OATs gone wrong??

[yampy]

   Hi. Had an OATs (inside the knee, not the cap) some 8 months ago.  Can't say it seemed a marvellous success; no mega pain or anything but it's always ached a bit during these 8 months and to be honest I wasn't really in much pain before the op. I elected to have the op to ward off any future arthritis i guess.  Within this period I've biked once a week, swam once also and do plenty of yoga.  I had one 'jog' after about 5 months and this sparked off a pain cycle so I've not returned to this

Anyway, 6 das ago, was walking into work when I yelled out with pain.  Just like someone pushed a needle into the knee and since then the knee feels sticky and stiff, general achiness and occasionally a real whopper of a stab. Decided to go out on the bike yesterday to see how I'd get on and bizarrely, all seemed well, even going up a hill.  Yes, some achiness but no loss of strength etc. 

All the yelps come from being on my feet seemingly. Any suggestions?

Best
Adam White

[Beauzer]

Where was the OATS "inside the knee"?  Was it a weight bearing area, like the femoral condyles?  Did you have an autograft or allograft?

I had an OATS 2 years ago on the MFC, which is a major weight-bearing area.  I had pain and swelling with any activity off and on for at least a year.  And I'm never ever supposed to run or do anything like that. 

The OATS area is very, very fragile for 2 years.  I'd ask your OS.  While you may not have actually hurt anything, the area doesn't really take much of a joke.  At 15 months out, I jogged across the street to avoid getting mugged and it hurt for 3 months.  Be careful.

[S_501]

Yeah, like Beauzer says you need to stay put and treat it even more carefully than a fracture. Also the oats between tibia and femur really support the bulk of the weight.
It's one step forward and two steps back for at least 1 years, depending on your age, general health, bodyweight, knee range of motion, lesion size and location etc etc etc

I'm having surgery tomorrow, and I'm freakin' out. My lesions are indicated in my signature below.

Saida

[brattkids]

I am almost two years out of my OATS and still get those stabbers every now and then (just from walking). It takes a very long time for the grafts to actually heal and set.

I was also told to not run or do major impact exercises.

Hopefully things will get better but just to let you know that your not alone and that these senstions can be normal for a long long time

Paulette

[maile433]

Adam, Paulette, your posts could easily have been written by me!!!  Good to hear that this is fairly normal.  I had my OATS last August, and was doing quite well (got back in to light cycling, swimming, yoga...sound familiar???), then one day, I was walking down the hall at work and had that same stabbing pain that nearly took me out.  Geez, are you sure we weren't sharing a body or something???

Anyway, the stabby pain stared in mid-March, and I've since been back to the OS a couple times.  He did another MRI and the cartilage portion of the plug was looking fine, but the underlying bone was still healing.  Apparetnly the bone itself dies and new bone fills in the plug, and during that period of ~6 months the plug will weaken a bit before it gets stronger.  In my case I was back on crutches for a few weeks while some of the pain subsided, but now it's just touch and go...some days are great, some days I get back to that stabbing pain.  My OS is still fairly optimistic about everything, and as long as I stay below my pain threshold, limit the weight-bearing activities, he suspects that things will heal up OK.  It does take time, though, and it sounds like we'll all just have to get used to some periodic pain from time to time.  One thing I have noticed, though, is recently when I get those little pains, the knee seems to recover faster.  It used to take me out for a day or two if I overdid it, but now I seem to be getting better faster.

Hope this helps...and I hope all your knees are feeling good today!
Sarah

[yampy]

Hi all. Thanks for the postings and sorry I haven't returned a comment for such a long time. I hardly hard anything (replies) for a week or so and to tell you the truth forgot that I'd made the post! Anyway, I have NO idea if it's allograft or auto and if I look down at my knee (left leg) the insertion was made to the right of the knee cap but on the lower leg, not upper. 

I was heartened by the responses and it's nice to know we're all experiencing similar things. One question: how much exercise should i be doing after 8 months? Does exercise help with healing or is it best to simply lay off altogether?

Thanks again,

Adam

[maile433]

Adam,

My OS's recommendations was to stick to swimming, stationary bike, and light walking.  Stay below the pain threshold, and limit the amount of standing on the leg.  At PT we backed off a bit on all of the weight bearing stuff for a while, now we're slowly adding stuff back in.  Hopefully it does the trick.

I find that when I do try to limit the amount of walking and/or standing that I do, I feel pretty good.  It's very easy to get past that point, however, especially since I usually don't feel the pain until later.  But, i use taht as a guide for next time.

Hope this helps!
Sarah

[james4148]

I had an OATS, TTT, and arthroscopy back in december 02.  Its been ok since then. Can't run or it swells up - as aother people have said.  I've been doing pretty intensive workouts since 03/04 - lots of squats weighted and unweighted. Never any problems.

It all seemed hunky dorey until the last 2 weeks.  I'm beginning to wonder if the grafts have started to wear off? knee feels strange, niggling pain whenever I walk... What's next - carticel?! Or TKR?

[mineemowse]

Actually had my OATS procedure 1 year ago today. Not a good turn out at all. I wasn't in this much pain prior to surgery. It is so hard to stand up and walk. Some days walking is better than others and some days can barely make it from the car to the house.

Am scheduled for a knee replacement with my new OS December 3.

My original surgeon said the tibia decided to poke through the one place he didn't put any cartilidge. Don't know if that was a joke or the truth.

Anyway, in my case, I'm really sorry I ever got it. It has been a really bad year, and hope the tkr works better.

Donna

[Robin M.]

Hi everyone,
I had a mosaicplasty on the MFC in Nov. 2005. Everything had been great until this July when I began to experience grinding and popping in the knee. By August I was having a lot of pain and problems doing steps. Went to the OS  and he thinks,according to the x-ray, that the donor site is failing. I had an autograft and the donor site holes were backfilled with OBI plugs.  Not sure what I will do now.  I'm 43 years old and not yet a candidate for a TKA.  I'm currently wearing an unloader brace, which helps with the pain. I may have a HTO if my OS feels that this will help. I will see him in a week so hopefully will know what is going on by then.  Has anyone experienced this and if so, what type of treatment did you receive?

Robin

[ekbote]

Sarah:

My experience is very similar. I find that when I do try to limit the amount of walking and/or standing that I do, I feel pretty good.  It's very easy to get past that point, however, especially since I usually don't feel the pain until later.  But, i use that as a guide for next time.

But that makes it difficult to do mundane activities like even long shopping hours. Did the OATS help you? I am desperate to diminish the pain in my knee caused by more walking/standing. I really don’t want to live with the pain all my life. I had injured my knee in an accident about 10 years ago in which my articular cartilage got damaged. I'd appreciate any pointers.

Best regards,
Arpita.

Adam,

My OS's recommendations was to stick to swimming, stationary bike, and light walking.  Stay below the pain threshold, and limit the amount of standing on the leg.  At PT we backed off a bit on all of the weight bearing stuff for a while, now we're slowly adding stuff back in.  Hopefully it does the trick.

I find that when I do try to limit the amount of walking and/or standing that I do, I feel pretty good.  It's very easy to get past that point, however, especially since I usually don't feel the pain until later.  But, i use taht as a guide for next time.

Hope this helps!
Sarah