WonkeyDonkey's High Tibial Osteotomy - Open Wedge Diary 11/11/11

[Lee Tipton]

DEAR WONKEY DONKEY,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HONESTY!!!!  I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it.  I am scheduled for a right Distal Femoral Osteotomy tomorrow at 5 PM!!  I am scared out of my wits - but I am in enough pain that I am going to do this.  My right ankle is very painful and now my hip is starting to hurt as well.  So I really have no choice but to start the straightening process. 

But I have many fears.  I had a medial menisectomy when I was 19 - that was 40 years ago.  I imagine that this femor has been taking this sharp turn to the left for a number of years now.  So I probably have had no weight on the outside of my right knee for at least 10 if not 20 years.  I am so afraid of a dislocation of this knee when I start putting weight on it.  But even if it takes wearing a brace the rest of my life - I will probably forego the knee replacement if at all possible.

I want to wish you well and much continued fortitude.  Those knee replacements are not for everyone.  I know people that tell me - just go do it.  No thank you.  Not if I can keep from it.

I will add you to my prayers.
Lee Tipton

[cardifflandlord]

Hey all, really interesting read.

I'm going in for my first HTO on Thursday the 21st Nov and i'm very nervous. Any tips or help greatly received.

Hope all is well with you all who have had the op.

Jools

[UK86]

2 Years On 11/11/13


I still seem to spend a fair amount of time going from one appointment to another. I have two more appointments at the hospital in the next six weeks, one day I look forward to maybe only going once a year or less!
Can I do more now? Only because I make myself, not because it is less painful. I do not take so many pills but do use co-dydramol tablets and ibuprofen gel on occasions. I have learnt how to deal with the pain better, and how to adjust my life around it.
I still have good days and bad, but try positive thinking and doing something I enjoy to take my mind off knees. I know I will never run again, or even jump around, but I can swim, walk, cycle and do some fitness classes.

Hi, I know this has been a long time since your surgery now but I am wondering how you are getting on?

This post ^ above ^  seems to suggest some reservations about the surgery and how it is not a cure for the chronic pain.  Do you feel at this stage, approaching 4 years on, that the surgery was worth it?

[sc87]

To Wonkey Donkey.

Thank you so much for making this diary.  I read it everyday, over and over.

I am currently 16 days post op - tibial osteotomy.  I can't believe how emotional it has made me feel. I feel like crying most days.  I was so nervous about the op that I didn't really think about after the operation and how difficult it would be getting around with a straight leg brace on.

I am really worried that I am behind on my knee bend, it feels so tight when I try to bend it that I feel like it's going to burst.  It's so hard mentally trying to accept that the knee is now working after having a dodgy knee for so long and not using it for months.  Due to the inactivity, I have lost so much muscle, especially in my quad. Has anyone got any ideas how I can build this back up?  I cannot physically move it without assistance.  I have tried so hard.

I am petrified of going in the car as I have to trust someone else to hold my leg up high when getting in.  I haven't really left my house properly since having it done. 

Is anyone else finding that their leg twitches on it's own?

Thanks for all of your stories, they are keeping me going.

[UK86]

To Wonkey Donkey.

Thank you so much for making this diary.  I read it everyday, over and over.

I am currently 16 days post op - tibial osteotomy.  I can't believe how emotional it has made me feel. I feel like crying most days.  I was so nervous about the op that I didn't really think about after the operation and how difficult it would be getting around with a straight leg brace on.

I am really worried that I am behind on my knee bend, it feels so tight when I try to bend it that I feel like it's going to burst.  It's so hard mentally trying to accept that the knee is now working after having a dodgy knee for so long and not using it for months.  Due to the inactivity, I have lost so much muscle, especially in my quad. Has anyone got any ideas how I can build this back up?  I cannot physically move it without assistance.  I have tried so hard.

I am petrified of going in the car as I have to trust someone else to hold my leg up high when getting in.  I haven't really left my house properly since having it done. 

Is anyone else finding that their leg twitches on it's own?

Thanks for all of your stories, they are keeping me going.

Hi,
Osteotomy is a big surgery and 16 days post op is very in the recovery process. 

The emotions are normal, so try to just go with them rather than fight it too much.  Total muscle shut down (I also relied on someone to swing my leg into the car for me! but movement & control will come back), twitching and wastage is something I also experienced.  It will take time, patience and dedication to build the leg back up to its full potential.  Hopefully you are getting advice on exercises and so on from your physiotherapist? At 16 days I would say the goal is to try and keep the muscles activated and to regularly bend your knee to encourage good range of movement. 

I am approaching 2 years post op from a HTO & lateral release.   I still have tightness which restricts ROM (not severely so) and to be honest even now I have not regained muscle bulk or strength equal to my other leg.  My knee is better than before but sports or a really physically demanding job would still be out of the question. Day to day pain is less, but it took a long time to get there. 

[Crewinhelis88]

WD,

Have you or anyone in here had ankle issues after your HTO? I am 7 weeks post op and I don’t have full movement of my ankle anymore and I swear it hurts more than my surgery spot and my knee lol. I just started walking at 35% body weight and my ankle is killing me. Just want to see if it’s common.

-Chris

[WonkeyDonkey]

Chris - I did not have any pain or problems with my ankle after the op. You may find that it is the partial weight bearing that is upsetting it. Make sure you are walking correctly on it.

A quick up date, I am 7 years on and now my right leg is in need of an osteotomy which is being done on the 7th December 2018, so 2 weeks away. I will start a new diary for the right one, as I have a new hospital and a new surgeon. I will be able to compare my recovery by reading my own post op diary!! This time I will be having a titanium plate put in which I am told will probably be removed after about a year. My left leg has been taking much of the load for the last year and is starting to not feel so good, so this will be looked at again once I have recovered from the osteotomy.

Keep all those knees moving :-)