Bursitis is possible after a knee replacement surgery, however it is rare. If there is inflammation around the artificial knee implant, it is critically important to rule out an infection. I start with a thorough physical examination, radiological examination. If the knee is intact, and MRI is obtained to show the soft tissues around the knee joint, and bursitis in the soft tissues will be better observed with an MRI.
However, after a knee replacement surgery some better imaging sequences have to be performed for better evaluation of the soft tissues because there may be significant scatter of the CT scan or the MRI that may interfere with visualization of soft tissue after knee replacement surgery.