Fluid retention after a knee replacement

I just started the massage to help with fluid, swelling and tightness.
She mentioned dry needling to look into.

I am having the same problem with my TKR. Since my knee was operated on and it has always had fluid but my doctor said that it would eventually go away. A year later and I still have fluid and tightness in my knee. I went to see my osteopathic surgeon and he told me it's basically going to be something I have to live with for the rest of my life. I just don't understand what is causing the fluid. He didn't even offer to perform an aspiration. He just took an x-ray and said everything looks good inside the knee so there's nothing he can do about it. I'm just very concerned that every morning I wake up and there's a big fluid bubble on the side of my knee and it shifts around during the day when I'm walking but as soon as I relax my leg it pops back out on the left side of my left knee.

@bussysconsuktant
This type of conduct is so annoying to me. A truly good surgeon also looks for non surgical solutions first and is flexible to solve any problems that come up. A bad surgeon looks at an x-ray and declares it either looks good or bad and sends you on your way.

Your knee should command the attention of your surgeon until the surgical effects are concluded. I did not need such attention but nonetheless I had a one week meeting, a six week phone call, a six month meeting and a one year further out scheduled. I also can communicate with him and his staff via the portal or a phone call.

The beginning of your meeting with your surgeon he should have said something like: I have reviewed the x-rays and they look fine. But obviously something is wrong to give you this problem. lets focus on solving that.,

I had my tkr over 2 years ago and still have swelling and tightness, though very little pain. I knew I was allergic to nickel so he used a Smith And Nephew Legion implant which contains no nickel.
An MRI one year after surgery showed edema in suprapatelar but no synovitis. Tried lymphatic massage which did not help. No answers, but the fluid moves around side of my knee and on top of knee and lately it has gotten worse.

@caseybo1115 You would think a good surgeon after the one year post op visit would tell you, the knee x-ray looks good but let's try to find out what's causing the fluid buildup. Could it be a snynovial leak? My TKR caused a domino effect in my case, while I was still doing physical therapy for my knee, I slipped in the shower when the knee buckled forward unexpectedly and I ended up fracturing my clavicle, hit my tailbone really hard, and ended up with a good sized hematoma on my head. Four months later during physical therapy, my therapist said I was doing so well that he doubled my sit to stand exercises from 2 sets of 10 to 2 sets of 20. My right hip replacement which was done a year before started having pains from the hip down through the femoral stem. It hurt so bad I had to cancel further physical therapy. For two months, my right leg was so sore I had to start using my walker and my cane again. The surgeon who did the hip replacement ordered an x-ray which showed nothing wrong with the hip. Finally after 4 months of constant pain, I asked my PCP if he could order an MRI of my hip to see what was causing the pain. The MRI showed a torn gluteus minimus and a torn gluteus medius. I went back to the hip surgeon and he reviewed the MRI and said I needed more physical therapy for my right leg. So here I am a year after my knee replacement still doing physical therapy. Needless to say I was really ticked off with my physical therapist who pushed me too hard too soon at my age. I made sure he knew what he had done. I now go to a different therapy company. i just hope my right knee never goes because I don't think I ever want to go through this again.

@bussysconsuktant
It sure looks like you have been the victim of poor health providers. I also question your surgeon who orders an x-ray, declares it looks ok, and washes his hand of you. Why would you have to go to your PCP for a diagnostic imaging (MRI)?

After that I would want a second opinion on how to proceed.

If any TKR patients finds a professional that has any known solution to excess synovial fluid post TKR I would be eternally grateful. Had both my knees replaced 4 years ago now. First knee showed the issue 4 months after replacement. I did my second knee a few months later and it too began the production of excess synovial fluid. During the past 4 years I have consulted with two other orthopedic surgeons, arthritis specialist (have none) , tested for metal allergies (have none), and interventional radiologist. Knees are swollen, warm to touch, painful and weirdly, X-rays show bone spurs on what the surgeon left as clean surfaces post joint replacement. Use ice packs twice a day and when doing walks or cycling wear knee wraps. Pretty much told to live with it. I painfully walked away (pun intended) from the greater Seattle medical community with the impression nobody has seen this in a patient before. I wrote about this in the Mayo Clinic forum back at the outset of my journey and I am saddened to see others dealing with it. Hopeful to find an answer

@clark1955 There is a surgeon in the Seattle area that did some interesting work a decade ago. James W. Pritchett. If he is not one of the ones you consulted, he is probably worth checking in with.

I will follow up on your lead. Thank you