Draining (aspirating) blood from knee after microfracture?

[John1]

Hi,

Is it normal to have to drain blood form the knee after microfracture? I had about 50cc drained by the doctor a week after my surgery. He said if it swells up again I should come back next week. It seems like it swelled some since he drained it, but it's not as bad as now as before he drained it. It makes it difficult to try to bend past 110 degrees. I can really feel it in the back when I try to bend it far.

Thanks,
Jiohn

[Ron22]

hey john...i was in the hospital for about 6 days after my maquet which included numerous microfractures....they had drains which remained until the morning i was discharged...that was mostly blood.....if you did not have the drains, perhaps this is what you are seeing...altho i usually have my knee drained every 2 mths or so..and depending on many factors...there is usually several shades of red...i'm sure the doc is keeping an eye on it and will act if necessary..

hang in there

ronnie

[stgiles16]

Hi John, I have had 2 microfractures and did not have a drain put in or ever have my knee drained. The only time that I have had a drain was after scar tissue surgery. It was left in until the day I went home and drained what looked like pure blood.
good luck
missy

[John1]

Thanks for the replies.

By draining I meant aspirating blood and fluid with a needle. It seems like it should be normal because blood comes out from the holes in the bone into the joint, but I haven't seen anybody whose had microfracture mention this. I'm worried that if I have a lot of blood in he joint, then I'll start to form scar tissue.

John

[stgiles16]

blood can cause scar tissue but even after both of mine, they never drew blood out of the knee.hmmmmmm I had to have an LOA 6 mnths later, wonder if there is a connection?
It sounds like your OS is on top of it so you will do fine.
goodluck
missy

[John1]

Update:
My doctor aspirated another 35cc of blood/fluid from my knee today (16 days post-op microfracture, 2 cm2 lesion with about 15 microfractures made). The blood/fluid seemed a little thinner and brighter red than it was last week when he aspirated it. My knee feels a lot better now. He didn't think that it would swell up again. I don't think it will either. It feels like it's settling down. The doctor says having to aspirate blood is normal, but I haven't been able to find anything on the Internet to confirm this.

John

[John1]

I may have spoken too soon. I think my knee might be swelling up again. doh!

I was just reading that there are studies that show that as little as 200 IU of vitamin E per day can prevent platlet adhesion, so vitamin E should not be taken before or right after surgery, or the wounds might bleed. I just noticed that I've been getting 200 IU in my multivitamin per day. I wonder if this is preventing blood clots from forming in the microfracture holes. I'm going to stop taking that vitamin for a few weeks and see what happens.

John

[John1]

OK, so now after sleeping with my leg up, my knee isn't swollen so bad. I did try riding the stationary bike for 12 minutes a few hours after having my knee aspirated yesterday. I iced it a little afterward. Maybe the bike made it swell up a bit. I'll see how it is today and if the swelling goes away, I'll try the bike tomorrow again.

John

[casey2291]

Hey John,

Glad to hear that your swelling has gone done a bit.  I hope that you continue to have good luck and that the swelling keeps getting better and that you are able to continue riding the bike.

Hang in there!

Casey 

[brattkids2]

I think the vitamin e thing may be true. I was given a list of things to not take 2 weeks before or 4 weeks after surgery and vitamin e and omega 3 were on the list. OS said they can impede clotting. How strange something you take to keep you healthy can cause damage other ways!!

Hope youget better soon!!!!

Paulette