I had so much soft tissue inflammation from the tourniquet. My thigh turned black from the amount of bruising . I was in perpetual hell !!!!!! I've never been in so much pain . I do not think I will ever agree to this surgery again. I was not told anything about what to expect. I know that's my fault . Now i know everything . I'm 5 weeks out, and I'm finally feeling better. Those first few weeks were off the chart pain wise . Nothing could touch it . I couldn't sleep because I hurt too bad and going to the bathroom was excruciating !!!! PT was horrible and I really wasn't sure about the future. I am now able to go half way up my stairs and I'm getting stronger everyday but it's been one hell of a ride . Good luck to anyone about to have surgery you are in my thoughts and prayers 🙏 ❤️
Thank you for this. On my first knee replacement (4 years ago), the surgeon did use a tourniquet and I recall the soreness in my upper thigh. I recently met with the surgeon to discuss replacement for my other knee, which has reached a "severe" level of arthritis. Interestingly, when I asked how his approach had changed since my first surgery, he shared several things: (1) he no longer uses a tourniquet, (2) he had gone cementless, (3) he is now using the MAKO robot. My first knee has a Stryker implant, so the robot transition does make some sense. He said that he can be more accurate by using the robot. I am currently scheduled for a March 2025 surgery and will continue to do my strength training workouts to be ready for the surgery. I was not as strong prior to my first surgery and am hopeful that having strong legs will improve my recovery ability. Regardless, I am not really looking forward to all that comes with a TKR...but I will be as prepared as I can. Thank you again for your incredibly helpful and applicable information.
I had a full knee replacement just over 2yrs ago, and first of all I would like to say that your book was most useful in preparing for and recovering after the operation, and I strongly recommend people get themselves a copy well in advanceof the operation. With regard to the use of a tourniquet and my experience, I agreed to be awake during the operation and had an epidural pain killer together with other medication immediately prior to the knee replacement procedure. I understand the purpose of the tourniquet, which in my case was an inflatable cuff, so it was interesting to listen to the surgeon calling out to one of the assistants that the bleeding had not yet stopped and the tourniquet needed to be tightened. This was the first indication that the pain relief wasn't yet being effective, as this was incredibly painful as the cuff closed off the bleeding. I said nothing at that point as I understood the reason for the restriction and have a reasonably high pain threshold. However, at the point where the lower part of the new knee joint was being hammered into my tibia, that introduced a whole new level of pain and I shouted out that I could feel that!! At that point everything stopped and I was given more intravenous pain relief and put to sleep. When I came around I was immediately aware of the pain in my thigh despite the pain relief, and the thigh ached for a week or so afterwards until the bruising came out which was substantial. In closing, I think the knee joint healed quicker than the the thigh, but overall, two years on, the discomfort was worth it for the new lease of life the new knee has given me. Thank you for all of the advice in your videos and the books, they all helped me tremendously. 👋
Interesting discussion, thank you for that & all your insight Dr Rosen. I too ordered your book and appreciated that information in preparing for surgery & after.
I had a total knee replacement seven weeks ago and I remember that they did use a tourniquet and I even asked later and yes, they did use one. There was a lot of upper thigh pain during the first couple weeks or so but it’s all gone now. I can’t remember you saying whether it caused bruising or didn’t cause bruising anyway, but I had little bruising.
Really interesting (and timely!) video thanks! I had a TKR 4 days ago, and so far have had very little knee pain compared to the intense cramping pain I’m getting in my thigh whenever I try to lift my leg and/or do my exercises - which my surgeon said was probably due to the tourniquet. I have an appointment with the physio on Thursday, but I’d love to know how long it’s likely to last, if there’s anything I can do to help it, and if using passive means (eg a yoga band) to increase the ROM in my knee would be sufficient until my quads decide do what I want them to again! Thanks again Dr Rosen 😊
Thanks. Good information and excellent explanations (as always). I didn't know enough to ask, beforehand. I'm pretty sure my surgeon used one because the op-leg quad is considerably / notably weaker than non-op side and the op-leg adductor & tendon were a bit sore. Thanks again.
I don't see that you've covered this and wondered if you could do a video about the pros and cons of cemented vs cement-less TKA approaches. I've watched a couple of other videos and am getting the sense that the profession is moving toward cement-less. While not enough time has passed to have long term research results, the nearer term results of cement-less sound encouraging. Yet is also seems to be case dependent, based on the patient's bone density and other factors. I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this.
Did you have tourniquet pain and bruising? Were you aware there was an option to do the surgery without a tourniquet?
I had so much soft tissue inflammation from the tourniquet. My thigh turned black from the amount of bruising . I was in perpetual hell !!!!!! I've never been in so much pain . I do not think I will ever agree to this surgery again. I was not told anything about what to expect. I know that's my fault . Now i know everything . I'm 5 weeks out, and I'm finally feeling better. Those first few weeks were off the chart pain wise . Nothing could touch it . I couldn't sleep because I hurt too bad and going to the bathroom was excruciating !!!! PT was horrible and I really wasn't sure about the future. I am now able to go half way up my stairs and I'm getting stronger everyday but it's been one hell of a ride . Good luck to anyone about to have surgery you are in my thoughts and prayers 🙏 ❤️
Thank you for this. On my first knee replacement (4 years ago), the surgeon did use a tourniquet and I recall the soreness in my upper thigh. I recently met with the surgeon to discuss replacement for my other knee, which has reached a "severe" level of arthritis. Interestingly, when I asked how his approach had changed since my first surgery, he shared several things: (1) he no longer uses a tourniquet, (2) he had gone cementless, (3) he is now using the MAKO robot. My first knee has a Stryker implant, so the robot transition does make some sense. He said that he can be more accurate by using the robot. I am currently scheduled for a March 2025 surgery and will continue to do my strength training workouts to be ready for the surgery. I was not as strong prior to my first surgery and am hopeful that having strong legs will improve my recovery ability. Regardless, I am not really looking forward to all that comes with a TKR...but I will be as prepared as I can. Thank you again for your incredibly helpful and applicable information.
I had a full knee replacement just over 2yrs ago, and first of all I would like to say that your book was most useful in preparing for and recovering after the operation, and I strongly recommend people get themselves a copy well in advanceof the operation. With regard to the use of a tourniquet and my experience, I agreed to be awake during the operation and had an epidural pain killer together with other medication immediately prior to the knee replacement procedure. I understand the purpose of the tourniquet, which in my case was an inflatable cuff, so it was interesting to listen to the surgeon calling out to one of the assistants that the bleeding had not yet stopped and the tourniquet needed to be tightened. This was the first indication that the pain relief wasn't yet being effective, as this was incredibly painful as the cuff closed off the bleeding. I said nothing at that point as I understood the reason for the restriction and have a reasonably high pain threshold. However, at the point where the lower part of the new knee joint was being hammered into my tibia, that introduced a whole new level of pain and I shouted out that I could feel that!! At that point everything stopped and I was given more intravenous pain relief and put to sleep. When I came around I was immediately aware of the pain in my thigh despite the pain relief, and the thigh ached for a week or so afterwards until the bruising came out which was substantial. In closing, I think the knee joint healed quicker than the the thigh, but overall, two years on, the discomfort was worth it for the new lease of life the new knee has given me. Thank you for all of the advice in your videos and the books, they all helped me tremendously. 👋
Glad I could help. Thanks for sharing.
Lots of good information, as always! Thank you for sharing, Dr. Rosen. Have a wonderful weekend!
Interesting discussion, thank you for that & all your insight Dr Rosen. I too ordered your book and appreciated that information in preparing for surgery & after.
I had a total knee replacement seven weeks ago and I remember that they did use a tourniquet and I even asked later and yes, they did use one. There was a lot of upper thigh pain during the first couple weeks or so but it’s all gone now. I can’t remember you saying whether it caused bruising or didn’t cause bruising anyway, but I had little bruising.
Some patients have little to no bruising after the tourniquet but some patients can have a large amount of bruising that affects the whole leg.
Really interesting (and timely!) video thanks! I had a TKR 4 days ago, and so far have had very little knee pain compared to the intense cramping pain I’m getting in my thigh whenever I try to lift my leg and/or do my exercises - which my surgeon said was probably due to the tourniquet. I have an appointment with the physio on Thursday, but I’d love to know how long it’s likely to last, if there’s anything I can do to help it, and if using passive means (eg a yoga band) to increase the ROM in my knee would be sufficient until my quads decide do what I want them to again!
Thanks again Dr Rosen 😊
Thank you dr. Rosen for another informative video 👌🏻
Always welcome
Thanks. Good information and excellent explanations (as always). I didn't know enough to ask, beforehand. I'm pretty sure my surgeon used one because the op-leg quad is considerably / notably weaker than non-op side and the op-leg adductor & tendon were a bit sore. Thanks again.
Glad it was helpful!
I don't see that you've covered this and wondered if you could do a video about the pros and cons of cemented vs cement-less TKA approaches. I've watched a couple of other videos and am getting the sense that the profession is moving toward cement-less. While not enough time has passed to have long term research results, the nearer term results of cement-less sound encouraging. Yet is also seems to be case dependent, based on the patient's bone density and other factors. I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this.
Thank you. Great question. I'll add it to my to-do list for upcoming videos.