Swelling and stiffness, 3 years after total knee replacement

I had right knee replacement surgery 5 weeks ago. After surgery my whole leg including my foot was numb. As I walked around I could not feel anything I was told that it would get better through the weeks everytime that I mentioned this to my doctor. At first his response was during surgery nerves get challenged due to the surgery. Then the second time I was told that if I had back problems that would cause the numbness in the foot, I was getting a manual manipulation of the knee that morning. Is it possible that a nerve could have been cut causing the numb and tingling feeling?

@monielove I'd like to extend my welcome. Since your knee surgery 5 weeks ago you are experiencing numbness and you are curious if, "a nerve could have been cut [during surgery] causing the numb and tingling feeling?"

You will see that I have moved your question into a discussion in the Joint Replacements group where members are currently discussing knee replacements so you could more quickly connect and get support. You will notice members like @eeppeerr88 @lil1952 @cobweb have experience with this topic and may be a good resource for you. I also encourage you to scroll back through the comments to find previously shared suggestions.

You mention a tingling feeling. Does this mean that there has been some improvement in the numbness since surgery?

Might be the growth of scar tissue. You need a scan. I got X-rays from hospital and my knees were perfect. Got a scan elsewhere and you could see the amount of scar tissue. It interferes with your movement. But nobody wants to remove it! But at least you will have an answer.

I had a TKR 5 years ago and five times within the last 7 weeks my knee blows up the size of a 16 inch baseball. I"m on crutches for 2 days and then i can put weight on it.. I went to see the doctor and he had me get a MRI, CAT Scan, and a Ultra Sound After the test results he says everything looks normal. Well that is impossible and i think these so called doctors have no idea whats going on. I"m 5" 10 and weigh 185. So no weight issues. Anyone have any idea as to what might be going on?

Are you seeing your primary or your ortho doc? Did they ever use a needle to extract any fluid for a culture while it was swollen? It sounds like when my Mom had a systemic infection that would "settle" in the fluid near her knee. Or did they do an ESR blood test to check for systemic inflammation?
Sue

I had TKR 2yrs ago , terrible, then a revision 7 months ago , still swelling below the knee. They tried draining it , nothing. No one seems to have answers other than “ this sometimes happens “. My pain is off the charts with any weight baring Every X-ray or ct scan says nothing wrong. Looks like I am headed for STEMWAVE PNS. You mentioned MRI , I was told that is not reliable after TKR

eeppeerr88- You are searching for a cause to your implant issues. Did you have allergy testing before selecting your implant? I think you should consider allergy blood testing, if you haven't already for all the components of your implant. Many allergy's develop after years of contact like I did because over time the body believes many natural and chemical elements are a foreign substance that must be eliminated. Since childhood I had environmental allergies to grass, pollen and others. As we age our bodies change, in middle age I began developing allergies to contacts like preservatives, fibers, cortisone, rubber and it's elements, adhesives, fragrances, and most recently metals. I know I am an allergic person yet still had to pay $600.00 out of pocket for blood testing for components in the implant; Medicare doesn't cover allergy testing for implants. Best $600 I ever spent. My surgeon didn't recommend this testing, I insisted out of caution and the result was I canceled my scheduled surgery. I tested positive to 5 metal allergies and even though not allergic to titanium the surgeon told me even the titanium implants have traces of the other metals which I am allergic to. i figured I would be better off dealing with my failing knees than to live with the constant pain and swelling of a rejected implant. I have read of many redoes and rejection issues and cannot understand why orthopedist's don't require allergy testing for the components and also why Medicare would prefer to pay for implants and redo of implants that may be rejected and the blood testing could prevent this.
If a candidate has metal allergies there is a ceramic coated metal implant which my orthopedic surgeon recommended, so I went home and studied on the internet and read in the last few years a class action lawsuit was created and ongoing for this implant, How could my doctor not know? He never mentioned this class action lawsuit. This lawsuit began because the bone cement is not adhering to this implant causing failure. I was tested for bone cement (I have several other adhesive allergies) and was not allergic to it, yet some are. According to the lawsuit the company kept making these implants that could fail even when they were aware of rejection. They have the technology to correct this but didn't want to pay for the improvement and thus admit their implant could fail. I know those of us with allergies are in the minority which the companies and doctors feel acceptable.
I have read that all metal implants have metal deterioration due to wear over time and these particles get into surrounding tissues causing inflammation for most and if allergic the inflammation is pronounced, not only in the surrounding tissue but it metal gets into the bloodstream. The only choice is removal.

I find your case fascinating because I have adhesive allergies as well and my first knee replacement had to be revised after 5 years due to the cement having “vanished”. Literally, there was no cement left when they went in to drill out the old knee, the doc just lifted it out without any problem! Now the revision is a bit loose. I wonder if my allergy to adhesive could be related to an allergy to bone cement thereby causing the cement to breakdown and vanish! My other knee is ready for replacement too and now I’m wondering if this is something I need to look at. Since I’ve had allergic reactions in the hospital to all forms of adhesive (from Bandaids to Tegaderm) I’m thinking I need to do the allergy testing. I’m also allergic to Nickel which piqued my inquiry.

I went through very similar, such pain after TKR , tried so many things even the allergy test , which I had to pay vast amount of, only to show nothing. The search continues

Nickel is probably the most common metal allergy because it is easily recognized. That's why costume jewelry has "nickel free" pierced earring posts. I learned early on my pieced ear holes would swell and turn black, but gold or surgical steel posts were okay sometimes but gold is the best. Blood Test showed I have a moderate nickel and moderate aluminum allergy the other metal allergies are only mild, but with exposure I have learned allergies become more severe. I do not understand why the 5 Day Extended Patch Test on the skin didn't show a reaction to metals. I even had it done twice for metals, yet I had clear reactions on the blood test. The full 5 Day Extended Patch Test testing for about 80 natural and chemical elements, plus the full metal panel is an additional cost. Basic 5 day test, $1,500 plus and Medicare pays for this. Yet Medicare wouldn't pay for the this metal test in the blood which my ortho said was more reliable for metals.
I learned I blister up from liquid bandage as well as other adhesive Band-Aid products. Yet some are okay. I do fine with the adhesive on paper tape. Also blood test showed no allergy to bone cement. This bone cement was not on my 5 day Extended Skin patch test.
If your bone cement is gone, it doesn't really vanish. It is transferred from your cells into your blood stream but I have no idea how long it lasts there before the body eliminates it.
You may not be allergic, but your body seems to attacking the bone cement to break it down and eliminate it.