The patello-femoral joint :

LR Surgery on 1/6...50-year-old female patient - - Posted by Vickid4788 (Vickid4788), 3 January 2005

Hi Friends!!!   I have been reading your posts and have found out a tremendous amount of information regarding knee surgeries and rehab but I have one of my own.

On January 6, 2005, I am having a lateral release done on my left knee via "key hole" surgery.  Because of the holidays, the doc won't be able to do his pre-surgical physical until January 5 which doesn't give me a lot of time to ask questions.  

Because of my "advanced" age of 50, I'm wondering how long I can anticipate being on crutches?  At what rate will my physical therapy progress?  On the world famous pain scale of 1-10, what can I anticipate my pain level to be initially.  

I've read a lot of you have had successful LRs and have read that many more of you seem to feel that the LR was useless and extremely painful.  

I'm very frightened.  I'm not so fearful of the surgery itself, but more of the rehab and the large potential that I will invest in my recovery will be for naught.

Help me please.   Any words you can give me will be greatly appreciated.  Have a Happy New Year to one and all.  

May your knees be strong and your recovery short!!!  

Vicki
Palatine, IL
Posted by Linds (Linds), 3 January 2005

First Vicki, goodluck...
second , the first question to ask yourself... if you haven't been told ask the doc is Why he has chosen the Lateral Release Surgery for you.  If his answer is that the lateral structures of your knee are too tight so they are causing your patella to tilt laterally, then he is doing this surgery for the right reasons.
I have had 2 lateral release surgeries, one on each knee, and I can't say that they have solved my problems, but I will say that they did correct the tilt of my kneecap. So that's something..right, just it would seem my problems were more complicated than the surgeon first thought.  
Also important to remember is that people who have made a full recovery following this surgery... they aren't hanging around here anymore, they are back to their lives and activities.
Every patient post LR is different, as well as is every Surgeon.  Some people on here were weight bearing the same day, I was on crutches for 4 weeks after my right knee and 2 weeks after my left. All the surgeons have different protocol, so it's important to ask your Surgeon those ?? on your pre surgical appointment.
Pain, again varys person to person. My first one I had complications so it was about an 19 on the 1-10 scale, but the second one..with no complications, it was painful the first day, but with the meds about a 5 and after that pretty good, I didn't even have to use my whole prescription of pain meds instead i was able to just take tylenol. Which is good cause pain meds aren't much fun.
I hope this has helped, goodluck... i'm sure you are nervous that date is coming up soon.

Take care and let us know how it goes

Hugs
Linds
Posted by mike_bknee (mike_bknee), 3 January 2005

I am a 49 year old male who had an LR on both knees in April of '04 (the first and 19th).  This was for severe PFPS caused (theoretically) by tight attachments and junk in my knee.  I was walking right after surgery and walked two miles within a couple days of surgery.  Within four days my operated knee felt better than the unoperated knee.  I think a big part of the recovery was using a Cryo-cuff.  I wore it religiously for about 10 days after surgery, and off and on since.  The surgery provided about 50% relief, mainly sitting and while sleeping.

The downside is that the remaining pain is getting worse and I am going in today to have an anterior interval release done on my right knee.  I am hoping for at least a few years of a tolerable knee, then if it gets worse again, I am hoping my surgeon will look into doing an Avon PKR.

Personal recommendation... get a microscopic tape done of your proceedure.  I understand they can do it at very little or no additional cost.  If the LR doesn't work, then you have a tape you can take to another doctor for diagnostic reasons for a second opinion.  My understanding is that a diagnostic tape is the best way to do this, especially with a condition like PFPS (which is difficult to treat and which I am assuming you have). I thought this was automatically done at my LR, but I should have made sure it was done.

The doctors are reluctant to do this because of liability issues (no one likes to have their job filmed), but it is your right as a patient.  JMO
Posted by DrThea (DrThea), 3 January 2005

Vickie,

All the best to you.  I had a LR on 7/1/04 - it was painful, hard work, and I lost a lot of muscle strength.  Be sure to do a lot of research before you have this surgery - I hope you had a lot of physical therapy before the OS recommended a LR.  Remember LR only corrects lateral tilt - not malalignment.  I learned the hard way, and I am now seeking second opinons.

Check out the link to some postings on LR.  Heather M is an expert in the area on this BB - she has some great links and advice.  

Here is the link:  
http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/cgi-bin/KNEEtalk/YaBB.pl?board=PF_joint;action=display;num=1104211578

Take care and all the best,

Thea
Posted by PattiAnn237 (PattiAnn237), 3 January 2005

Hi Vicki,
I totally agre with what everyone else has said so far, and i wish you the best with your surgery.  The recovery from my LR was more diffucult then i thought it would be, but it really wasn't horrible.  The pain wasn't too bad, and as longs as I took the pain killers I could sleep fine. Initially I would have rated it at a 6.  

What was most difficult was the fustration of trying to get around and not being able to.  

I think the most important thing is to work really hard and rest really hard.  That probably doesn't make much sense, but what I mean is move your knee as much as you can (the doc should give you some post-op exercises), but when you get too tired, you have to rest, my LR really weakened my  muscles and it took awhile to get them back.  

I went back to work (daycare) 2 weeks after the surgery, and although I could walk, I used crutches for balance for 4 weeks.  6 weeks post-op I started to feel back to normal.

Good luck, and let us know how you make out!!
~Patti
Posted by RGrelsamer (RGrelsamer, MD), 4 January 2005

I would agree with much that has been said.
As you can see, there is great variability, and, as has been noted, those doing great aren't hanging around the Bulletin Board.
The tales of misery here are a reminder that surgery of this kind is last resort surgery.
I don't know that your surgeon can automatically film the procedure. It used to be routine, now we take pictures.
I don't even know at my hospital what it would take to film (video) the procedure!
Good luck!
Posted by mike_bknee (mike_bknee), 4 January 2005

on 01/04/05 at 03:14:51, RGrelsamer, MD wrote:

I stand corrected  .  My surgeon promised to show me pictures of the procedure I had done today.  I will change my answer to "ask for pictures to be taken of the operation and if need be, copies for you".

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.