OATS Surgery 04.12.19

[Samiul27]

I decided to go for the OATS procedure with Dr Vladmir bobic in chester.

Just a little background I tore my ACL when i wass 22 (2004) and it took 2 years of persuasion to my GP that my knee was not right. Had my Acl Reconstruction with Dr Bollen at the Yorkshire clinic. After rehab i continued playing football and had meniscus repair in 2008. Carried on playing and in 2012 had a partial meniscectomy on the lateral side. Quit plaing sports.

My knee has never been right since ACL Reconstruction and until recently i found out i had a little pothole in my articular cartlidge.

Spoke to a few consultants and decided to go with Vladmir bobic.

Basically cutting a long story short had the surgery on Wednesday, zoned out for the full day as they gave me morphine for the pain.

Day 2 - they got me out of bed and it was unbearable pain trying to lift my leg. Did basic stair walk with physio and was released to go home. Pain got a little bit more manageable with codine and paracetamol. Struggled to get in the car.

Day 3 - slept ok ish got up a few times, but really struggling with the exercises. I am on crutches but it is weight bearing. Will try and keep people posted.
You can also contact me on [email protected] for any questions.

[vickster]

I wouldn’t worry too much about the exercises in wk 1, focus on reducing swelling, inflammation and pain. Ice, ankle pumps, when elevating, have a pillow supporting calf and ankle rather than knee. Knee above heart if possible. Are you in a brace?
Rest and sleep also crucial to recover from major surgery and the anaesthetic

[Samiul27]

No not in a knee brace, Chester knee clinic were kind enough to give me aircast cryo cooler.

[Samiul27]

Day 4
Not in much pain, leg still stiff and ROM not great at moment.just general rest and icing and trying to keep my little ones away from the knee.

Day 5
Slept well, hardly any pain just general roaming around the house and resting. Hoping to start basic exercises from tomorrow. Lifting leg and getting in to car is still a challenge. Only thing concerning me is the amount of swelling, but im guessing that will take a few weeks to settle down.

[Samiul27]

The last week has not been very exciting. Knee is still very swollen and close to 90 degrees ROM. Its slow progress. I am pain free at the moment just resting and icing.

Feel quite down due to the fact that swelling has not decreased, ive stopped taking codine as it constantly made me very drowsy, just taking ibuprofen.

I can hobble about without crutches, but use them if i go out.

[Samiul27]

5 week update

Swelling still an issue but just about started walking normally since yesterday after physio.

Just looking to build back thigh muscles to gain strength and a range of movements.

[vickster]

Muscle bulk does not equate directly to strength so don’t get too hung up in size at least in the short to medium term. My OS explained you can lose 25% of bulk and maintain strength

[jomann75]

Hi Samiul27,

I had the OATS procedure around the same date as you - I had a 10mm lesion on the medial femoral condyle of my right knee. I had a micro fracture arthroscopy a year before that which did not work - the knee was causing pain when going up stairs or walking anything over 30 mins.

So far so good after the OATS op - I’ve been doing rehab exercises literally 4 times a day, everyday. I came off crutches after 6 weeks and now am trying to get the strength and flexibility back in the knee/quad. Swelling still an issue but I use a cryo-cuff like you.

No pain to speak of which I’m pleased about. However I don’t expect to return to sports for 6-9 months. Hope all goes well with your recovery.

[Samiul27]

Hi Samiul27,

I had the OATS procedure around the same date as you - I had a 10mm lesion on the medial femoral condyle of my right knee. I had a micro fracture arthroscopy a year before that which did not work - the knee was causing pain when going up stairs or walking anything over 30 mins.

So far so good after the OATS op - I’ve been doing rehab exercises literally 4 times a day, everyday. I came off crutches after 6 weeks and now am trying to get the strength and flexibility back in the knee/quad. Swelling still an issue but I use a cryo-cuff like you.

No pain to speak of which I’m pleased about. However I don’t expect to return to sports for 6-9 months. Hope all goes well with your recovery.

Who was your surgeon?

I was off the crutches alot quicker, but was weight bearing. I chose Professor Vladmir due to his experience of the OATS procedure and with him being one of the nicest guys ive met.

Im back at work now walking almost normally, what really helps is the anti gravity treadmill, loosens up the joint and speeds up the walking process.

[Samiul27]

Its been 12 weeks since surgery and here is a brief update.

Im full weight bearing and the knee feels ok(ish).
My main issue is the donar site which is still sore at times. I guess that will rake time filling up with cartlidge.

Get occasional in the fibia pains due to the sub chondrol drilling. Got a follow up appointment on 30th of March and will do a MRI scan to see how things are.

[tjhess]

Hi Samiul27,

My daughter (16 yrs) just had OATS procedure last week.  She is non (or touch) weight bearing for six weeks, so far she feels okay, but she's really only been resting.  Today was her first day back at school, so I'll be interested to see how she feels this afternoon.

She does have a lot of swelling but as it's only 6 days, I'm sure it'll take a while, and I notice that you did too!

How soon did you go back to work?  She's hoping that once she can weight bear, she'll be able to work - although she has a standing job!

It's nice to hear how others are recovering, good luck on your continued improvement.

[Samiul27]

Its been just over 5 months since my oats surgery with sub chondrol drilling.
There has been no improvements since the last time i posted, feeling a bit down at the moment. Had a phone consultation with Dr Bobic about a month ago, he said its slow healing at the moment. Awaiting MRI scans as soon as covid19 settles.
To top that off my left knee is starting to cause issues.

[Samiul27]

Its been 8 months since my OATS procedure, so I thought I'd give a quick update.

Last time I posted I wasn't feeling great, I could do much exercise due to tenderness and tightness in the knee.
Had a phone conversation with Dr Vladmir Bobic who thought this was unusual. He suggested it could be my patella tracking due to vmo muscle loss.

So i got it taped and it felt so much better, so started my exercises at home due to gyms being closed down, I gradually regained strength. Just had my MRI results all things look positive, only issue is slight patella maltracking and donor sight is still a little shallow and the incision sight has not completely healed (still feel tightness when going down stairs). I'd say I'm at about 65%, still with some swelling which he says is normal as this takes time. Got an appointment to see him in September.

Need to get some bulk in my quads now and stretching tight calves and IT band.

This is not an easy operation to recover from, but hopefully it will be worth the wait.

[Samiul27]

Its been a year since my OATS procedure with Subchondral drilling with bone marrow.

I'm currently about 80% recovered, progress is slow and gradual. Still a slight stiffness especially when going down steep stairs.

The surgeon suggested it will be continued progress but very slowly (the graft hasn't failed).

Only issue i have now is my baker's cyst, which has been ever present for the last ten years and its not really caused me a problem. During May 2020 I felt a pain at the back of my knee whilst walking. With a burning sensation  which settles fairly quickly whilst resting. But this has had a effect on my daily life as this burning sensation kicks in after walking a 1/4 of a mile.

I'm having the cyst drained next month, I know the cyst may return hopefully not to the size it is now.