Bone breaks around the knee :

Old injury - no patella - HELP! - - Posted by lindall (lindall), 4 September 2004

This is a great site and my first post.  I've found some interesting info but nothing specific to my situation so I thought I would see if anyone out there has any similar experience.

I'm 52 years old and 26 years ago I was in a motorcycle accident that shattered my patella.  My patella was removed and everything was reconnected (with a bone graft) to the front of my tibia.  (At the time, when I asked the doctor about a replacement knee cap, he said I didn't have a large enough existing piece to attach it to so they couldn't do it.)  

Well, it's been many years since then.  For the first 20 years my quad got slightly stronger each year (though never full strength.)  Also, for the first 10-15 years I fell periodically due to not enough quad strength and instability around the knee, but even that finally stopped happening so much.  About 5 years ago I began experience extreme fatigue and weakness in both my quads when walking up hills or stairs (still haven't figured out what's wrong, there) which, of course affected the stability of my old injured knee.

Now the crux of the problem.  Last November I tripped and fell and landed with the front of my injured knee  directly on a hard marble surface.  I kept expecting it to get better on it's own with excercise and ice but that hasn't happened.  I have significant pain while sitting or laying on my back and trying to raise my leg in a bent position and I also experience pain after sitting for a while with my leg bent (at my desk working, sitting in a theater, etc.)  I went to a sports doctor, tried physical therapy and recently had an MRI.  She says I have tendonitis in the quad tendon, some bone bruising, muscle atrophy (of course) etc, but has no real suggestions as to the problem or solutions (except to see a surgeon.)  

I've obviously never been into any sort of athletics but I would like to be able to rebuild my strength and eliminate the pain so I could go hiking and do yoga again.   I'm not opposed to surgery if it has a pretty good chance of working.  Does anyone out there have any ideas?

Posted by lizl (lizl), 5 September 2004

I don't have any suggestions, but I wanted to welcome you to the board.

I hope there are some kneegeeks out there who can give you a shout.

LizL
Posted by lizl (lizl), 5 September 2004

Come to think of it, I do have a suggestion.

Click on the word "Search" above in the header of this page. It's beside the magnifying glass graphic. Then type in the word patellectomy. I tried it and found lots of hits.

When you start reading the threads there, you will see the names of people who have commented on patellectomy. You can click on a name and send a person an individual message. Don't expect an instant response, however, as the recipients will have to notice that they have a new message the next time they log on. Again, look at the header and you'll see something like  "Good Evening lizl, you have 10 messages." The words "10 messages" will be in blue, and you can just click on those words to go to the individual messages.

Good luck!

LizL

Posted by lindall (lindall), 5 September 2004

Thanks, LizL.  I've searched the posts (though not had a chance to read them all thoroughly.)  I found lots of great info but it seems that most of the patella breaks were more recent and/or the patella was more salvagable.  Otherwise, the patellectomies were done to improve an already damaged joint.  I guess this injury is just so old that back in 1978 they didn't have some of the technology they have now!  

At this point, I'm thinking of getting a second opinion from a naturopathic sports doctor rather than going straight to a surgeon.  Western medicine can be so frustraing in that it seems the doctors just really don't have time to listen to you!

Thanks again.
Posted by EMON (EMON), 9 September 2004

Hey!
Thought I'd give you a shout out ... welcome!
This is kind of wild. I too had a motorcycle accident [1981] : shattered my patella beyond repair, snapped my femur [still have the rod down the bone], and crushed my ankle.

I too am relatively new here, and agree this would have been an excellent comfort back 20+yrs. ago! [I was young & dumb when I had my accident and really didn't realize what the Docs meant when they said I 'may have to use a cane in 20yrs. or so'] Like you, I made great strides in recovery.

Don't know if I can help, guess it's just comforting to here from another whose endured the silent lifelong frustration this situation imposes on one. [When you get your walk looking normal, etc., most people don't understand as hard  as you work it , despite external appearances, you still have limitations; not to mean you don't still aspire to try]

Anyhow, I state the obvious. Sure enough, about a year ago I overworked and fell hyperextending my bad leg, like you, I was use to the aches & pains that come & go. This time however when most of the pain went, there was an annoying 'click' every time I bent it & lots of instability.

Now I don't know about you, but after all the trauma  I went through all the many years ago, I wasn't looking to hear about anymore surgery! As I saw my quads starting to shirnk [probably from favoring] I went to a PT. When he worked to a state of even more pain, I reluctantly saw an OS. Examination, mri, x-rays ... mushed meniscus! He said he could clean it up with arthroscopy, but no certainty it would help.

My concern is arthritis. Please continue to post, as will I if anything useful comes up.

This old Forum was so valuable that we have kept it as an archive. It is just for reference. If you want to ask questions or offer advice, there is also a current Bulletin Board which you can access from our home page.

Hunting for information is a slow process. browsing through these topics will probably raise a lot of questions in your mind. Don't forget that there is a whole site behind these forums - just click the 'KNEEguru' home button at the top left of your page when you are ready to access it.