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TKR revision surgery and problems
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Aug 27, 2022 | Replies (87)Comment receiving replies
@contentandwell I had bilateral Jan 2019. MUA Feb 2019. Active, healthy, 125lbs, 61 yr old. No health issues at all other than bad knees. Should have been an excellent candidate for surgery. After the manipulation things never got better. I was diligent with PT at home and I still go once a week at 6 months post op. By April I felt frustrated and so did my PT's with the little progress I was making. The pain was unbearable, still is. I still can't walk very well, people tell me it's painful to watch me walk. I can't stand for more than 10 minutes due to pain. At 5 months my surgeon said "just part of recovery". My PT's didn't agree and suggested a second opinion. It was with a top surgeon who specializes in failed implants and revisions. He said they appear to be too big for me, along with knee caps that were not placed back properly. I have 3 different sizes ranging from 3-5 in the surgical notes. 2 nd opinion Dr. suggested revision on right femur that is a size 5, tibia size 4, he could shave the plate and use the tibia implant. On my left knee I have a 4 femur and 3 tibia, so not as big nor as painful, but still not the right fit. He said to revise right and if I was pleased with the outcome I could consider the left or just live with it. I asked about custom fitting before surgery and was told no one in the area did that, would have to travel out state. I'm trying to decide how long to wait, Dr said within 18 months (which would be 24 months post op). The pain and rehab are still pretty fresh with me, so I want to know if those that had revisions were satisfied with outcomes.
Replies to "@contentandwell I had bilateral Jan 2019. MUA Feb 2019. Active, healthy, 125lbs, 61 yr old. No..."
@doodles418 It sounds as though you are on track now. I’m happy that you found a good surgeon who was able to diagnose your problem. I know a woman who spent two years in pain until she finally found a surgeon who knew what to do. It was also a size problem, but in her case I think it was the stem.
The doctor sounds very confident and thorough, I would say, “go for it”. The only other possible thing would be to get a second opinion if that would make you more comfortable. My husband had an ankle problem when we were first married. Four different doctors said four different things but two were fairly similar so my husband consulted with the doctor I had back then, a dean at Harvard Medical, the doctor said that both were going into the ankle so then it would be very apparent what the problem was. My husband chose one of the doctors and he was the one who had diagnosed the problem correctly. The surgery was successful and my husband is 100% most of the time. Occasionally the ankle does bother him.
It sounds as if you will be getting relief soon. Keep us up on your progress and surgery.
JK
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Wow @doodles418 - Your recovery journey sounds like a nightmare. I am so impressed that you are being so methodical in continuing your PT, getting the 2nd opinion(s) and evaluating your options. I've had two TKR's and never knew that the patient had to worry about size. In fact, I have no idea what size mine are. My last TKR was January and I can only imagine how discouraging it must be to be this far post-op and still dealing with pain. It sounds as if you are thinking of getting a revision in January 2021 - and wondering if you can do it sooner. Is that correct? I can see why you would want to get relief sooner rather than later. Wishing you the best.