedures within the time frame you had been expecting, and without the pain you hadn't been expecting. My experience, unlike yours or anyone else's is also different. I have neighbors on both sides recovering from a partial and a total procedure. I don't understand the partial concept but then I didn't choose it. I did hear him say he was going to have another partial on the other knee. Maybe two partials make a whole. "Enough of this for today.....Chris"

The situations that we are dealing with are varied and somewhat unpredictable unless everything is 100% the same. And if that were true (100%) you wouldn't need the surgery and I wouldn't be writing this to try to show you comfort and provide support. What I can do is refer you to a Discussion Post that I wrote a bit ago. If you have a few extra minutes read some of the posts by others. Many have struggled with implementing a rehab program that should have led them to functionality without discomfort within a year.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-can-you-do-to-extend-the-life-of-your-tkr-and-mobility/.
There is no magic exercise or cream or any other form of technology that will make a difference. You can eat right, exercise correctly, sleep well, and keep a heck of a good attitude and you still may run into difficulties.

This is the time to make doubly sure that you asked the right questions of the right person and that there were no misunderstandings or forgotten messages. Because you know more now, you probably can do a better job of describing the sensations you are having and responding to the medical questions you may be asked. Double-check your understanding of verbal suggestions or ask for it in writing.

And finally, just do it exactly the way your clinician says to do it. And then....when it starts to feel better, don't push it. Don't try to have more "bend" than anyone else. Just pat yourself on the back and drop a note to Connect. I am here for you and anxious to be a part of your journey.
May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

My issue with my TKR in the left knee, is not pain. What I have is numbness and a hit of tingling on the top of my left foot above the ankle, and a little bit at the knee itself. As I mentioned earlier, it has been exactly one year since the surgery. I know that nerves take quite a while to heal and I'm hoping that this is simply part of the healing process. I am 78 years old as I said and have type 2 diabetes, but my blood sugar is pretty much under 7 on the A1c. I'm trying to find out if anyone has experience prolonged numbness or tingling. I was checked by the surgeon about six or seven months after the operation and he said things were looking very good, but I know that nerves can be damaged. My concern is that this is not diabetic neuropathy oh, but I'm thinking it's connected to the knee because prior to the surgery I had no problems in my left foot whatsoever. Hopefully someone out there can give me some encouragement or some answers. Thank you very much.6

I had both knees replaced 5 and 6 years ago, I have some numbness in the bottom of both feet, no pain just a numbness feeling. Also some numbness slightly above both ankles, no pain. I’ve been told to live with it.

It would appear a TKR is a crap shoot when it comes to the aftermath numbness. From what I am gathering after reading comments from several places, is that if your numbness does not subside in a week or two after a TKR, you are stuck with it for life. Doctors saying it takes time i.e. a year or two etc. is just to make you feel good and to submit a bill. I have yet to see where a person's numbness has gone away in a year or two, looks like what's done is done and as you said live with it. Thing is, did any surgeon tell/warn anyone about this prior to the TKR? Mine DID NOT! even when asked what could be the down side of the TKR. Note: (surgeon said infection and clicking ONLY)

I am 4 weeks post tkr. My spinal took 30 hrs for foot to recover from numbness. I am making rehab progress but always have slight pins n needles in foot and weak ankles. Things are worse now at 4 weeks. Afraid of permanent nerve damage. Help!