Total human knee replacement is one of the virtually successful procedures in all of medicine due to its success in relieving chronic pain and restoring mobility and function. That is why more than 600,000 genu replacement surgeries are performed each year.

All the same, a modest percentage of knee replacement surgeries fail, and when that happens, patients should seek the advice of a knee joint revision specialist as before long as possible.

Co-ordinate to Bernard Stulberg M.D. of the Spine and Orthopedic Institute at St. Vincent Charity Medical Middle, continued knee hurting can signal failure of an implant device, a condition that requires timely intervention to avoid further complication and os loss.

Approximately 10 pct of patients require a revision – a procedure in which the surgeon removes the original implant and replaces it with a new i – within the first 10 years. More than than one-half of the 22,000 knee revision surgeries performed each yr are done within two years of the initial knee replacement surgery.

"If yous are having knee pain afterwards a replacement, it is important to find out if the implant is functioning the way it should," Dr. Stulberg said. "Hurting that occurs early after surgery can point the presence of infection, bug related to the way the implant anchors to os, or the manner the mechanism is working."

"Surgeons who perform knee replacements may recognize that persistent pain following surgery is uncommon and might require further intervention, but they may not experience sufficiently trained in revision surgery to know what that intervention should be, and the timing of that intervention," Dr. Stulberg continued. "When the crusade of an early failure is a poorly performing device, identifying the source is important because, without intervention, the trouble could lead to significant loss of bone and ligament instability. That further complicates the required revision surgery."

That is what happened to Becky Parker after she had both knees replaced 5 months apart in 2015. Just a few months after her second surgery, Becky started having pain and swelling in her knees and ankles.

Unaware of the possibility of an implant failure and thinking the swelling was a new issue, Becky went to encounter a rheumatologist where she lives in Toledo. The doctor did not take x-rays of the knees, despite the knees existence the primary source of her pain, and gave her cortisone injections in her swollen ankles.

This began a more than two-year journey for Becky, beingness shifted from doctor to doctor in search of relief. She received numerous cortisone injections in her ankles, prescriptions for physical therapy and fifty-fifty had vein ablations in both legs. None of this helped. Becky continued in constant pain, even having to use a shopping cart to walk just to make it through her piece of work day at a local home improvement store.

It wasn't until she broke down in tears in appointment that the medico paused and examined her knees, which at this point were severely bowed. He 10-rayed both knees and gave her the devastating news that the implants had failed and were essentially coming apart. He encouraged her to seek out a revision specialist since he did not perform the process.

Becky began researching surgeons in Ohio who specialize in knee revision surgery. Because revisions are more complex than the original genu replacement, few surgeons perform revision surgery and even fewer specialize in information technology. The procedure requires additional preoperative planning, specialized tools, greater surgical skill and more time to perform.

Dr. Stulberg, one of the nation's leading experts on revision surgery, was the first surgeon to announced in Becky'due south online search. Given Dr. Stulberg's prominence in the field, Becky feared it would take a long time to get an engagement, so she was shocked when she was quickly able to make it to run into him.

In Becky'south case, the problem stemmed from the pattern of the implant, which allowed for instability and aseptic loosening. This ways the bond betwixt the bone and the implant breaks down, fragmenting the cement. One time fragmented, the body attempts to digest the cement (glue) particles and then besides begins to digest os. Aseptic loosening following knee replacement surgery is one of the leading causes for revision.

Meaning bone loss is one of the largest challenges for surgeons in revision surgery because the bone itself starts to become weaker subsequently the showtime 10 millimeters of bone loss. This leaves less os to back up a new implant. The removal of bone during the initial replacement surgery, coupled with bone loss from the failed implant, makes information technology difficult for surgeons to use standard total knee implants. For revision surgery, surgeons utilize specialized implants, allowing the surgeon to get more secure bonding to bone as well as improved stability of the mechanism.

Becky'south os loss, particularly in the right side, was significant in big part due to the length of time betwixt when the implant began to fail and when the failure was finally identified. To repair the correct knee, Dr. Stulberg utilized a surgical navigation system and specialized revision implant – a organization which Dr. Stulberg helped develop – to allow him the flexibility to adjust the position of the implant and expertly adjust the tension of the surrounding ligaments. After a successful recovery, Becky had the left human knee repaired by Dr. Stulberg 5 months afterward.

Ix months after surgery, Becky is dorsum at work on her feet for 8 hour days without hurting. Her friends and family unit keep to comment on the transformation of her legs, which are now in-line post surgery.

"People used to always annotate that I was so 'bow-legged' and now they are and then glad to run across me walking upright," Becky said. "I would not be walking today without Dr. Stulberg – he is a miracle worker."

To learn more most revision surgery or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Stulberg, contact his office at 440.248.1297.