KNEE ARTHRITIS - Changing the forces through the joint :

High Tibial Osteotomy - - Posted by lam651 (lam651), 3 January 2003

Hi Everyone,
Has anyone had a high tibial osteotomy that failed from the start?
I had a HTO 15 mos. ago that has left me with a leg that is as bowed as before. My leg hurts worse than before in the knee and shin. I am surviving on indocin and with unloader knee braces. I haven't seen the OS who performed the surgery in a long time as he is of no help and acts like evrything is fine.
Eventulaly I will have to transfer my records somewhere else and get an opinion about what to do next. T am not sure how to find a new doctor but I suspect sports clinics might do the most knee work and might be a good  place to go.
As long as I can continue to go on I am not in a real hurry to see another doctor, because I'm sure they will want to do more surgery and I can't afford that right now. I hope I am not making things worse by waiting.
Any advice or insight from you other " knee war veterans" would be appreiciated.
Thanks, Larry
Posted by amazonia (amazonia), 5 January 2003

Hello Larry,

I had a HTO on Dec. 5th as a procedure prior to reconstructive ligament (PCL and PLC) surgery...and am wondering how soon it was you knew that yours wasn't a success?  I go back to the surgeon on Jan. 13 for x-rays, but to me my leg looks just the same as it did before....and it's too soon for me to know if there is any difference!.  Did you only need to have one leg done or both?  I wish I could offer some help, but since my HTO is so new, I can only wish you good luck in your quest to find relief or the proper medical attention.
Anne
Posted by lam651 (lam651), 5 January 2003

Hi Anne,
I am not sure when I decided my HTO wasn"t a success. At first my leg appeared to be straightened , but over time it started to look bowed again.
I am not so much going on how my leg looks as on how much pain I have in my leg when I say my surgery failed.
AS far as the OS who did the surgery was concerned he kept saying give it more time , in response to my requests for answers.
My other leg is bowed and also hurts , but it is still my good leg in comparison to the leg that had surgery.
From what I read on the internet before my HTO this surgery has something like a 80% success rate so your recovery will likely be just fine. I'm just trying to find out what happened to me and how to makr it better.
Good luck, Larry

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