Patella resurfacing after total knee replacement

Posted by ladydiane @ladydiane, Aug 18 2:02pm

My original surgeon who did my knee replacement did not resurface my patella. He said it was because it was too thin( 20mm). It has been 11 months and I have continued pain. Am seeing a new orthopedic surgeon tomorrow to possibly talk about resurfacing the patella. Any insight or questions I should ask would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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grandpun | @grandpun | Aug 19 6:11am

Same here; though first surgeon didn't give an explanation for why not correcting the patella.
And FWIW, 20mm doesn't sound "thin" to me.
I had continued pain as well and found an excellent surgeon who had "done it all".
Try to find a surgeon (soon!) who has done many revisions.
My patella was also off location to the side and also needed correction the original surgeon missed.
Definitely find a new surgeon.
Good luck and freedom from the pain.

steveinarizona | @steveinarizona | Aug 19 6:45am

There are always solutions. See @sailnsun's comments:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/3rd-knee-replacement-in-a-year-and-a-half-on-same-knee/
You most definitely need a new surgeon. Leaving your knee without reshaping the patella is awful.

ladydiane | @ladydiane | Aug 19 7:34pm

Thanks for the comments. I think I’m going back in for the revision.

tiredoftkr | @tiredoftkr | Aug 23 2:34pm

Hi,
Take this on with a high degree of research and caution. My patella was screwed as a result of surgery. Looks like a side lying doorknob. The tracking is very off with continuous 24/7 swelling that will not abate.
My (finally) very smart ortho consult explained their entire business tried 40 patella resurfacings and they resulted in a 90% infection rate. Device infection is a nightmare.
No qualified, ethically centered surgeon should offer resurfacing. As a side note do not accept steroid injections into a device area. Also high risk of infection.
It is something I am learning to live with and conduct work around and focused PT for other muscles to do the ‘heavy lifting’.
A barrel of fun but 2.5 years on I am making peace with the mess.