Osteochondritis Dissecans

[PepsiIsLife]

Has anyone else experienced a knee which cannot fully extend, or bend more than 30 degrees because of a loose body in the joint? I can walk, but not very well, and always with my knee slightly bent. As I walk, however, it feels as if it's going to fall apart. Like, help!

[PwordsB]

The first question people are likely to ask you is 'what have you done about it?'

Presumably you've had it looked into by someone, hopefully a knee surgeon. What have you been told? In my experience, surgery was the only option when I had similar problems. I had an accident and my leg was in that sort of condition for five months before I was finally able to have surgery. For me, it was a crushed femoral condyle and some severe cartilage damage. I was told by several 'experts' that it was my ACL that was torn and to force my leg to bend farther because it was just muscular pain. I didn't believe them, but I did what I was told and by the time I got to surgery, they're awful advice turned what was probably a six month recovery into a life of pain and limitation. So you make sure you're making your way to the best specialist you can find, even if it costs too much, so you can be sure you don't spend months making it worse!

P.S. Sorry that you're having such problems. I remember that feeling that the knee wants to crumble away very well. As though every time I took a step I was basically just propping my leg in place with the various bones inside and if I did it slightly wrong they would all fall apart. I just hope you get the right care.

[Vickster]

When is your surgery?

http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEtalk/index.php?topic=75461.msg687356#msg687356

Unless you have large areas of bone on bone arthritis, they won't be considering a TKR. Hopefully a wash out and tidying of large ostephytes will help the joint feel more normal and reduce the pain. Be aware that even a keyhole knee op will take a number of months to recover from.

I'll be having a similar tidy up in January, my meniscus is also in a poor state and some will be removed

[The KNEEguru]

Loose bodies are usually fairly easily removed with a simple arthroscopy. Sometimes they can be a bit problematic as they can 'scoot' around the joint when it is filled with irrigation fluid during the procedure, but all knee surgeons know techniques for trapping and removing them.

[PepsiIsLife]

Thank you for the feedback. And I'm regretting not checking in sooner to read your responses, as it may have taken the edge off of my frustration! So, after my consultation with an orthopedic surgeon, it is clear that my case is semi-rare. He said that the problem is my patella, unlike most cases of OCD which affect the femoral epicondyles.  The MRI showed that it is Stage IV and there are loose bodies, which are causing the inability to straighten my leg. He did show me that as a result of the OCD there is now also osteoarthritis in the medial side. Unfortunately, as it has become so painful I've been not using my leg as much, now I've got atrophy. So, he's prescribed several weeks of PT. He wants me to get a better range of motion (as in full extension and at least 90 degrees of flexion) and improved strength before surgery. Below my knee the deformity- which was presumed to be a bone spur- is where the tendon attaches at the tibial tuberosity, and he said the pain there is relative to the issue with my patella. As a matter of fact, he said that all the issues are most likely related. All I can say is that I'm more miserable than before and the thought of another month or two with this amount of discomfort is certainly not an awesome thought.