Kirsty's Right Knee Chrondroplasty and Trochleoplasty

[Silkncardcrafts]

Hi Everyone,

Had a pretty busy day and felt exhausted when I got home.

I saw my sports physician this morning. He was really helpful. I explained that I was generally feeling unwell and that the pain has been hard to control. He suggested using a Cryo Cuff, which I had thought of. So, I ordered when this afternoon and should get it by Friday. This should help reduce the amount of pain meds I am having to take at the moment.

My sports physician said it is probably a combination of the painkillers, trauma to my knee and the general anaesthetic. He said that they ended up having to cut my patella tendon to get access to the trochlear groove and then had to repair it. So, no wonder I have been in a fair bit of pain. He said they have to dislocate the knee cap to get access to the trochlear and that I did have a fair amount of blood loss. So, that explains more things.

On the way home I sorted out a bill from an ultrasound and x-ray I had taken when I got injured at work. They had charged me the wrong amount, so had to get it sorted which it finally was. I couldn't believe how incompetent they were. Mean while I was standing there in agony. They just didn't seem to care. Once I told them I couldn't stand much longer they sorted it out.

Then, my Dad and I had some lunch at the hospital, which was nice. By then I was totally exhausted. I went to the hospital pharmacy to get some passport photos as I needed one for the student ID I need for the course I am starting next week. On the way home we posted the letter to the uni and went home. I then ordered the Cryo Cuff and headed to bed for a few hours as I didn't feel great.

Hopefully I will sleep better tonight. I slept really bad last night and felt like a zombie when I woke up.

Milly, I asked my doc about the work done on my knee cap. He didn't think that was the cause of the pain, but now he has explained what they did it makes sense why I have been in a fair bit of pain. Hopefully the Cryo Cuff will really help.

Nick, yeah it is good to go out to take things off my knee. So pleased I could see my sports physician today to find out what was going on.

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Gosh no wonder it hurts so much.  I sometimes think the soft tissue stuff hurts worse than the bone work.  The Cryo cuff should help a bunch.  All the meds do tend to make you feel rather crappy too.  Well it should improve over time, just maybe not as fast as you would like?

Milly

[Skinnycatz]

Hi Kirsty...

They cut your patella tendon??  Geez...it would have been nice if your OS had told you that! You might need special rehab because of that!  Check out the people on here that have had patella tendon tears/repairs...they take a LONG time to get better!  Why don't these OSs explain things more?  I sure had that problem with OS#1 after all my surgeries.  I found out what he really did and the REAL condition of my knee when I went to the PT.  He would take the time to really explain things to me.  It is as if as soon as the OSs are done with surgery, they are not interested anymore.  And, if you come back to them with problems, they get all pissy!  I think they have such high opinions of themselves because they can do orthopedic surgery that if something goes wrong, they take it personally...like it is an insult to their surgery skills or something.  Maybe your OS isn't as bad as that but I really think he should have explained things to you a lot better so you wouldn't have had to run around to your other doctor to get the real scoop!  When you go back to your OS, give him a piece of your mind...he deserves it!  Sorry, but this kind of thing really makes me mad because I have had to deal with SO much of it in the past few years.  I hate to hear it happening to someone else! 

Hopefully your PT will be up on everything you had done and will be able to get you functiioning quickly! 

Take care...

Francine

[Silkncardcrafts]

Hi Everyone,

I am feeling better than yesterday. Tomorrow I should get my Cryo Cuff. Here is a picture of one, so you know what it looks like.

http://www.buyaircast.com/cryo-cuff-knee.htm

Last night I slept a lot better, which was good. Hopefully I will sleep better tonight too.

Milly, yeah at least I know now why I have been feeling so crap. I reckon it is actually the patella tendon causing most of the pain now. You are right, things will improve over time.

Francine, yeah I must say I was pretty shocked but they did what they did to get the job done. I will definitely question my OS about it next week. Curious to know why he didn't tell me. I am so glad that I have my sports physician and he knew exactly what was done. Just wish he told me about the tendon. Then, I would have more of an understanding why I was in a lot of pain. Maybe he just didn't want to tell me as I was so drugged up, who knows ? Don't worry I will be asking for the fine detail next week when I see my OS.

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

I think you will find the Cryo-cuff to be wonderful.  I could not have made it through for my last surgery without it.  It really helped the pain and kept me from needing the pain meds so much.

Milly

[Clarkey]

Hi Kirsty,

Its great that you are able to sleep a lot better and can start using your Cryo Cuff once it arrives which will really help as Milly used it after her surgery and it helped her. I would have thought your OS would have mentioned that he cut through the patella tendon which has got to hurt so no wounder you are in a lot of pain. Just as well your sports physician was able to tell you about your surgery in more detail.

Nick {2010}

[Silkncardcrafts]

Hi All,

Today I feel I've made quite a bit of improvement. Hardly got any swelling and am able to walk in the house without crutches. Am hoping to walk in to my appointment with my OS without crutches next Wednesday. Can't wait to see his face !

I went out to brunch with my friend with her little girl today, which was fun. Her little girl is so cute and growing all the time.

When I got home I was pretty tired. So just iced my knee, did my exercises and rested for the remainder of the afternoon.

Milly, I didn't get my Cryo-Cuff today. They stuffed up my order. Was still sitting on the guy's desk who took the order !!!! Grrrrrr ! Anyway, they processed it today. So, should get it on Monday. It would really help I think.

Nick, yeah I was surprised about my OS not telling me about cutting the tendon. I will be quizzing him about it next week though. They do what they need to in order to do the operation and I understand that. So, it isn't a big deal.

[Clarkey]

Hi Kirsty,

Great that your knee is improving already and swelling is minimal and do not require crutches all the time and hope the surgery you just had is the end of your knee problems finally. It would be fantastic if you can walk into your OS office without crutches as he would be very pleased for you. Its nice you was able to eat out with your friend and her daughter, hope you have a good weekend.

Nick {2010}

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Sounds great that you are moving and walking better.  Just try not to push it too hard yet.  No matter what they do the first few days to a week are really tough.

Hope the Cryo cuff comes Monday.

Milly

[Silkncardcrafts]

Hi All,

I am walking around the house without my crutches, except when my leg gets really tired. It is a good feeling. Still takes a lot of effort, but am sure it will get better as time progresses. My balance is not too crash hot at the moment, so I think when I go out of the house it is a good idea to have a crutch. Am going to see if I can use a walking stick instead of a crutch.

Night time is still really tough. I really think the Cryo Cuff will help at night time. It takes a long time to get to sleep, but is improving.

I am really pleased with my progress considering what major work I had done on my right knee less than 3 weeks ago.

Tomorrow I am seeing my sports physician and physio. I hope to get clearance from my sports physician to drive. Am seeing my physio for my back and shoulder. It has been shocking in the last week. Think I spoke too soon. When I saw my doctor last Wednesday I said my back and shoulder were pretty good.

Nick, yeah it should be the end of most of my knee problems. I suspect I may have some ongoing problems with the cartilage, but I can deal with that if my knee cap remains stable. I plan to walk in to my OS's offices without crutches, if I can.

Milly, yeah I am so pleased to be walking better. Not pushing things too much. Yesterday I went to the library and took one crutch with me.

[Silkncardcrafts]

Hi All,

Today I got my Cryo Cuff. Yay !!!! Finally. Really happy to have it now. It will be my next best friend. Already used it once tonight. Will use it again before I go to sleep tonight.

I had a reasonably busy day today. Saw my sports physician and physio. My sports physician is pleased with my progress since last week. He said that I can drive now, which is great. He also filled in a form so I can get a temporary disabled parking permit so I can park closer to shops etc. Can't wait to get it. I faxed off the form tonight. My asthma hasn't been great. So, I have to increase one of my preventers this week and wean of it next week. I got back to see him next week. He thinks it will be about 3 months until I can really get back in to my sports trainer work, which was a surprise to me. It is cause of the extensive work they had to do. Apparently they cut my quads tendon, not my patella tendon. I know that above the knee cap it is called the quads tendon and below the knee cap is called the patella tendon.

My physio did some work on my back and gave me some other ideas on some stretches I can do, which is good. He gave me a slight variation of one of the exercises I am doing, given to me by my knee surgeon. He gave me a stretch for my calf where I straighten my leg, which should help too. Apparently my sports physician said on his notes to do "slow rehab". My physio is going to speak to my sports physician about that.

I did ask my sports physician about pilates, but said it was too early. I was disappointed, but understand why they want to take it slowly. I am just too gung ho sometimes.

Overall, I am pleased with my progress. Am down to one crutch outside but mainly walk on my own inside the house.

[John42]

Hi Silkncardcrazy

Having read your recent post, I found that the information which you have been given by your OS/PT seems impossable to believe.

Nobody who has sustained a torn or tear or a Ruptured Tendon, could be off one crutch, back to work, walking etc within three weeks.

Unless of course you are an exception to the rule !!!!!!!

JohnK/ Manchester UK

[Clarkey]

Hi Kirsty,

That great that your are able to drive again and can get temporary disabled parking permit so you can park closer to the shops, you have a really nice sports physician who is happy to help you out. Talking about sports physician do you think I should be seeing one as my right knee not improving and always had problems with my left knee and can see one on the NHS.

Not great that your asthma has got worse and cannot get back to your sports trainer work for another 3 months. Good that you are also seeing your physio who can work on your back as well as your knee.

Nick {2010}

[itigo]

Hi Silkncardcrazy

Having read your recent post, I found that the information which you have been given by your OS/PT seems impossable to believe.

Nobody who has sustained a torn or tear or a Ruptured Tendon, could be off one crutch, back to work, walking etc within three weeks.

Unless of course you are an exception to the rule !!!!!!!

JohnK/ Manchester UK

I understand that in knee replacements it is common practice to make a cut in the quads tendon in order to  move the kneecap out of the way. If it is a small cut, recovery time is not that long. Could be misinformed though.........Maybe that is what she had done so they could see better?

[Silkncardcrafts]

Hi All,

I have been using the Cryo Cuff quite a bit and is really helping.

Today I ventured out to do a few jobs and then rested most of the afternoon.

Tomorrow I am seeing my knee surgeon. Will be good to get the low down on what he actually did, what he found and what he thinks the prognosis will be. I am particularly keen to know about the arthritis and whether that is likely to get worse over time. Will update after my appointment tomorrow.

John, I think that Itigo is right. My sports physician didn't seem to think it would add to much time on to my rehab. Will ask tomorrow though. Thanks for your concern.

Nick, yeah great to be driving again. I am trying not to do too much though. Need to take things slowly. I reckon it would be worth seeing a sports physician on the NHS to try and sort things out for you. Doesn't sound like you are getting anywhere fast.

Itigo, that is interesting regarding knee replacements. Think it would be similiar for trochleoplasties. Hope you are starting to feel better.