ACI following TPF - One year on

[KartBoy]

A bit over three and a half years ago I was hit by a car and suffered a TPF, the plate and screws were in for a year, coming out to investigate increasing pain in the knee after initial recovery. After pestering the doctors to point of exasperation I was referred to Prof Briggs at RNOH Stanmore who put me forward for MACI (I ended up with ACI but only found that out six months later!). The operation was in August 2010 and again initial recovery was good but although I got back range of movement the pain never entirely went away and over last few months has started to increase, its actually fine when I'm doing rehab exercises at gym, just aches from middle of day onwards until I take pain medication, lately it sometimes aches from early in the day and those days i'll take them in the morning and again late evening.

Having got to the one year mark, Stanmore have now (as promised) initiated investigations. I'm on the list for an MRI which will be followed by arthroscopy which between them will allow them to hopefully figure out what is going on and even more hopefully have a solution. The pain isn't severe but when it switches on I really know about it and most days I'll be limping if I spend more than a few hours on my feet.

I don't regret the ACI for a minute, it made a huge difference to level of pain and gave me back lots of mobility but at 49 I'm still way to young for knee replacement and do want to have a reasonably active life for a few years yet.

[KartBoy]

Just on the off chance I called the MRI dept at Stanmore to check that I was on the waiting list for a scan. I was very pleased to be able to book appointment for next Saturday, and this is after being told they were booked up for next two months when I saw the consultant. It's reminded me how effective a charm offence can be although it does mean prioritising your health and taking advantage of cancellations that may not always be the most convienient.

[morgana]

    Kudos to you for the proactive approach and being able to jump on someone else's cancelation!  I will keep my fingers crossed that they can quickly locate the problem & it's an incredibly simple solution to solve it.

[KartBoy]

Thanks, your thoughts are appreciated

[morgana]

I'm thinking yesteday was your big MRI day, hoping that the problem was easy to see, and there will be an easy solution.  Thinking about you.

[KartBoy]

The MRI appointment went well, I have a date for follow-up consult of 23rd November but am calling Stanmore every few days checking for cancellation, they are more than happy to take these calls but no luck yet.

[KartBoy]

Yesterday (A monday morning) I called Stanmore again and got an appointment for next day, its always worth calling back and while the day ended up a bit nightmarish only getting out of the clinic at 6:30pm I'm now in the queue for an arthoscopy. They did all the pre-admission stuff so now waiting for a letter with day surgery date.

The doctor wasn't too positive, just said they needed to look in the knee as MRI was inconclusive as to state of cartilage, no surprises there.

[KartBoy]

I now have a date for the scope in early December, just over four weeks and really pleased to be able to get this done before Xmas, its always worth chasing the NHS and having a reputation for never missing an appointment and always being prepared to attend at short notice.

[smileyshaz]

Congratulations on getting your early appointment, hope it all goes smoothly for you and they are able to find a cause and fix your pain!

[KartBoy]

Thanks, I thought they had done the pre-admission checks after I saw the consultant but apparently not so this is set for Monday 21st, I'm not going to the gym any more but am still exercising the knee and walking as much as I can because injured knee is noticably slimmer than 'good' leg, legacy of all the periods of nwb.

Staying as positive as I can about the outcome, although I've been in pain for a long time there are many more far worse than me and I'm being treated at one of the best, if not the best orthopaedic center in the country.

[morgana]

Your date is getting closer & closer!      

Congrats on finally getting in & of course, best wishes on getting HUGE HUGE HUGE IMMEDIATE relief!

[KartBoy]

Thanks Morgana, your thoughts are appreciated.

[jasmin1989]

Hey I really feel for you. good luck with the arthroscopy. I was hit by a car earlier this year and got a TPF.
I've been having this pain in my knee whenever I bend (weight bearing) so I had the hardware removed and an arthroscopy last Tuesday. I'm still waiting for the surgery pain to go but I'm hoping that it worked and the pain is gone! I find out this Friday what they actually did during the arthroscopy. Good luck and stay positive :-)

[KartBoy]

No3 on the surgery list so it was a long day and didn't get to see the surgeon after the operation. I'm still trying to find out myself what they found or if the did any cleanup of the cartilage. The knee has stiffened up but not too much pain which is good but would like to know what's going in so will just keep calling hospital until I get some answers, I saw surgical notes but indeciperable so will have to wait until they are formerly written up.

[jasmin1989]

Any luck finding out what they did or found?
Saw my surgeon the other day. He said the cartilage and split so he trimmed it and neatened it all up. Sadly the pain is back for me and feels even worse :-( He told me the pain would 'eventually' settle down. I am just wondering when 'eventually' is :-(