Loose knee implant

Posted by lmc @lmc, Jul 21, 2024

I had TKR 14 months ago and the surgery was unsuccessful. Now, I am told that the implant is loose. It slips out of position each time I move.
Has anyone had this experience? What is done to rectify this situation?

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Hi, I've had bilateral replacement and also had 2 revisions because of a loose implant, but it was the spacer/liner that they replaced. The right one was refitted three years ago and seven months I had the left one done. They put in twice as thick of a spacer. That helped us to stabilize the knee. still having some issues with soft tissue an recovery because they can't just swap out the part they have to open the whole knee to check the stability where it is implanted in the femur and tibia. Luckily that was solid.

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Hello @lmc, I'd like to invite @rennk, @melcpa86, @gardeningranny and @hbaudouin to share their stories with various parts of their knee replacement becoming loose.

@lmc, has a potential revision been discussed with you as a fix? Have any exercises or options been discussed with you by your provider who found the implant to be loose?

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I am awaiting the results of an MRI before any decision is made.

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Profile picture for Justin McClanahan, Moderator @JustinMcClanahan

Hello @lmc, I'd like to invite @rennk, @melcpa86, @gardeningranny and @hbaudouin to share their stories with various parts of their knee replacement becoming loose.

@lmc, has a potential revision been discussed with you as a fix? Have any exercises or options been discussed with you by your provider who found the implant to be loose?

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My replacement hasn’t been right since day 1. It’s been two years and I’ve had PT, have exercised…specifically to strengthen areas surrounding the knee…and I’ve had multiple surgeons tell me I need to start over. They look at the x-rays and tell me that the alignment looks good but that it’s obviously loose. I just saw a surgeon that says the issue is that the spacer that was put in is too thin which is what is causing it to be loose so they said they can replace that instead of starting over. After two years of pain, I hope he’s right.

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Thanks for this response. Three surgeons have said that the alignment looks fine. I know it must be fixed because I don't want to go on feeling miserable. In addition to the pain, the incision is still warm and not completely closed 15 months post surgery.

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Profile picture for aliciavillarosa @aliciavillarosa

Hi, I've had bilateral replacement and also had 2 revisions because of a loose implant, but it was the spacer/liner that they replaced. The right one was refitted three years ago and seven months I had the left one done. They put in twice as thick of a spacer. That helped us to stabilize the knee. still having some issues with soft tissue an recovery because they can't just swap out the part they have to open the whole knee to check the stability where it is implanted in the femur and tibia. Luckily that was solid.

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I am sorry you still have issues. Have you tried massaging the area? Massaging with oils helps a lot. You can use coconut, or vitamin E oil.
As for your revision surgery, when the Dr changed the plastic spacer to a thicker one, didn’t it cause that leg to become slightly longer than the other one? I have had bilateral TKR in the last year and a half and now one of my implants is loose. My surgeon also said that all he has to do is put a thicker spacer but I am concerned it will result in that leg becoming slightly longer and cause other posture issues. I appreciate your opinion.

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Hi, so sorry that your implants became loose so quickly. And yes, when I had my first spacer replacement, it was pretty noticeable initially that one leg felt longer than the other, but it wasn't long before my body adjusted probably less than two weeks where I didn't notice it at all. And when I had the spacer replaced a few years later in my other knee I barely noticed any difference initially and nothing over the next few days. And yes, I've been trying a lot of things acupuncture dry needling Cortizone shots. Some other saline solutions. I just had a CT scan to try to figure out what's happening fingers crossed that the Doctor, an osteopath can help me resolve this because it seems the implants/hardware is fine so something going on with the soft tissue. It is on the outside so maybe continuing issue with the IT band but it's not used to my non-native knees.

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Profile picture for dgilcrest @dgilcrest

My replacement hasn’t been right since day 1. It’s been two years and I’ve had PT, have exercised…specifically to strengthen areas surrounding the knee…and I’ve had multiple surgeons tell me I need to start over. They look at the x-rays and tell me that the alignment looks good but that it’s obviously loose. I just saw a surgeon that says the issue is that the spacer that was put in is too thin which is what is causing it to be loose so they said they can replace that instead of starting over. After two years of pain, I hope he’s right.

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Did you get that taken care of? Here too I had 22 month old replacement horrible since day one. Ts felt unstable, loose, shifting, etc…. had a second replacement new surgeon and he did a great job. He is doing my revision next week. Whether it’s just a spacer change or whole new knee he won’t know until he gets in there. He did know from just manipulating my leg it was definitely loose. This has been the case from the way beginning.

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Hi can anyone tell what their specific symptoms were with loose implants/ spacers. I'm 2.5 years into a disaster now. Had a partial knee replacement in April 23 , it became loose so was replaced in Aug, this still didn't work so had total replacement in Dec 23. Then got sepsis in Jan 24 so had to be opened and washed out. In April this year discovered that sepsis had destroyed my remaining cruciate so knee was dislocating so another replacement, this time a stabilising one. And now I'm here and all seems to be happening again. Pain on both sides, esp after standing or sitting, catching or clunking when walking and feels like leg just dangling. Please help

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It has been over 2 years since my total knee replacement and I have had nothing but trouble with it. It has been deemed a failed surgery with pain which still wakes me up at night, swelling, and clicking or popping in and around the implant. Within the next 2 weeks, I will be seeing the knee surgeon and will BEG him to order an MRI of the knee. By the way, my original surgeon retired since the surgery and passed me along to a "fresh set of eyes" as he said before he dumped me. The popping and snapping of the joint is getting worse.

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