The anesthesia

Anaesthesia:There are various anaesthesia procedures available for knee prosthesis surgery: The anaesthetist (= anaesthesiologist) points out details and possible risks of the respective anaesthetic procedures during a consultation. The most suitable anesthesia is then determined based on individual circumstances. Under no circumstances can such an operation be performed under local anesthesia.

Partial anesthesia, e.g. spinal anesthesia (spinal cord anesthesia)
General anesthesia (general anesthesia)

Problems and complications

During the knee prosthesis operation: Even despite the greatest care and consideration of all individual components, complications can never be ruled out during an operation in individual cases. Complications that occur in the course of a knee prosthesis implantation can be of different nature. For example, after a knee prosthesis operation: loosening of the prosthesis – This complication usually implies a change of prosthesis and can therefore imply considerable disadvantages for the patient.

Injury to neighboring structures (blood vessels that subsequently bleed, nerve damage to the leg, tendons and/or muscles), which may then remain partially paralyzed or require surgical treatment.
Bone fractures occur. However, this is usually only the case if the patient suffers from osteoporosis.
After-bleeding and associated with it: bruises (haematomas).
Infection is the main problem of any operation. In the case of knee prosthesis implantation, an infection is to be taken very seriously due to the problems associated with infection.
Under certain circumstances, a revision surgery may become necessary. In very unfavorable cases, the entire implant must be removed and the source of infection cleared out. In such a serious case, a new implantation of a knee joint may have to wait several weeks.

If an infection proves to be very serious, a stiffening of the knee joint may become necessary under certain circumstances. The knee loses any known mobility, and restrictions in everyday life are the result. In very rare cases, an infection can also lead to amputation.
Thrombosis (= clot in the blood vessels) can lead to life-threatening pulmonary embolism.
For this reason, every patient usually receives prophylactic therapy, for example in the form of so-called “abdominal injections” and “thrombosis stockings”.
Differences in leg length can be caused by the new knee joint and therefore cannot be completely avoided. As a rule, the difference is not significant, so that it can be compensated for by means of insoles or shoe heel elevations.
Loosening of the prosthesis – This complication usually implies a change of prosthesis and can therefore imply considerable disadvantages for the patient.

Pain associated with knee prosthesis surgery is very typical and manifests itself at different times during the therapeutic treatment period. Initially, pain in the knee occurs, which, due to other factors, leads to the indication for a knee prosthesis fitting.

After the operation, the knee is usually still very swollen and painful because the surrounding nerve, skin and muscle tissue is still irritated. As the swelling subsides, the pain usually subsides as well. Patients should be free of pain at the latest after completion of rehabilitation.

If this is not the case and the pain persists or reoccurs, it is imperative that the cause of the pain be found, clarified and possibly treated. Reasons for pain after a knee prosthesis implantation can be the presence of restricted mobility, but also a loosening of the prosthesis. The former can be caused by adhesions and adhesions in the knee joint, which must be surgically removed or treated.

Furthermore, calcification in the musculature can cause pain. In general, it is quite normal that until the knee joint is fully loaded and functional, moderate pain may occur again and again due to previous or heavy loading or certain movement patterns. Typical pain-inducing movements are, for example, climbing stairs.

In addition, pain can be caused by a loosening of the prosthesis. On the one hand, the loosening can have natural reasons, namely wear and tear and material wear after 10-15 years. On the other hand, however, the smallest particles can be detached from the implant by strong friction and stress and embedded in the tissue.

The body reacts to this with an inflammatory reaction, which can be painful per se, and with implant loosening, which also provokes pain. As with almost every surgical procedure, unsterile work can lead to infection of the surgical site or deeper tissue. and pain after knee surgery