I had an appointment yesterday at ten months following my total knee replacement. Apart from the appointments circus where my appointment was scheduled at 3:50pm. I arrived early at 3:30pm and finally actually got to see the consultant at 4:50pm....Grrrrr...Anyway, I digress.
He asked how it was going and I said, to be honest I'm not particularly happy. I don't have anything like the degree of bend I was expecting, and it's nowhere near the bend in my 'good' knee. Also, it's still swollen after 10 months.
At this point he informed me that if the bend is around 100 degrees (which it is), they would consider this to be a successful outcome, and it's never going to be anywhere near as flexible (in terms of bend as my good knee. He also said (moving the goalposts again) that sometimes it can take up to 18 months for the swelling to go away!
I insisted he take a look at the swelling, whereupon he said "that's not the knee that's swollen...It's the muscle above and to the right of the knee, and we need to find out what's causing that"...he said..."If the knee was swollen, that's not where I would expect to see the swelling"....Great....(NOT)...
So now I've got to wait another month for an ultrasound scan (appointment to be sent at some later date) and have an Xray to find out what's going on.
None of this information was given to me prior to the operation...I'm angry and put in very polite terms...'slightly miffed'...
Was anyone else aware of this 100 degrees thing?....And the elastic timescale for swelling to subside?
Hi Pete,
I have 135 degrees at 18 weeks, my surgeon said that he would not expect any more and I could damage the knee if I tried to improve on it.
Regards Paul
Ahhhhhh,our glorious NHS! They do a great job with limited resources but we suffer in the meantime. I also have issues with my TKR of 15 mths and am in the process of having a second opinion (after waiting 2 months referral from GP) ,had a CT scan 10 days ago and now waiting 4weeks for review of said scan. All this time I am still taking regular pain relief,broken nights and crippling shifts as a midwife.
I hope your story improves.
Hi Pete, sorry to hear this. You were doing so well initially. I knew about the 'up to 18 months' thing, it was in the literature I was given. My bend is 130 and has been the same since I was discharged in November. I still have swelling but my osteopath says it is fluid still 'protecting' the knee. He is working on draining it. I can kneel on a cushion but not the floor but the main thing is that I can walk for miles without pain. A massive improvement. Let us know how it goes. I wish you well.
Thank you Carol. I certainly can't walk for 'miles'...Or maybe I can, I don't know....Maybe I could if I was distracted by wandering around shops perhaps?...haha
I think half the problem from day one for me, was the issue of swelling...and it's never really gone away. Now it seems it's the muscle above it, that's causing a problem....
Silly question I know, but people say, I've got this or that degree bend...How the hell does one measure it?....I can guestimate mine...But that's all...I obviously know what 90 degrees is, but any sort of accuracy beyone that is a guess for me....And nobody since I finished physio after 6 weeks post op has measured it....
I wouldn't mind so much if we didn't canstantly have to 'wait' for appointments....Yes I know they're busy...But come on....I was told the ultrasound scan would be between 4 and 5 weeks away....and once that's done, I've got to make another appointment with the consultant (I was told) no more than 2 weeks following the scan...So I'm looking at the best part of another 2 months before he will even see the scan, and then he'll probably say I need a CT or MRI scan or something else, cos it's inconclusive...I can just telegraph it all...Sigh
Good question Pete. I base mine on when it was last measured and it doesn't seem to have improved since then. My walks are mostly along the beach. I hate shopping.
Ah...Now that's where you have the advantage over me....I'd be very happy to attempt to walk along the beach....But there's not too many of them in Barnsley in South Yorkshire...hahaha
Ah well, North Wales is full of them. Also full of mountains but can't do those any more.
Just amazed at the different standards in the NHS. I live in Somerset, which I hate, a county with no culture, no good amenities and very little going for it. However, we have book and choose for the NHS and what a difference it makes. Six weeks maximum waiting time and NO surgery cancellations. One stop appointments you see the surgeon and move around his team and finally to the booking team to find a date to suit. When I went back the last time I complained of some discomfort in the side of my knee, x-rays were ordered instantly, I had to wait 15 minutes, then, back to see him and went through the x-rays in detail, knee fine! If I had needed a scan he would have ben there to view it straight away. This type of efficiency must save money and if it can happen in some hospitals it should be able to be the norm!
As for bend, I have never worked out how to measure it but the physio's have a gadget and the policy at Sheppton is to achieve a minimum of 110 and 0 straight. My consultant makes me sit forward on a chair bend my good leg back as far as I can and then to get the operated knee to match it, that apparently gives you 140 degrees, and I can now do that very easily. still having problems with walking normally upstairs, but he says that jut needs more determination from me. I still have some swelling and have started doig lymph draining massage which is improving it. I found a good do it yourself video on Utube. I think I would kick up a stink about waiting so long, it's not acceptable when it prevents you getting on with your life.
Being honest, what level of pain did you have to go through to get to 140? I seem to be stuck at about 95 . .maybe a bit more . . and can't seem to improve on it. Is it just that I'm being a coward? Even pushing the leg with all my strength and gritting my teeth, I don't seem to be able to get it any further back . .
The guy I saw yesterday told me that some of the joints fitted are just not designed to go any further...he showed me the xray of mine and said "look...Here the angle is too shallow for it to go any further"...Something else I wasn't told.....
It is very poor....I'm pretty sure they don't give a thought to how it does seriously affect your life and lifestyle, both before and after...It's unbelievable that I've got to wait for another 2 months for him to scratch his chin and say, we need to do some more tests....Do they think it's gonna mysteriously fix itself if they make us wait and wait and wait?
So why on earth do they fit those joints! Cheaper perhaps? I suppose I should have asked more at the initial consultation . . I just saw him, and he said yes, you need a TKR . . one month on crutches, three on a cane, and that was the info I was given . . Should have asked more, obviously . . No advice re post op care, leg lifters, or toilet seat supplements, what to expect in terms of pain, time to recover etc. etc. . From the discharge papers I see the implant was made by Zimmer . . but that's it! He said maximum 110 at the six week consultation, but I don't think I am there yet . . . It's more than 90 . I can see that, but have no real way of checking. I know there is a goniometer but haven't got one. . . But so far, no real problems, and I think they are really messing you about. they've done the operation . .the post op tests etc. should be a lot quicker than they are giving you.
Maybe between us all on here...and knowing what we know now, from bitter experience, we should compile a list of questions other need to ask at the consultation stage....So we have definitive answers to pre-prepared questions....I could post it on my website for others to see...
I was thinking how good it would be if when you decided on a TKR, they would give you a leaflet with suggestions, etc. . . and I believe many people in the UK did have informative talks before the op. there was absolutely nothing here in Tenerife . . . and I did totally underestimate the impact this operation would have on my life. I would not have had it done to tell the truth if I had known, as although walking was painful, it was quite possible especially if I didn't bend the knee. I suppose now that I am on the road to recovery I can say I am glad I have had it done, but until about week 4/5 I bitterly regretted it! One disadvantage we women have is having to sit down for a pee! That was SO difficult for the first couple of weeks, and with cistitis sometimes it was as many as ten times a night. What a boon it would have been to have that toilet seat supplement, but there was no way I could get to a shop to buy one until really it was no longer necessary! However, I should have researched more on internet before the op . . my fault really . . . .
I thought I had researched quite well....And asked the right questions....Sure I asked questions, but not the ones that matter I find now...Only now is information I should have known crawling out of the woodwork....
I haven't a clue what was fitted into my knee. I did ask if there was a choice of joints and if some were better than others. He told me he carefully researched the replacements and used the one with the best proven track record and that was what he would use. I asked how long it would be before I could walk the dogs, he said about a month, and he was spot on. I have never gone through any pain with my bend or straightening, when it goes to the full 140, it feels tight but no pain at all. Obviously the joint he fitted has a full range of movement otherwise he would not have kept pushing me to bend it more and more.
My problem is my hamstring, in the groin and where it attaches to the knee, at times it really makes me jump and I haven't found a way to overcome that as yet.
I am a firm believer in yelling when something is wrong, and in your case Pete, I would be at the hospital shouting loudly that the wait is totally unacceptable! Go kick up a fuss, while you take it, they will let you!!
I should have added, I would certainly go back to the consultant and ask why he fitted such a limiting replacement when other NHS hospitals are fitting long lasting replacements with amazing bend ability. Ask why somewhere like Sheppton Mallet Treatment Centre can provide this service and he doesn't!
Hello Peter, I am 6 months post TKR and my knee is also still swollen. they put me ona machine every week when I was still having physio which seemed to help a bit (apparently the machine was a bit like a microwave without cooking me). My GP advised that the swelling could last for up to a year or more. I was aware beforehand through looking in the Internet that my knee would never bend like before and also a friend who had a TKR when they were 54 said he didn't really feel it was spot on for 2 years. As my other knee will also need replacing I am experiencing a lot of pain in that knee, which I can now compare with the new knee and although the new knee is swollen it doesn't really hurt just aches if I do too much. My bend is not good but I can ride a cycle, go up and down stairs etc properly, and kneel if I must but because it's still so swollen it feels very weird. Let us know how you get on with your scan as given the above I would be really interested. I think the swelling stops the knee bending more don't you?