I am 62 and have arthritis of my right knee. It had been fine up until 6 months ago and has gotten progressively worse. I am able to walk fine during the day but stairs or hills are a bit rough. I still play golf but have started using a cart which I am not happy about. I had a hip replacement 2 years ago and rotator cuff surgery 9 months ago. I know I will need knee replacement surgery but I would like to take a break from surgery for one more year. I have heard that in SOME patients, the knee injection with hyaluronic fluid helps for a while. (Not cortisone) Apparently you need 3 injections and even if successful, it will need be redone at least once or twice more each year. If there is even a 20% chance that it will buy me some more time I would like to try, but would like to hear from others.

Thanks for any advice

Peter

Hi Pete;
back in 2005 I took a fall at work and tore my quads tendon in my left thigh,I had it surgically repaired, while in pt ,I blew out my meniscus in my right knee,( os doc said I must have damaged it years eariler lots of arthirtis, scar tissue) he did an arthascopic
debrisment which took away most of my meniscus.I left the hospital that same day and felt really good! os told me because of the amount of meniscus that was destroyed I should try a series of supar injections.the first couple of shots were bearable and I really felt great (i'm an electrician in construction and on my feet all day) but the third one sent me to the moon It was like he jamed it into the bone!!.it took about a week for the pain to completely resolve,but I definately bought some time with these injections I got nearly 4+ years of relief but I'm to the point now where I'm scheduled for RTKR on Feb.3,2010 I hope this helps you make a decision best of luck!

Welcome to BoneSmart. You have come to THE best place for answers.

I had three series of the hyaluranidase injections. It did buy me about a year before I had to have knee replacement. There are a number of different formulations requiring differing numbers of injections. (3-5). The other thing that bought me some time was cortisone injections (for me they actually worked better than the hyaluranidase for me). I also was helped by doing physical therapy which strengthens the quadraceps and surrounding ligaments which support the knee.
I personally had no problems with any of the injections

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Barb
Atlanta,GA RTK 4/14/09 LTKR 2-9-10

Can't add anything to the voices of experience!

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Left arthroscopic menisectomy 4th October 09
RTKR 17th March 09
Right arthroscopy June 06

Please post in forums; PMs and emails for personalized help are not community oriented and will not be answered. Also search the Library and other threads for information. Thanks.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER - Moderator comments on this web site are provided for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for advice from your personal physician or surgeon.

Administrator is an orthopaedic nurse of 50+ years experience in joint replacement.

Hi, I had the hyaluronic injections in both knees two years ago. They used Supartz. I guess it helped for a little bit, but at $4,800 per knee and 6 injections per knee, I don't know it it was worth it. I suppose it bought me some time, but I am having BTKR this spring and I can't wait.
Good luck with your decision.

Hi
It ends up my right knee problems are in the knee cap area and tracking. So i did do the set of 5 injections. The first 3 actually caused more pain. The 4th was ok and the 5th gave me some relief.
After that kind of wore off (in a few months or less) I had a cortisone injection which did nothing, then arthroscopic surgery with microfracture surgery.

So for me the shots really did not do much, but if insurance pays for them i would give them a try. Overall after all the treatment my knee is much better. The microfracture had me in a brace that did not allow bending the knee for 5 months.
Good Luck with your decision and treatment
judy

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cervical fusion C4-C7 07/07
RTHR 6/08
right knee microfracture 12/08
thoracic fusion T5-T12 01/09

I had the Supartz shots before my TKR and they really didn't do anything to help. I have heard of some folks that benefited, though, so they may be worth a try if it is affordable for you.

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RTKR - February 29, 2008

LEGAL DISCLAIMER - Moderator comments on this web site are provided for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for advice from your personal physician or surgeon.

I had the 3 shot series, and it worked great .... for about 3 weeks
My OS thought I might get 3 months from it (wanted to make it through a couple of vacations we had scheduled)
OTOH, I have a friend who also had them, from the same OS, and she got almost a year out of hers....
I am a huge baby when it comes to needles, but these were not as bad as I had feared - my iPod was a big help!
If insurance will pay for them, I say try it

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RTKR Oct. 20, 2009

I had several rounds of Hyalgon and Synvisc injections in both knees over a several year period.....not sure to the extent of benefit. The earlier in the arthritis problem the better the opportunity for the injections to provide benefit. If your knees have progressed to the point of being a replacement candidate it is doubtful there will be a benefit. Ultimately, the only success for me was cortisone injections....had quarterly for several years.


Steve
Spring, Tx.

I have had Hyalgon several time and got maybe a yr out of it but what is even better is Snynisc and it is only one needle and it last a good year........loved it!!
But again if I had it to do over I would have had the knee replacement done....
The injections are expensive ($400.00) here in Canada and it only puts the innevable off.
Plus there is always the pain around your knee....so get the replacement done and start to live your life again....hugs Carol

Hi Peter,
I've had hyaluronic injections twice. The first series gave me amazing relief for several months. The pain gradually came back. The second series was less noticeable and shorter duration of pain relief. Had my knees injected with local anesthetic/steroids to get through the holidays and am anticipating BTKR in April. However I believe the injections helped me stay mobile and active for a longer period of time - it was truly amazing to me.
Good luck with your decision. I know that we're all different.
Martha

Hi!
I've had a 3 series of Supartz shots (one series of 3 shots, 2 series of 5 shots) and none ever did a thing.

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September 17, 2008: Biomet Oxford Partial Knee Replacement (Right knee)
April 21, 2010: Biomet Signature Series Total Knee Replacement (Left knee)
http://mysocalledorthopediclife.blogspot.com/

It worked once. The second set of injections worked for my better knee. My right knee with more damage has not shown improvement with the injections. My OS and I decided it was time for a TKR for my right knee.

Overall, the injections pain is worth it.

I had Synvisc shots---the first one of the series worked for all of three days. After that, even though I receivedthe injections (that was part of the protocol), I felt no better.

Ironically, I receivved the cortizone shots after the Synvisc---I guess normally the protocol is reversed---and those three injectins spaced over a year or so helped immensely.
Tim C.

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BTKR: November 8th, 2007

I had a cortisone injection, didn't do a thing for me. Then I had the Synvisc a series of 3 injections, the first one helped for about a week and then the others nothing. My good friend had the Synvisc injections that lasted more than 6 months for her. We are all different that;s for sure. Good Luck!

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RTKR 3/24/09
LTKR 8/25/09
Lou

I had the series of three Synvisc injections in both knees in 2008. It took about 4 weeks to really notice any relief, but once it kicked in it worked really well for almost 11 months. I repeated the series in both knees this past October with some relief in the left knee but developed synovitis in the right knee after the 3rd injection,then had the medial meniscus tear in the right knee. You can now get Synvisc with just 1 injection but 3 times the volume. I felt that would just be more painful than doing the series of three. Everyone I have spoken to finds diminishing results of shorter duration in subsequent treatments, but I was glad for the 11 months I got out of the initial series.

I had Synvisc injections in my right knee in 2002 and they lasted for almost two years. I had them again, and they lasted just as long. After that, not so much. So, for me, they bought me time early on.

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Linda2
LTKR 07/28/08
RTKR 07/13/09