KNEE ARTHRITIS - Autologous chondrocyte implantation (A.C.I.) :

ACI/carticel in two weeks - yikes - - Posted by ace (ace), 22 January 2004

Hi - I've been reading posts, waiting for a "go" on my ACI date and trying to get mentally prepared. All the information on the posts has really helped - I've learned more here than from anyone else.    
This sure sounds like a fairly rigorous surgery and rehab. Hope I'm up to it - no turning back now!  
I'm having an ACI on my left patella to repair a lack of cartilage (defect) due to a car accident 2 years ago. I'm also having a mosaicplasty on the left medial femoral condyle to repair a defect due to cartilage problems that I've always had on both knees. (I'm bone-on-bone in both knees)  
This will be my 4th surgery on my left knee - last 3 were scopes and I know this one will be the mother of all surgeries.
I have one more appointment with the surgeon before my Feb 6 surgery date.  From what he's said and what my physical therapist told me, I'll be 8 weeks NWB because of the mosaicplasty (spelling?).  I'm a single parent and I live in a house with two flights of stairs, so the logistics will be fairly challenging.  
I'm also hyper-sensitive to almost all pain meds (really severe stomach upset ) but I'm willing to try anything if I could start sleeping! And if it would stop hurting... that would be something new.
I could use advice re: what to be sure to do before surgery - around the house and stuff; also ideas for pain meds.  My GP has worked with me re: pain control for years and I'm open to any new ideas.
Thanks for reading this long first post -  
Posted by Nettan (Nettan), 23 January 2004

Hey !!

Good things to do before surgery :

lots of pillows,movies, fill up the freezer and fridge with easy-cook food maybe do food you can only get warm in microwave,ice to ice the knee with, a good book, telephone right near were you are, do laundry and cleaning before going in.

Wish you luck.

hugs nettan  
Posted by neil (neil), 6 February 2004

Hi
I had aci/carticel implant on sept 22 of 2003. Before I say what happened next, I want to preface it that we are all different. Almost 3 and a half weeks after implant my knee swelled like a basketball, i had nightsweats , a constant fever and pain in areas of the knee that I never experienced before.  I called my os and his office told me to call my primary. I had already gone that route. 4 days later I callled my os again and this time he returned my call, we discussed my symptoms and he wanted to see me first thing next morning. I went to see him, he drained a greenish yellow fluid out, left the room and came back and told me I would be having surgeyry later that day. a whirlwind.  I knew nothing about why and what was happening and wwhen I got to hospital I had an Infectious dieseas specialist see me, and explain a few things. I had surgery and was in hospital a week awaiting all  the reults from cultures  and many visits from my os and infectious disease doctor.
 Good news was I did not have an infection, th e implanted cartilage was in vewry good shape but a head scratcher as far as what happened. Maybe I had an allergic reaction to the glue used to seal the pocket where the cartilage was implanted? No one could say for sure.  I was on numerous antibiotics , anti inflams and pain killers because my os manipulated me while he also drained the knee.  Idid all my pt excercises, the cpm , and worked hard at building quad strength because it atrophied worse that when i severed it.
Today i have 130 degrees of passive motion, and the key is for the muscles to strengthen. I have daily pain anywhere from a 4 - 6 on the pain scale and i bust my butt to get back so I can get back to my physical activites before this all happened. I am 42, was extremely active in ice hockey and tennis as well as a 3 sport coach at a private high school. I still can not do anything active but my range is good and my os tells me to  take things month by month. I wish I could see the end of the tunnel but day by day and month by month  is how i live my life.  I have spoke to someothers who have had it done and they were a lot further along at this point than I am, but the daily pain is the biggest obstacle once I accepted my inactive status. MY 3 kids want me to play with them, piggy back rides and everything before all this happened and that is hard to say no to but there is no way I can do those things. Yet.
 I hope you are not scared off by my experience but I think with all the adversities I have faced I am much better today than I was yesterday.  Your mind will tell you you can do things but your body won't let you. I still have falling episodes due to lack of muscle strenght or nerve issues depending which doctor I listen to. I do walk with a cane and hope to get rid of that before long.   If you want, I will  keep you updated. I know i do not want the carticel to fail and neither does my doctor. Let me also qualify all this, because I also not only severed my quad I cut off a piece of my femor and part of my patella.  Just stay positive and work hard at your recovery. I am staying positive and on those days when I feel down, I think of what could have been and where I will be the next day, one step closer.
neil
Posted by neil (neil), 6 February 2004

If I may, I found milk of magnesium works with the stomach problems due to pain meds. It worked for me, and I also went thru all of this with out the help of another adult at home but with 3 kids. Like Nettan says, prepare  meals in advance and lean on friends and neighbors. I am lucky my house is a ranch so I have yet to encounter stairs but someone at therapy told me to try walking backwards down them it works for them. I have not tried but when I do encounter even the slightest amount of stairs It is one at a time.
Good luck
Posted by ace (ace), 10 February 2004

I'm just now home so this is a quick post - more later, tomorrow.  Quite curious about the stairs, who would have thought to try doing them backwards??

That's what I love about this group - some pretty good ideas!

Now off to my first sleep in my own bed in too many nights -

Thanks again -

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