Our son began having subluxations at age 14, see Diggersmom history.  He really wants to play HS basketball, but we know because he hasn't had corrective surgery due to growth plates being open he will just reinjure.  His orthopedic surgeon has been cautious, but has mentioned surgery (I think the TTT) in the past.  We don't know the status of our son's growth plates, but wonder if this will be worth it.  Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

3diggersmom,
You are such a good mother and I feel your pain. more than you know.
I cant help with the growth plate issue but can give some of my story regarding adolescent athletes.
I am 51, my knee was on several covers of magazines back in the 70's because I was a wrestler that traveled the country with a national team and had all my cartilage removed when I was 13 due to an accident.
Doctors told me not to play sports at 13 and my parents let me chose and I chose to go on.  Well by 17 had another surgery just to keep going.. by then had the knee of what the doctors called a 70 year old.
To make a long story short, sports are important to build character and I do not regret my decision but I really never thought that it could cause me at 51 to end up with a knee total knee and hip.
Only thing I wish I had done is take up golf like the doc told me to do.. I might be playing on the senior tour by now LOL.
Good luck Mom.
Pilot

Hi there,

I would avoid surgery for your son as long as possible.

Seeking another opinion would be a good idea.

As a sports trainer I work with a lot of young athletes and also encourage them to seek the right advice and only have surgery if it is absolutely necessary.

How badly is he affected ? Does he have subluxations every day or only when he plays sport or does exercise ?

Now I see this post is almost a year old, but still for what it's worth, I just looked at some of your old posts diggersmom and I see that you mention patella alta and shallow trochlear groove, but I see no mention of ever having had a CT scan or any mention of a malalignment like knock-knees or bowed legs. The CT scan will indicate if there is any rotational deformity of the femur and/or tibia, which is always a possibility especially when problems start at a young age. It will also tell the TT-TG distance, indicating if a TTT to move the patella medially would be beneficial. A standing full leg length x-ray (hip to ankle) will let on if there is any knock-knee or bowed-leg malalignment. Since you mentioned patella alta before, I wonder what kind of TTT the OS was suggesting, as distalization of the TT is the kind that addresses patella alta. Best to see a patella specialist that will rule out these factors.