RSD after knee surgery -now going to have hip replacement surgery
 

Hello!
This is my first time here. I had arthroscopic knee surgery on my left knee in 2000 which triggered RSD. Thankfully, I was diagnosed fairly quickly by my orthopaedic surgeon and referred to a Pain Center. It took 2 years and many different treatments/procedures ending with a month long hospital stay in a Pain Rehab program. I was weaned off the narcotics I was taking for pain and also off of use of the cane. Most effective therapy for me was in the pool. As the pain lessened I was able to become more active little by little. But then I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. It took another year before I was able to start working again. I still have not been able to work at a job that provides enough income for me to live on my own. Thankfully I have an older brother who is willing for me to stay in an apartment in the basement of his house free of charge.
In 2 weeks I will be having my right hip replaced due to osteoarthritis. I am wondering if I need to alert my doctor to the fact that I have had RSD in the past. The pain in my left knee is very minimal and with also just a minimal amount of burning sensation. Do any of you have opinions or recommendations for me? Do I need to be concerned about a possible re- occurrence of RSD following hip surgery?
Thanks ahead of time!!

I probably would. Mainly because the RSD could come back after the surgery BUT if you tell the doctor he might not opt to do the surgery. You take a chance either way.

If you still have pain and burning then you still have active rsd. Remission is a complete end of all symptoms related to the rsd.

You MUST tell your doc you have rsd and take precautions. If not, you could find your self dealing with a horrible flare not to mention spread of rsd to the surgery site. From the medical literature I've read, having surgery doesn't have to equal spread and more pain. Someone else on another board mentioned surgery to fix a foot problem that is complicating her case. This is what I told her based on what I've researched.

As for being unable to have surgery, the good news is with the proper precautions before and after one can have surgery successfully with no spread or flare in pain. I've "seen" quite a few people around the web that really needed surgery for one thing or another and were fine. Have an epidural catheter with local anesthetic with or without pain meds at least 12 hrs before the surgery, then have the epidural in for 3-6 days after surgery to prevent a flare and hopefully any spread. When you keep the sympathetic nervous system "normal" it won't spread because the nerves don't flare up. All of this of course means a hospital stay of 3-7 days even for something that might be an outpatient procedure but it sure beats the heck out of what might happen without all the precautions!

You can have your doc do some of his own research as well. He'll like read some of the same medical articles I have. LOL Go to http://www.rsds.org/2/library/articl...ive/index.html and scroll down to the CRPS and Surgery part. There's a few articles there that are good. It's where I got my answer from and just condensed a part of it.

Here is the other thread talking about rsd and surgery that got bumped off the first page.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread59449.html

Hugs,

Karen

Hi GinnyM,

My name is Loretta and have full body RSD 12 years. My Dr. of 5 years, a Neurologist, Psychiatrist, and Pharmacologist is planning on retiring soon. I've been happy with his care these past 5 years. He currently is building two clinics, near my house, and will have medical Drs. Run them. He'll have HBOT, remove moles etc. When I asked him if he would remove my RSD moles, he said his new insurance company won't allow any surgical procedure on RSD patient because of the risk of spread. He had to go to a different malpractice insurance company to get coverage for his new clinics. That tells me something. Others will comment, but I've read on here that any surgical procedure is risky for spread. Take care, and let us know how you are and keep in touch please. Hugs Loretta