Pain After TKR Ominous Sign (written by Biloine Young @ OTW)
Experiencing pain before knee replacement surgery can be a trial, but being in pain following the surgery can be a disaster. Dr. Jeffrey N. Katz, professor of medicine and orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School, has found that patients who experience severe pain in the first three months after total knee replacement have worse pain and less successful outcomes after one to two years. And they are less satisfied with their procedure than are other patients.
Because of that, severe pain after the operation "is something that we ought to be intervening on," said Katz.
Depressed, catastrophizing patients and those in severe pain before the operation are all at risk for severe pain afterward, Katz, the lead investigator of a study, told an audience at the 2011 World Congress on Osteoarthritis. Using cognitive-behavioral therapy and optimizing antidepressant dosages and pain control can help, both before and after the operation, he said. Katz also suggested that "people might consider operating sooner," before pain becomes severe.
Of the approximately 600,000 total knee replacements in the United Stat...
