Swelling and stiffness, 3 years after total knee replacement

going on 5 years with pain and swelling. Now drs said it has come lose. Fun and games. This is why i did not do my other knee and did stem cells and PRP. So far it has worked. Downside is the cost is out of pocket. Your decision. I elected no surgery and the ability to knell down when i garden etc. We are seeing more insurance coverage in our area. The local hospital now covers all its employees. Ortho surgeons are doubters.

Did they know it came lose with X-ray ? What is PRP ? I know, I’m sick of this already . They said I need other one, and doc actually said, more pain.

platelet rich plasma, look it up. They suspect its lose. I walk down steps backwards as it hurts going forward. I notice it when i bike as swelling goes up, but i continue to bike. Prp helps my other knee but nothing short of a redo will help me now

@bengalady I too would want to know why. I would definitely seek another opinion. I really don't think it matters if you tell the new doctor that you want another opinion, unless the new doctor is in the same medical facility or area as the other doctors. In that case, I think they often do not want to contradict colleagues.
I hope you get some answers. Have you made an appointment yet? I know, it tends to take forever to get an appointment with highly regarded doctors. I am waiting for an appointment with a doctor for my osteoporosis and it's not until January! He was booking in February but my transplant doctor put a word in for me. I am hoping I will get in sooner, I am on the waiting list.
JK

Hello @bengalady. Is your ROM hindered by scar tissue? Has that been discussed as a possible reason for your ROM only being 100 and possibly as well as your pain? You may find this conversation worth your time to read through and participate in as well, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/scar-tissue-after-knee-replacement/.

Thank you. So frustrating. I mentioned to the Doctor about this, he just said no...………...I'll check out thread.

Wow, how frustrating to have to wait that long ! I haven't made appointment yet. I see Pain doctor in a few days....(Which, I don't really agree with, but we'll see.) I'm not going to say anything about second opinion, small community. This last MD, said to me, "Well, I'm going to tell you like the other docs told you, ….ie nothing can be done." That was the jest of it. It's like they think its all in my head.

Could you be allergic to the implant? If allergic I imagine there would be inflamation in the area and do not know if that would show up in an xray.
Why I can't have a knee replacement- My ortho was ready to proceed with my knee replacement this spring but I insisted upon metal allergy and bone cement allergy testing first. He told me he hadn't had issues with rejection, but I am an allergic person and would rather proceed cautiously. I have Allergic Contact Dermatitis, ACD, and Patch Testing showed about 7 allergies out of 80 sites. I have multiple adhesive allergies but was never tested for the adhesive in bone cement. In my Patch Test Panel's I never have the metal panels run. I have known I react to nickle all my life. He ordered a blood tes stating this was more accurate than the Patch Test and I was told I must pay $600 up front as Medicare doesn't pay for this test. My blood test came back showing allergies to 5 metals, the bone cement was safe. He said there would not be one metal implant I could use; although not allergic to titanium, even titanium has traces of other metals I would react to. No problem as he could put in a ceramic coated implant so no metal would contact me and was ready to proceed. I did the homework on the "Gold" implant (called this as the ceramic is gold in color). Last year a class action lawsuit was filed as many have learned the bone cement won't adhere to the implant, moisture builds up between the ceramic coating and bone cement and the implant comes loose from the bone.I figure I am better off accepting the limitations I have now rather than risk rejection. I have a file with the exact name of this implant if interested I ill look it up.
I am appealing to Medicare to reimburse me for this blood test expense based upon my doctors "letter of necessity" because of my allergic history. Yet even if not reimbursed I am grateful for this test..

Thank you. I have never heard of this treatment and it many be my only option because of allergies to metals. I can walk level without pain all day, but like you knelling is an issue.Stairs are slow but manageable. I am an active gardener and I must use a kneeling bench which I carry with me so I can get off the ground. I even have a kneeling bench for cleaning baseboards or other housework. I can use my arms to push me up. Getting out of a bath is painful and almost impossible now, but I love showers so no big deal. I feared I had no options if I deteriorate further; I'm turning 71 soon and hope to keep these knees going for another decade at least. I will look up the stem cell and PRP. Once my ortho surgeon learned of my metal allergies and I rejected the idea of the ceramic implant he recommended based up class action lawsuits because of rejection he gave me no other option.

@gardeningjunkie Many people have great success with stem cells. It is not 100% successful though and very few insurances cover it, although I have no idea if Medicare does. If you are in pain though it’s worth a try if you can afford it.

I had a procedure done before I was on Medicare that my regular (BC-BS) would not pay for without a pre-authorization. Then they still rejected it and I had to fight for them to pay. The funny thing was that it is covered by Medicare, maybe because it was a kyphoplasty to repair a broken vertebra and that is more common in people who have osteoporosis, which I did not, at that time so even though regular insurance does not cover it maybe if your doctor will plead your case it will get covered.
JK