Mr Eldridge/possible ops/JHS

[nicnac7]

I have an on going battle with my knees. I haven't had any surgery in around 4 years. My knees have once again deteriorated: my left knee locks every now and again, steps are becoming increasingly tricky and the movement in them is getting unbearable. I went to see Mr Eldridge for the first time yesterday and though I understand that he must see this all the time but he seemed completely uninterested in me (at this point I started crying ). All my joints have gone down hill quite rapidly and I'm only 22, he confirmed the diagnosis of JHS and offered me a couple of surgical options for my knees but didn't seem keen on doing them yet.
1: Another trochleoplasty to deepen it once again and moving the patella down at the same time. This would be carried out on my left leg as this is the one that feels the worst but looks the best on the MRI.
2. Resurfacing on the right knee as this is looks the worst and he feels any other surgery on it would be risky.
His thoughts I believe are that I am very young but I'm not sure I went to spend all of my younger years in this pain and with these restrictions. He hadn't read my notes at all so I had to go through as many of the surgeries I have had off hand. I am going to the GP next week as I have to get another referral to someone different (yet again) for my hips and shoulders.

I'm seeing him again in six months but he seems to be very reluctant. I don't know what to do or who to turn to.
Do I have the left knee done or leave it till it gets worse? What about right knee, can it take the strain?
I'm an emotional wreck at the moment!
Thank you for any replies, think I just need to hear some wise words and support.

[Leena20]

Hi, although my problems are different to yours I was in a very similar situation three years ago when I was 23 - I had surgery at 19 that sorted out my knee pain for a few years but the problems came back to the point where walking and standing was very painful. I had three surgeries at this point which did more damage to my knees as my problem hadn't been correctly diagnosed (my femurs twist inwards which was putting strain on my knee - only way to solve this is to break the femur not mess around with the knee). I was at a real low at that point but was very lucky to find a surgeon that had a specialty in my area - it still took 9 months to convince him to do the surgery but it has helped my right leg a lot and I'm having my left leg done next week. I think in complicated cases they like you to have time to really think about what you want in risk and not make a snap decision you might regret.

So basically trying to say that surgery is always a bit of a gamble - if you can afford to pay for a second opinion that can be helpful but seeing too many people can get confusing when they all say different things. Also I have seen five consultants now and cried on multiple occasions and they have all been fairly distant at first and wanted me to go through all the ops I've had so you are definitely not alone in that.

In the meantime if you go to the doctor you might want to see if you can get any emotional support if you haven't done this already - I had some therapy sessions whilst I waited to get my op and was on anti-depressants for a bit - for me they were very effective at preventing the pain from overwhelming me in every day life.

Not sure if that is very helpful but definitely don't give up hope and keep searching for options. I'm 26 now and facing surgery number eight but am in a lot better place than two years ago.

[hw2109]

Sorry to hear about everything you are going through
I'm 23 and have had knee issues for 10 years (just the one knee thankfully). So I have an idea of how devastating it can be and you sound a little worse off than me.

On your next appointment, write down all your questions and concerns. Sometimes when you are in the room you can forget everything you wanted to ask. Write it down, take it in with you and consult it while you are talking with him. Never be afraid to ask questions. So ask him directly why he doesn't think surgery is a good idea and what options there would be in the future.

Mr Eldridge did my trochleoplasty and I have always found him very approachable and responsive.

Hope you get the answers you need