Febuary of this year I went for a total left knee replacement, maybe the biggest mistake of my life. First thing I noticed was severe tibia pain and was told this could be a nerve. Began PT 2 weeks after surgery and completed 4 weeks later, still had tibia pain even though walking on it, finally after pressing Dr. CAT Scan was preformed and discovered the implant broke my tibia at the end of the rod 7" into tibia. Began non weight bearing and knee began to swell and infection set in, 8 days in hospital and rounds of antibiotics I was released. A few more weeks and began weight bearing per Dr. orders and 10 days later it broke again. Back on crutches and now my knee is beginning to lock up as if implant is shifted. To get it to become unlocked I have to rub and pull on my knee cap. Any input would greatly be appreciated.
Gosh, that's a nightmare, so sorry to hear it. What isv the proposed treatment plan..? To leave and let it heal or 're do it?
Oh no! So sorry! I have a lot of your symptoms. I told the Dr I felt like my device shifted after being over exercised. I felt a pop & a shifting of something in my knee.
They won't do a CAT scan or MRI. On my 10th wk & I have pain every night and tolerable pain during the day.
I keep getting rest & ice.
So fed up with this!
I hope you are doing better!
Oh boy! Horrendous!!!! This wasn't the implant that was recalled, was it???? Not wanting to panic you, but I remember reading something about the shaft of one that had caused problems that I THINK might be related to this, but I must admit I found it a tad difficult to understand when I was reading about it. I think there is no answer to this other than going back to see your surgeon! I'm SO sorry you've had this awful problem! Just a quick question - are your bones generally strong or do you have osteopenia or osteoporosis or have you ever been tested for those?
I had tkr on 11/14/16. On 12/23/16, I had a terrible pain in the bottom of my leg but thought it was just muscle. Could not walk on it for 48 hours. In March of this year it was discovered that I had a fracture at the end my tibial plateau. Dr. could go in and try to fix it or I could let it heal on its own with just a slight offage on the straighness of my leg. Chose the latter. Still hurts a bit but hope it is healing. Good luck to you. (I am 69 years old so maybe age et al didn't help. Good luck to you.
Two weeks ago I visited the Dr. and he told me to begin walking, I asked him I wanted to see the latest CAT Scan and once I looked at it I told him I would not walk on it at all, eventually via text message he agreed totally with me. In search of new surgeon, going to ER today knee is locking up and quite painful.
Well, my hopes for you are that things get sorted out and move in the right direction.
I'm so sorry you're going through this, they can do a CAT Scan but I had to press my Dr. for almost 6 weeks and once I had my CAT Scan he text me in a panic and said "Do not put any weight on your leg, Zero", a little late I had been walking on a broken Tibia for 6 weeks. I agree with you on the fed up. My Attorney wants to pursue this but I am not the type to sue.
Thanks for your input. Yes my bones are strong no problems with that. The problem was when he was drilling my tibia he told me he should have drilled 1 mm larger hole and when he put the implant in it broke through my inside portion of the tibia. I could feel the bone through my skin. He told me he saw some translucence in my bone after he installed the lower and did not address the issue while he was in there. At this point I am in search of a new surgeon to get a second opinion.
I have been told that a tibia break can take 6 months or more to heal completely, sorry to hear that the plateau was broken durning surgery. My break is 7" down at the bottom of the implant and the tip of the implant is just outside the bone, so my break shoved a wedge of bone out. he wants the bone to "bridge" outward and fill in the gaps. time to see another surgeon. Good luck with your fracture and hopefully the worst is over for you.
Oh good grief! This sounds like incompetance! I'm horrified! I'm SO sorry for you!!!! This sounds like this man should not be doing this job!
You've been treated appallingly! It's horrific! I think you should sue. I don't like suggesting people sue the NHS but in this case I think it's right. He should be struck off.
Oh my, Dave, that is a horror story. I am at 15 weeks tomorrow and am still doing PT and dealing with some swelling and a pocket (small) of fluid on the right side of my knee. Doc says no worries. It's getting better every day but YOU are in a world of hurt. Sending positive thoughts your way. Keep us posted as to your activity and healing.
Karen
Thanks for the positive thoughts. I had the fluid issue also and the surgeon came to the emergency room along with my hospitalist Dr. without any lidacaine or anything just rammed a needle into my knee draining the fluid, he sent it off to Baltimore for a special test without saving any for the Infectious Disease Doctor on my case. The Dr. that witnessed this said that was the most barbaric thing he had ever seen. Keep up your great work and keep the range of motion going, I had reached 115 degree range but now it has decreased to probably 50.
Chris
Thanks, I'm like you, I have never sued anyone in my life but going on 4 months now I don't know how to proceed without getting another surgeon and starting over. Thanks for your comments
Dave do keep us up to date with how you get on. I know there will be lots of people on here concerned about what's happened to you and we're all hoping that you get this solved in the best possible way. Still horrified at what they've done to you!
Just thinking now - the General Medical Council MIGHT be able to help you and I'm sure would be interested in your case. Do you have any free legal services with your house insurance? If so, they might be the best to contact and might even be able to suggest a surgeon to see. If not, then I think you'll have to go via your GP and ask to be referred for a second opinion at a different hospital URGENTLY! I don't know how long this would take - it seems to vary in different parts of the country, but if it's an urgent case, then there may be someone who would see you quickly. I'd have a look on what hospitals you can choose from and see if there is an orthopaedic hospital in your region who seems the most experienced and see what your choices are so you can request where the GP sends you. There is a lot of info online about different surgeons. When I went to the GP to ask for a referral I told them what hospital I wanted to go to and what surgeon I wanted, so this is your choice.
Chris
Thanks for the thoughts, I already have legal counsel on this. Yesterday I went to the ER for Xrays to see why my knee was locking up. Thankfully everything looked good on the xrays except there was a tremendous amount of fluid around the knee. The ER Doctors wanted to drain it immediately to relieve the pain and contacted the surgeon to get his approval, of course he denied them from draining the knee. He wants to do it himself which I will not allow after the last time he did it. The ER Doctors said that this has gone on and one of them said "this is something that has gone wrong". They gave me a referral to another surgeon so let's keep our fingers crossed that I can get in to see him quickly.
I'm so pleased you've got a referral to another surgeon David. Yes, I hope you can see him quickly too! Glad you've got legal counsel too!
Do let us know how you get on!
Just and update, last night the surgeon called me and was inquiring how I was doing. Of course the fluid around my knee is continuing to increase. He asked me if the pain I was feeling where he broke the tibia was all in my head, I took my sock off andtook a picture of the swelling at the break point and sent it to him, of course no response. he asked me if I would be ope to a second opinion because he was missing something. WOW what a shock for a doctor which cut me open tells me he is missing something! Great confidence in him now.