Ruptured Patellar Tendon Surgery

[dtr42]

Hi all.
 A wee update ,it was 6 months last Sunday since snap day and what a difference the last month has made .My rom nearly matches my good knee , only about 2 degree of difference  my swelling has gone down and it nearly resembles a knee now . I have been doing one leg squats and jump squats at gym with no wobbles and no falls [always a good thing] have been jogging in the real world 5-7km at about 10km per hour with a little stiffness but no biggie .My NHS physio has signed me off with a slap on the ass and a warning not to fall of anymore hills [try my first Mountain since snap day on the 7th June  so scary but excited] and finally you know your on the way to normality when your daughter say's at a wedding "you dance like an old man with no dance sense" and gives you a big hug ,so obviously snapping  my knee has made me a better dancer  .Good luck and my prayers and thought's go out to all who have started ,ended and are in the middle of this life changing event and remember patience ,humour and good old get up and go will pull you through .

[Egatsby]

Just got home from surgery , now the real fun begins. . .

[carkeltom]

Egatsby, glad the surgery is done and hope the healing takes over.  Too bad you have a repeat from before, but at least you know the routine.

Jonathon, hope you are doing well.  Six weeks might sound like a long time to keep the leg at 0-15.  But, that immobilization will help the healing process  Remember the RICE.  Rest Ice Compression and Elevation.  Glad the long wait for the surgery was a non-factor.  It will be something to share with other newbies that have to wait for surgery.  And as for the bloating and constipation, get two full stalks of lettuce, wash, and eat.  Give it 8-10 hours and let it go.

Tom

[Egatsby]

Pain isn't really bothering me, just mainly bloating from constipation...anyone have any tips to help pass a bowel movement?

Yea dude I've yet to have a BM either smh

[SellaVee]

Hi Guys

First day after surgery I wasn't allowed out of bed so quite glad not to be having a BM.  Once I was home I started having tinned prunes for breakfast - adding Greek yoghurt made them a little more palatable.  Also, drink plenty of orange juice.  Probiotic drinking yoghurt helps too.  The UK brand is Actimel.

Tom, I hadn't heard the lettuce cure.  I shall bear that in mind, though I hope never to need it!

Dtr2, good to hear of your progress.

Best wishes to Jonathan and Egatsby.

Sella

[Egatsby]

I forgot how much this sucks

[fishy]

Week 52 begins.....but first, to my friends with BM problems....lots of fluids, laxatives and a quote...."this too will pass....".  It really is a part of the process and we all had to go thru it.
I have lost about 10% of my body weight down to 180 lbs (6 more to reach my goal).  I am 5'10" and a marathoner (or I WAS a marathoner...lol) and my running weight was 164...but at 67 yo, my double RPT has taken its toll... my PT doc (a battle hardened VA doc) said I would probably loose 20% in muscle mass and try as I might to prove him wrong I have not returned to my prior quad size...but I have gotten my normal gait back, and stairs are not as bothersome.  By loosing about 15% of my weight I hope to compensate for the muscle loss....
  I have been build a deck addition to my home...lifting 2700 pounds of concrete, about 2000 pounds of lumber and kneeling/standing about a bazillion times I can attest that my personal road to recovery has been rocky, but the outcome has been extremely positive.  To all my brothers and sisters keep up the good fight and keep reporting....and remember Patience, with a dash of humor, will get you thru this event.   Bob

[JC55]

Happy 1 year anniversary to FISHY. 

[Roberto Pires]

Very cozy thread 

Hi there, I'm from Brazil, so english is not my first language, so expect some little errors

My knee story: August, 22, 2010, felt down the stairs with mt left knee flexed, was going up the stairs. Lots of pain, but the knee cap was in place and zero exams were made, just the cut was repaired.  First night was really tough without any medicine for pain. After 2 weeks I went to the doctor which said it was just the trauma and nothing else. 2 months later did a ressonance, which showed some damage to me patellar tendon. Only PT was prescribed. OK, and so did. Nothing worked.

Pause for my background hehe: I'm a very fit individual, am/was a amateur weightlifter (powerlifter), squatting 180kg, deadlifting 220kg at 68-70kg (I'm short, 1,67m). My life was arounding weights. Was attending Physical Education. I really enjoy all this stuff and studying training, anatomy, physiology...so I had some to back me up talking with doctors that were not so interested in my problem.

Doctors only tell to live my life the way it was and do another things. Impossible. I tried to come back to train, which as possible to some degree, but not satisfatory, like I was doing in the past.

Arthroscopy was done, debridment, nothing major. Knee stayed the same.

2 years, after 5 doctors and some PT'ers, found out one who did PRP (actually i had already found it one, but the cost was like my car haha, 15000 reais). So I did (price was lower, 3000 reais). This doctor told me my rupture was big, 60% of the tendon, only the patellar tendon was damaged, nothing else. After 7 months my tendon was healed 100%, but it became shorter, so I strechted it daily. Was back to squatting, 130kg for 10 reps, was really happy, but then tendonitis came and here I am.

Tendon has another rupture, in another place.

I'm considering a big surgery to correct the biomechanics (lengthening of the tendon or transfers of the tibial tubercle) and correct my partial rupture. In 3 days will talk to my doctor. My case is difficult, very, I want to be able to squat heavy again, my doc knows it.

Well see.

[John42]

Hi Roberto

By now you will have noted that you have sustained a very serious and rare injury, and I would guess that your PT has never seen this type of injury.   Surgery is required and there is a long rehab and you will have to leave the weights alone.

Click on the undermentioned thread - I have together with KneeGuru collected a number of documents which explains your injury in details and gives you some idea of the rehab process.

Read some of the previous posts on this thread - ASK questions - we are here to help you.PATIENCE is required.

https://www.facebook.com/QuadricepsPatellarTendonRupture

JohnK/Manchester UK

p.s.   which part of Brazil do you live in?

[Roberto Pires]

Hey John,

I live in São Paulo, well, a 100km away. Most developed part of the country, so luckly there are some good docs.

[jonathanpeacock1522]

Hey All,
In week 2 of my recovery. Just went for my first post-op appointment yesterday. Doc said it went very smooth!
Going to start rehabbing pretty soon, but said I could already start stretching my foot out, and flexing my quadriceps muscle. He wants to take a slower rehab because he claims its imperative not to reinjure the tendon(obviously) and doing too much on it could do just that.
            Doc said 3 months post-op I should be performing daily activities with ease and six months post-op
my life should resume back to normality pretty much! This was great news because I had a much longer timeline in my head.
             We removed the dressing and my scar is healing quite nicely. Oh and i'm finally able to shower, thank the heavens!  ;DWe also increased my flexion to 40 degrees, although he still doesn't want me bending it.

[Roberto Pires]

I'm back.

With a partial ruptured patellar tendon along with some lost in the tendon's length, doc wants to do two things: PRP and 6 weeks later  a TTT.

I already did the PRP, successfully, 18 months ago. But the tendon snap again due to too much stress being shorter.

PRP is tomorrow, but I'm really anxious cause of the tubercle transfer. Basically, we want to take the excessive strain out of the tendon. Doc said that he already did this type of surgery, in some cases the outcome were good, others weren't. So, I'm a bit apprehensive.

I asked him about Z lengthening and he prefers not to cause another trauma to the tendon, and the results are not so good in his experience.

I think it's reasonable and I'll do this. 

[fishy]

Week 54 for Fishy.  Hawaii was awesome, with beach walks, snorkeling and general mayhem thrown in for good measure.  My knees were fine, quads were sore but performed all the tasks I asked of them.  And the tan didn't hurt, either.  Standing and sitting pains are abating, walking is almost with a normal gait, running not so much.  All in all this ordeal has been a journey 1) I didn't want to start and 2) a journey without a final destination.  So to my brothers and sisters in this family of RPTers, I will always be in your debt for keeping me informed (and, in some instances, entertained), keep up the good work.  Remember, be patient, question everything, add a dash of humor, RICE, and keep posting.   Bob

[bballkingofnba]

does anybody have tightness in the back of the knee after this surgery? I feel like I can't fully stretch my calf out and my popliteal feels adhesed (muscle in the back of the knee) compared to my good leg.
I am 2 years out and I feel this is in part due to horrible PT I had in the first few months because my PT never cared about my passive extension and only measured ROM in terms of flexion... Extension is apparently way more important. Just wondering if anyone else had this issue and what they did to resolve it.