Esda received a Zimmer NexGen CR-Flex Porous Femoral component knee replacement in January of 2003, and she had a second knee just four months later. "Both my knees were rubbing bone on bone from overuse," says Esda, whose job entailed walking on cement floors in a textile plant for 33 years."I don't remember having a good day with either legs since my surgery," Esda says. "Sometimes I have to wrap them up to stop them from hurting. After each knee replacement surgery, I had home care for about six weeks, and after that, my orthopedic surgeon sent me to rehab—so it took several months to deal with both knees. But my pain never subsided.
"I can remember the day clearly, just before I went into surgery to have my first Zimmer NexGen replacement: my orthopedic surgeon told me that I was going to have great knees. I was one of the first lucky ones to have these special and great knee replacements because they just came out in 2002. He told me that I would have brand-new legs thanks to Zimmer."
Esda's surgeon had no idea at the time that Zimmer NexGen knees were defective. In fact, Esda believes there was no error or malpractice on the part of her surgeon, even though she isn't seeing him anymore.
"The last time I saw my original surgeon, both my legs were killing me, no matter if I was standing or lying down," Esda adds. "I explained to him that I have pain 24/7 from both knee replacements and sometimes it is paralyzing, but the last time I saw him was the last time, literally. He more or less said that I have to live with it, but just because someone else had knee replacements and could get up and walk doesn't mean that I could. I never saw him again.
"When I got mad at that doctor, I got all my medical records and all my x-rays—and now they are with my attorney, Mr. Howard Nations."
Esda saw another orthopedic surgeon, who confirmed that both her surgeries were flawless, but the Zimmer NexGen knees were not. "The second orthopedic surgeon told me that the problems were the knee replacements and not the surgeon's work," she explains. "He felt the mobility in my knees loosen when he moved them side to side. 'You need mechanical work done on them,' he said, meaning revision surgery. He took the bottom of my right leg and held it, then he tried to move it in both directions and could feel it was loose. Same with my left leg.
"Sure, they could go back in there with revision surgery but this first surgeon left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm afraid of going through another surgery. I've had too much trauma. And I'm afraid that revision surgery won't make my knees better. I'd have to think long and hard before I let someone go back in there and destroy my legs. These Zimmer NexGen knees are bad.
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"I'm on disability and I've had no active life since I had my knees replaced. I was in my late 40s when I lost my quality of life—when I had my knees done it put my life on hold.
"I got my paperwork in the mail from my attorney, Howard Nations, which included a copy of my Zimmer knee identification notice—apparently they have numbers like a barcode when they take these medical devices out of the box in the operating room. And the law firm has taken my statements by telephone, so after they receive my paperwork, we take it from there.
"After all that I've been through, I want compensation from Zimmer. And an apology from Zimmer would help."
READER COMMENTS
Mary
on
I kept going back every week or two because of the pain and not being able to put any pressure on it.
My OS would check it and kept saying he couldn't understand why it wouldn't work.
After about a year of going to my OS, he finally referred me to another orthopedic surgeon. I went to him. He had xrays done, looked at the xrays the first OS had taken. He couldn't actually see the problem, but, knew there was a terrible problem since I couldn't walk on that knee.
The first OS had me use braces. I went through three different ones. They kept the knee straight, but, did nothing for the pain.
My knee would bend backwards, so, the braces helped thjere. Although I couldn't put full pressure on the knee, I would try to stand on it to (hopefully) make it stronger. That's when the knee went backwards.
My second OS set up a date to have my replacement replaced. April 19, 2006. I have no memory of going to the hospital, surgery, or coming home. My husband told me what happened in the hospital. I told my doctor about the amnesia and he said it was a good thing, since I suffered so much pain with the first replacement. So, I accepted it.
I did well on my ROM, had hardly any pain, could put full pressure on it two hours after surgery. My husband said I was walking down to the Nurses Station, and back with very little pain. Unfortunately, I don't remember a bit of it.
The second replacement isn't perfect by any means. I can't straighten it out from a sitting postiion without help from my right foot. The knee cap "catches" when I start to left the leg. That's when I have to push it up with the right foot.
I haven't been able to go back to work (cashier at retail store), and, standing long periods of time makes the knee hurt and weak. There is no sitting down at the store I worked for. I was actually fired because I couldn't return to work within a certain period of time.
Today (March 24, 2011), I can walk all day on the knee, but, if I sit down, I will not be able to get up and walk for a while. The knee will hurt and I can feel it come out of place/ socket(?). So, I can't work, at any outside jobs because of the left knee.
My second OS told me I would have to "live with it". I don't see him anymore either!