Scar tissue after knee replacement

Hi exflyer how were you informed about excessive scar tissue? I had a TKR 5 years ago but within the last 3 months the inflamation and pain has increased terribly.

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I had a partial knee replacement done 10 years ageand it has been fine. I’m a dancer and have actively danced on it from 8 weeks post surgery. I had a partial done on my other knee in May and had nothing but issues with it. It continued to be painful and when I had my first tele-visit follow-up at 3 weeks they said oh you’re still in the 12 Wk post op period, it will get better. PT kept saying they could feel scar tissue and continued to try to break it up. At 15 weeks I requested an in person visit with the surgeon. He took X-rays and said everything was aligned and looked fine maybe my body just needed more time to feel better. I had great range of motion so it wasn’t scar tissue but still felt pain in the joint. I saw my regular orthopedist for other issues and mentioned it to him. He took more xrays and said I had bone spurs on the patella. He recommended that I get them removed. He went in arthroscopically and removed a large bone spur and scar tissue along the incision line where I had been saying it hurt to stand or walk. That day after surgery it didn’t hurt to stand. Within 4 days I was able to walk and stand without joint pain and was up to 85 on the CPM. I can’t even explain how relieved I am. Yes there is some minor surgery pain but nothing like what I was feeling.

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This has been a long journey. My surgeon had a policy of waiting a minimum of six weeks between knee replacements in order to have the first knee partially restored to normal function and observing how the recovery is progressing prior to doing the second knee. My first knee recovered beautifully and six weeks later the second knee was replaced on schedule. The second knee did not recover as quickly and about four weeks after the TKR I returned for a Manipulation Under Anesthesia (MUA). Following the MUA I was able to achieve full range of motion in that knee, although it was more painful than the first knee. Within a couple of months I was able to ride a bike, go up and down stairs normally, take long hikes and cross country ski. After a few more months I realized that I was beginning to lose my ROM and it was getting more difficult to go up and down stairs so I returned to the surgeon who said all of the components appeared to be normal and he recommended additional physical therapy. Once I began therapy the therapist noticed that even following marginal improvement in ROM following a therapy session the ROM had decreased by my next visit and he diagnosed my problem as arthrofibrosis. At this point I went to a different surgeon for a second opinion and following a negative test to see if my problem was due to an infection and X-rays that confirmed all TKR components appeared to be normal, he agreed that the issue was arthrofibrosis (excessive scar tissue).

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I had a TKR of the left knee in August 2019 and a TKR of my right knee in July 2020. When I finished PT on my left knee in December 2019 my ROM was 130-0. I noticed in May that my toe was dragging while going down stairs and it was harder getting into my car so I went back to PT. My ROM measured 102. By the time I finished with PT in June it was back to 124. When I was in pre-op before my right knee replacement I mentioned this to my surgeon. He decided to manipulate my left knee while I was under. He reported to my husband that there was significant scar tissue. It felt great after surgery; no more tightness or feeling like I had a 3 lbs weight attached to my knee. At this point, I was in PT for my right knee replacement. I started suffering horrible sciatic pain and the focus of my PT transitioned from knee to sciatic. At the end of PT, my right knee measured 124-0. My surgeon sent me to a pain management dr who did an injection for my sciatic pain (which helped right away). In the midst of all this, I didn't notice the change in my left knee. To shorten the story... I'm 6-months post op from my Right TKR and both of my knees have tightness and heaviness and feel like I'm dragging around 3 lbs weights on both of them. I'm still experiencing some pain in my right knee (feels like bone pain) but that's probably to be expected. My surgeon sent me for an MRI of my left hip to make sure it wasn't causing problems with my left knee. I saw a colleague of his (does both knees and hips) who thinks I need to have the scar tissue removed from both of my knees...He estimated my ROM on both knees to now be 105 cold. I'm scheduled to see my surgeon next Monday to discuss. After reading some of your posts, I'm not sure whether I should pursue arthroscopic removal of the scar tissue or not. Thoughts?

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Of course there seems to be some scar tissue with any surgery but TKR seems to build quickly. I had TKR just over 2yrs ago , range of motion was not bad but very painful, did a revision 8 months ago, range of motion improved but pain remains the same. I am told it’s nerve damage that can come with any surgery. I have tried so many things now it’s down to having nerve stimulator placed in my quad to block pain. Having it done in January, I just want to take a walk. Not to much to ask. Keep the faith

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I had scar tissue removed 5 months after a partial knee replacement. I had been having continued pain standing and walking. Very frustrating. I mentioned to my regular orthopedist and he did arthroscopic surgery to remove bone spurs from my patella and significant scar tissue along the incision line. Best decision ever! By 3 days post op I was walking unassisted and not in pain as before!

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Hi there .... yes, I've had scar tissue develop also. It developed slowly over time, but by the time I hit the 1 year mark, my surgeon went in - arthroscopically - and cleaned it up. But, it never was right, and in another year I had to have a revision - a totally new replacement. Since then, my knee could not be any better. I don't know why this happens to some and not to others ... but after several other options had been tried, including the arthroscopic surgery, I opted to just do the revision .... I'm glad I did.
abby

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