I have had 2 previous scopes on my right knee. The first was a lateral release; meniscus trimming; and trimming of cartilage on back of patella where "pot holes" existed. The second scope 6 years later in 2006 the Dr did a lateral release again and Chondroplasty. This scope took much longer to recover than the first.
I have played sports all my life and workout in some form daily. I love to run, however have always been able to tell you where a mile is with my pain since the first scoping. I am very active: play tennis 3-4 times a week, bike, play volleyball, ski... I have two young girls in sports and coach sports as well. I have been receiving a form of hyaluronic acid/synthetic synovial fluid shots every 6 months for the past 4 years and have had to increase them this past 8 months to every other month! My knee swells to where movement to 90 is not possible sometimes, when draining it during shots, my Dr finds cartilage floating in the thin fluid.
I am scheduled for Chondroplasty and Microfracture surgery in 2 weeks. My Dr had mentioned partial knee replacement, although he does not perform them, so I will have to go elsewhere for that if that is the direction I choose. The recovery for the Chondro/micro surgery sounds long and hard. I just turned 40 this August. I can not get an appointment with the knee replacement Dr until a week after the other surgery is to happen. I am trying to decide if I do this surgery knowing I will have a replacement down the road or get it done now??? What happens if I get a replacement and I need another because of my age?
