Emma's MPFL Reconstruction & Lateral Release surgery

[lucha86]

hey emma no it is normal =) sometimes its annoying not to be able to know the answers to the questions with MPFL surgery lol
Yea im doing fine now all back on track no dislocations everything is good =) keep us posted

[esm87]

It's been a while since I've last updated this so here goes;

I had an appointment with my surgeon to check the progress of my second MPFL reconstruction on my left knee. My left knee was always my worst knee before the surgeries so I was pretty worried about this and was hoping I would be given the all clear.

My appointment went well and I was told that my knee is healing the way its supposed to and everything seems good. I have to keep attending physio as I got my second surgery so soon after my first and both knees are still pretty weak.

I have an appointment with my physio this thursday to further track my progress and hopefully get some advanced exercises I can work on to further improve this.

I managed to go on holiday the past week where I had to do a lot of walking. On the 5th and 6th day I was really feeling it and was trying to not let it ruin my holiday. I'm secretly quite impressed that I managed to do so much for 7 days in a row with my two dodgy knees haha!

I'm taking a few days off the exercises to try and let my left knee recover as it's pretty swollen and sore so hopefully buy the end of the week I'll be back to exercising it and trying to get the strength back.

Emma

[lucha86]

hey emma
great to hear you survived your holiday =)) glad you got good news from your surgeon....... when you go to the physio see if she can give you better exercises because the more you have the better your rehabilitation will be =) keep us updated =))

[esm87]

I haven't posted for a while. It's almost been a year since I had the surgery on my right knee and about 6 months now since the surgery on my left.

I've been signed off from physio, i've managed a trip to New York (with lots of walking) and a trip to London (I am honestly in awe of anyone who has had this surgery and that lives in london. So many stairs! In all the tube stations! haha)

I am doing a lot better. Things are gradually getting back to normal, albeit very slowly.

My left knee still causes me pain from time to time if i've been standing/walking a lot. It's usually at the end of the day I notice it's pretty swollen and sore. I also don't have the full range of motion in my left knee that I do in my right. I've been given exercises to help to stretch it but so far it's a slow process. I think the new MPFL ligament was made tighter in my left knee as it was the worst of the two so this makes sense I guess.

I'm still not 100% comfortable with stairs, even though I can walk up and down them without having to hold on to a handrail, I still feel its not as fluid as it should be and I could never do it really quickly, or run.

I've been keeping up my exercises and managing to be a lot more active than before the surgery which is a big positive for me. I wasn't able to do any exercise before due to dislocations. I also managed to kneel (albeit on a soft surface) which was also a major achievement!

My right knee clicks occasionally and sometimes feels a bit weird but I'm sure this is down to the muscles still not being as strong as they could be. This is what i'm continuing to work on.

So far I'm really glad I had the surgery and I just hope things continue to progress so well and that the swelling starts to settle a bit now. It's a very long process but I think it's been worth it

[esm87]

Just wondering if anyone has had any foot issues after knee surgery?

[rob2278]

What kind of foot issues?

I actually developed plantar fasciitis after my knee dislocated prior to having my surgery, and I've noticed in recent weeks that some symptoms have returned - it's best described as feeling like you suddenly have a small pebble in your shoe in the middle of your foot. As a result I've been stretching my leg muscles once again since the foot doctor I had seen attributed the issue to having ridiculously tight hamstrings and hips..

[esm87]

Hi Rob

Hope you're well.

I have what I think is commonly referred to as a "tailors bunion" or bunionette. It's on the outside of my foot as opposed to a regular bunion on the big toe.

I'm sure it's caused by my knees as before my surgery this was not a problem. I think getting my knees realigned has made this problem (that probably would have not bothered me had I not needed knee surgery) apparent.

I've been referred to see a foot specialist but I'm worried it will mean another surgery as the bone is not in the place it should be, which makes walking pretty sore.

My mum actually had plantar fascitis and needed surgery, so hopefully yours can be resolved without this!

[esm87]

So it's now been 18 months since surgery on my right leg and 12 months since my surgery on my left leg.

I had a check up for my left knee with my surgeon on Thursday. I'd still been having problems with my right knee where i couldn't straighten it fully and I was told when I started physio for my left knee, the right would catch up.

However I still cant fully straighten my right knee and I still have pain and swelling in both (albeit it no dislocations) I had also recently referred myself to a private physio to see if this would help.

I met with my surgeon on Thursday who asked to see what I meant by not being able to straight my right leg. He got me to sit on the bed and hang my legs over the side. I could straighten the left knee no problem however I cannot do this with the right.

He asked if he could help me to straighten it (by holding my calf and pushing upwards) to establish if it can be straightened. We were able to do this with only minimal discomfort. He was still holding on to my leg and asked me to bend my knee and put my leg down. I couldn't move my leg - it had totally locked. I kept trying but I just wouldn't budge. It was extremely painful and I had a burning sensation under my kneecap. He pushed the side of my knee in and my leg was able to bend.

As a result of this I have to go for an MRI scan to find out what is wrong with my knee. He explained it could be a problem with the reconstructed ligament or with the TTO part of my surgery. The MRI will hopefully establish what the problem is but I may be looking at a revision surgery on my right knee.

I'm really disappointed and feeling quite fed up as I thought I was over all the surgery. I think I had convinced myself that this problem would be something that is easily fixed with more physio. So to find out I could be facing a potential surgical revision is very frustrating.

Hopefully I don't have to wait too long for my MRI scan and I can find out what's actually wrong.

Emma