Bone breaks around the knee :

Tibeal Plateau fracture which doesn't show on xray - - Posted by wimple (wimple), 7 October 2004

has anybody here had a tibial plateau fracture which didn't show up on the first xray? I had a fall today and A & E told me that they strongly suspect a tibial plateau fracture but can't treat it as one because it didn't show up on the xray. I've been sent away with crutches and painkillers but I'm at a loss what to do. I had an athroscopy in July when my plica was removed. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Posted by kgrosskurth (Kathy G), 7 October 2004

I wish I could help you, but I don't know what to advise unless you want to get another OS to look at the X-ray to see what s/he sees. If you have no hardware, a MRI may help as well. Other than that, I'm at a loss as to what to tell you. I hope you find out what you need to know. All the best to you in getting your answers!  
Posted by wimple (wimple), 8 October 2004

Went back to A&E today because still can't put weight on my leg, they didn't rexray it but have decided its not a fracture, been left to see my physio who I have an appointment with on Monday anyway, but my knee is now 'clunking' painfully at the bottom on the outside whenever I move it at all, let alone walk on it - any ideas?
Posted by yippy (yippy), 8 October 2004

Hi there,
A friend of mine fell over her dog and did a tibeal plateau fracture that was not seen at first on x.ray. I would recommend you see someone else as she had 4 days of unnessessary pain until she had the diagnosis and proper pain relief and treatment.
Good luck hope you get the answers you need.
Posted by Womble4eva (Womble4eva), 9 October 2004

Ouch! Sorry 2 hear about ur fall. It may be wise to see someone else and get their view on ur knee coz there must some reason they suspected in the first place a tib plateau fracture. Even if it isnt that then it would put ur mind at ease and hopefully they can treat u for what the problem is. Did they say at A+E the second time that u went what they thought the problem might be if it wasnt a fracture Hope it all goes ok for u and ur knee starts to feel better soon!
Posted by wimple (wimple), 9 October 2004

Hi,
no, I wasn't told what they think it could be - the doctor started muttering about the minute structures in the knee, ie the fat pad, and that my physio would monitor and that my os was great because he'd fixed this doctors knee!!! So, I came to the conclusion they are making it someone elses problem! They suspected a tibial plateau fracture in the first place because the doctor I saw first pressed in on the outside of my knee and something moved under her finger, which led her to believe something was possibly broken. Problem was, the second doctor I saw was the idiot who misdiagnosed me in March 2003 when I slipped over, he reckoned then that I'd torn my MCL, grade 1, again  with no xray and I spent 18 months wandering round the NHS system trying to get it sorted out, so as you can imagine his diagnosis doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. The problem now is that its not easy in the UK to get another opinion without paying for it or waiting for ages, so hopefully when I see the physio on Monday she will be able to arrange for me to see the os. At this moment in time, I can still barely put weight on it, its still clunking painfully and I just don't know where to go from here
Posted by Womble4eva (Womble4eva), 10 October 2004

Sorry 2 hear about ur knee still being painful. I am in the UK also so I do understand how difficult it can be to get another opinion. I hope the physio can shed some light on things for u 2moro. Take care for now and dont do too much with the knee.
Posted by sashazur (sashazur), 28 October 2004

I have a tibial plateau fracture that didn't show on an x-ray... after I tore my ACL the first thing the Dr. did was an x-ray and he said it looked clean. But the MRI I had a couple weeks later showed a fracture. The Dr. thinks it's not really a fracture (more likely a bone bruise), but a friend-of-a-friend who's a radiologist said that this type of fracture may only show up on MRI and not on x-ray. Go figure!
Posted by wimple (wimple), 28 October 2004

Hi,
I'm no further forward with this, physio now suspects some kind of problem with the iliotibial band, but has been unable to secure me an appointment with my os until December 22nd (thats supposed to be 'urgent'!!!) I still have times where for some reason I can't put weight on my leg at all, then it feels like something moves and I can weight bear again, sometimes this happens within a few minutes so I would'nt like to guess what is going on in there! Despite the 2nd fall, I'm still classed as being post op for the athroscopy that my os did at the beginning of July where he removed my plica. A friend who is a physio is of the opinion theres something happening in there as plica is normally classed as a symptom rather than a cause as something has to be irritating it for it to get inflamed in the first place! Will let you know what happens after Dec 22nd!
Posted by kgrosskurth (Kathy G), 31 October 2004

Thanks for the update, Wimple. December 22 seems like an awfully long time to wait for a follow-up, given your situation. I would check in periodically to see if there is a cancellation where they can "fit you in" if you are experiencing much discomfort. But of course, you have to do what you feel led to do.

At any rate, thanks for the report, and I pray you will get some answers soon!  

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