Has anyone had the Arthrosurface Hemicap? New PKR option

[stgiles16]

hi, i am a year post op from the hemicap and am doing pretty well. send me a pm if you have any specific questions, i would be happy to help you any way that i can.
missy

[LadeeStingray]

Missy,

Hey looks like HemiCAP is back on my plate again.  We keep going from ACI to HemiCAP ... ill look for you on Yahoo Messenger soon. 

Ladee

[stgiles16]

hi, you can also send me a message thru the kneeguru site. i seem to check it more often. what happened to get you back on the hemicap train?
good luck
missy

[rottenkid]

Missy
  did you have more then one choice of procedures to choose from? Also how big of an area did the cap cover and was it on your patella or femur? How do I pm you? Are you back to full activities? I have a zillion questions and there are not a lot of people who have gone through this. Good luck with everything
RoTTeN KiD   

[stgiles16]

hi, yes, i had a choice of a cadaver transplant or this. i chose the hemicap because of my past history and because of the easier recovery. i dont know how big this particular defect was because i did not even know that this one existed. we had thought that my microfracture had worn out but it was fine, this was a second defect. the hemicap is on my medial femoral chondyle.

to send me a message, click on my name, it will show you my profile, at the bottom of that page, it will say, send a message to this person. click on that  and then you can send me a message. i will share my experience with you if you want, i have yet to meet anyone else who has gotten the hemicap either. hope that i can help.
let me know your questions.
missy

[kathat]

Hi Missy,
Is your hemi cap patellofemoral or condylar? How's things going? I am facing surgery at some stage for arthritis behind both patellae and on my right medial femoral condyle. The thing I need to decide is whether to try ACI or something like the hemi cap. I wonder what sort of defects can be treated with the hemi cap. I am missing 1/3 of the cartilage on each patella, which is a fair bit. Will have to do some more research.
Kathy

[kathat]

Hah! I did well choosing my OS. I just went on the Hemi Cap website to check it out and, out of curiosity, did a doctor search - and my OS came up. So far he specialises in any surgery I am likely to need on my knees in the future (ACI, Hemi Cap, TKRs). I just hope he is around until I am done with the surgeries!!

[stgiles16]

hi kathat,
my hemicap is on my medial femoral chondyle. i dont think that it will work on the patella, the bone is too thin but i could be wrong. i have also had two microfractures before the hemicap. i just did not have a good history for any other surgery. I have arthrofibrosis (excessive scar tissue growth) so i really was not up for trying a big surgery that would include lots of non weight bearing . I have had to have the scar tissue surgically removed too many times to invite that stuff back again.

i am glad that your surgeon is qualified in the hemicap. what state are you in? are there lots of surgeons on the website now? I am in the clinical trials for the hemicap with my surgeon. my 2 yr anniversary is in feb 2008. i am doing fine with it so far. it was much better than any microfracture recovery that i had had.
let me know what you decide.
good luck
missy

[kathat]

Hi Missy,
I am in Australia (South Australia to be precise). The website for hemi cap has a patellofemoral component shown, so I know it's possible, but I don't know if there's a size limit for the patellar defects it is able to treat. My OS should know, but I don't see him until Feb. I have to recover from my LR and chondroplasty first, then he'll review where I'm at and go from there. I know he wants to hold off as long as possible due to my age (36). I think it'll be the case of going for whatever surgery is likely to see me out until I'm old enough for TKRs. My OS would have an idea as to what order he'd like to do things in, I'm sure. I am hoping it will be a while before I have more surgery, as I am struggling to recover from the surgery I just had and don't think I'm up to more yet, either physically or mentally. I am using the time to research everything so I am more informed when the time comes to make a decision.
Cheers,
Kathy

[rottenkid]

Kathat,
 I am 17 days post op from the Arthrosurface hemi cap procedure. I had two defects the first one is on the trochia groove of the femur this is where i had a 27mm implant put in. The second was on the bottom of my knee cap. This was also a large defect around 23mm. Instead of the hemi cap on the knee cap they went with a polyurethane button. Both implants were made by Arthrosurface. At this time my flex is already at 125 degrees and muscle tone is coming back fast. The surgery took about two hours I spent a couple of days in the hospital. I am driving now and walking around without  a crouch.(grant you I wont win any races. If you do this surgery go to P.T. for about a month to strengthen your quad muscle this helped big time!
Glad to see others with success with this procedure. My defects were caused when I was hit by a truck it was a nice clean area and nothing around it was effected. Good luck to all
Rotten Kid 

[kathat]

Hi,
Good to hear you have had success with your surgery. I have hit the end of the road with my current treatment. The PT I have been having to build up my quads after LR surgery has barely done anything. My quads have just given up the ghost, probably due to pain issues. Even my optimistic PT has started talking about more surgery being a good option! Every visit, until this week, has had him talk about physio success stories and how lots patients with badly arthritic knees have gone on to be pain free following a course of PT. I now have to wait until Feb, when I see my PT then my OS. We will discuss things then, I guess. I am still eager to hold off on surgery, as I still feel that things aren't bad enough to risk surgery, and the only surgery I'd consider right now (ACI) wouldn't be feasible as I don't quite have enough paid leave to take the required amount of time off work. It is very encouraging to see the good results achieved with the HemiCAP though. It's looking more and more like it may be a very good option for me. I'd love to know the long term stats. I wonder if it lasts longer than a standard PKR, or if it's prone to working loose quicker. It's one of the reasons I'm reluctant to go for partial replacement just yet. Even if a partial replacement lasts 10 years I will still be too young to want to have it converted to a total. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions, decisions!! Thanks for your replies everyone. Keep up all the info!!

Cheers,

Kathy

[stgiles16]

Kathy, i have heard that stuff about how i am not progressing in pt until i could scream. they have at least admitted,,, finally, that pain is stopping the exercises from building any more muscle. this was before and after my hemicap surgery. i just gave up on pt for now. i go back to my OS in feb. 08 for my 2 year checkup. hopefully, my hemicap will still be where it was originally put. i dont know how long this clinical trial lasts but this will be the 2 yr mark so far.  i will keep you posted on my progress. i too am too young for a TKR so am hoping to put that off for many years. my bad knee still gives me fits but i am not interested in more surgery any time soon. i have had enough to last me a lifetime.

keep us posed
missy

[kathat]

I've only had one knee surgery and I've had enough!! I don't know how you've put up with so many. Blah!! I'd like to have a bit of a break without PT appointments etc, just to get used to things as they are. It's all happened so quickly. I have had aching for years, but the diagnosis, surgery, and updated diagnosis (we knew I had cartilage damage, just not how bad) has all happened so quickly that I haven't had time to think about it all and get used to my new reality. Anyway, I plan to keep a close eye on this thread, and I'll keep you posted about my end of things.

Kathy

[rottenkid]

I am now 22 days post op and doing well. my flex is at 134 degrees with the aid of the therapist on my own I am at 127. My damage was from 118 to 138 degrees of flex this is were the two lesions would hit. I do not have that pain any more the only pain is the muscles from progressive stretching. Arthrosurface is for a very small group of people for one you must have good cartilage around the damage area. Second you must fall into a certain age group (38 to 55) any younger they would go a natural route older and they would do a TKR if you are older. I am 44 210 lbs and very active. My job in tails heavy lifting,kneeling and squatting. I am hoping to return to my normal job in a few months and then retire in 7 years 5 months 6 days and 3 hours but hows counting? This procedure has a very small window of opportunity if you wait to long you will be stuck with a TKR at a young age. Time is not on your side
Rotten 

[stgiles16]

my Os tried the natural route after i was 38 and it worked, but it turns out that i had a second defect. both defects were from an accident so the cartilage around them were good,,,,well, they used to be, now i have RA and everything is falling apart. i too am 44 and had the hemicpa at 42. my ROM came back within one week, my Os was thrilled, most of my pain was from the arthrofibrosis that was cut out during the same surgery. i also had a rather large scar due to the scar tissue removal,,, that sucker hurt .
dont know how old you are kathy but keep the age thing in mind.
keep us posted rotten.
missy