Partial knee replacement: How was your experience?

I'm tagging fellow members who have had a partial knee replacement (PKR) like @kneeproblem @l2consulting @starbright21 @tchandek @pkrjuly102023 @cm19 to share with you.

As we wait for others to join in, you might appreciate this article.
Partial vs. Total Knee Replacement Surgery https://www.verywellhealth.com/total-partial-knee-replacement-2552271

It sounds like PKR was recommended in your situation because of the favorable lateral compartment (outside of the knee). How is the patellofemoral compartment (in front of the knee)? Is your surgeon experienced in working with partial knee replacements?

A partial knee replacement is the worst thing ever mine fell apart and had to wait a year with it in my knee until I could see a new doctor

I don't know much about a PKR. I've had both knees totally replaced. I'm extremely happy with the results.

Just one warning. People who post here have generally had bad experiences and are in the minority of all patients getting knee replacement surgery. In many cases I suspect they simply didn't do the rehab work required, or they had a bad surgeon, or there were other infrequent problems.

If you are satisfied with your surgeon and are diligent about post op rehab, my guess is you'll be fine. I was bone-on-bone as well and know that pain. All surgery is painful for a while, but I'm sure you'll see the pain/stiffness decline each day if you're solid on your PT/rehab.

All the best to you!

I had a PKR in August. While I was going to Physical Therapy the Therapist bent my knee to get a good measurement (for her). And did it several times until I was crying. Turns out she tore my meniscus causing other problems. I was miserable for 3 months and finally had an MRI. My surgeon had to go in and clean up my knee about 2 weeks ago. I am doing better now but after the last surgery I was told they found arthritis on the side that was supposed to be fine. So I feel like I should have had a TKR because then I wouldn’t have had a meniscus to tear. This is just what happened to me. As the person before said most people come to this website that have problems. I have to say I appreciate this website because it has given me a lot of good information and support. Good luck!

I had my partial knee replacement on 16 may 2023. At the start everything appeared fine and I told the surgeon on one visit that the knee was "sore." He replied that I had just had surgery.
Then a bit later I started having inflamation, pain and swelling and returned to the surgeon and he aspirated some fluid from the knee and sent it to the lab for culture but nothing definitive was noted. He then ordered an MRI and it reflected inflammation and said that the only thing that would "fix it is a total knee replacement."
I am going for a second opinion to a different surgeon this Tues (28 Nov) and see what he recommends. I now have aching, a "click" of the ligament behind the knee when arising from a sitting position to standing with pain, can't do yardwork, knee aches and hurts and overall, I am not at all pleased with the outcome of the Oxford procedure.

I had a partial and told the PT folks that it had pain and loss of ROM and she said that usually when a partial is done, within a year a TKR is done. I had a partial and all that time of recovery and healing was wasted because I should have insisted on a TKR. Had I had a total when I had the partial I would have been well on the road to complete healing but now I have to start over. You might want to talk to the people where you are going to have to undergo PT and see what they say...not that they know the specifics of your knee but in general they might give you some valuable info.

Thanks for writing this, although I'm sorry for what you went through.

You raise a good point - why do a PKR if a TKR is inevitable? Clearly your PT did harm to you, but a torn meniscus doesn't cause osteoarthritis (it's the other way around). Again, I don't know enough about PKRs.

Before I finally had my knees replaced, the meniscus and articular cartilage had started to wear away from arthritis spurs. My knees felt ok during this time but my marathon days were over. But it was 20 years after I lost all of the medial meniscus in one knee before I had the replacements. During this time I was able to do yoga and could have exercised on a bike - any exercise non-impact was fine (except the breast stroke in the pool - puts stress on the knee due to the angle of the kick).

Anyway, sorry again for what you're going through. If you do have a TKR, find a surgeon who specializes in "revisions". These surgeons know how to do a TKR when there has been a PKR or other prosthetic-based surgery on the knee.

All the best friend!

Great point. And find a good surgeon. The best are usually in their mid 30s to mid 40s with a solid pedigree (med school, residency, or both), have done hundreds of not thousands of procedures, and who are up on current technology (robot assisted joint replacement).

I've had both knees replaced, with terrific results. Find a good surgeon and put in the required work in PT/therapy and all will likely be well.

And for those considering it, a PKR seems like a huge waste of time. I can't imagine insurance would deny a TKR in place of a PKR. Sorry for what you've been through starbright.

You are exactly correct! Find a good surgeon with a good track record of success. The one that I found to do the revision of the partial has doen over 12,000 and his reviews are stellar. Of course, we all know that reviews can be misleading and sometimes come from the organizations themselves. In my case, this surgeon wants home health care and PT and has already arranged that they see me at home.