I have been having knee pain for so many years. The first incident was when I was 12 years old. Happened during a middle school swim meet. Ever since then, it’s been downhill. 10 years ago, I dislocated my kneecap. It was as horrific as it sounds. Over the years, since that point, I’ve had more issue than I can count. The most recent being a month ago. That incident was the most serious and now I am schedule for knee surgery in October.
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Why Knee Surgery?
A year ago, I went in and received a series of three gel injections in my knee. It really helped a lot. So much so, I went back again this summer to get three more gel injections. Since I have issues with my cartilage, the gel simulates the cartilage. The only problem…you have to keep repeating it. If it pushes surgery off, I was more than willing to do it.
However, a month or so ago, I stepped into the garage and I felt the lower half of my leg go one direction and the upper half go the other. It was horrible. I went down and was in intense pain. My knee swelled almost instantly. After meeting with my doctor and getting another MRI, it was recommended that I speak with the surgeon. So I did.
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What Surgery will I Be Having?
I really should have titled this post, “Planning for Knee Surgeries”. As in, I will be having two surgeries…possibly. Right now the plan is that on October 10th, I will be going in for a scope. The doctor will clean up the underside of my kneecap and take a biopsy of the cartilage. This procedure is called the MACI procedure. After surgery I will do rehab for three months while the biopsy is sent to a lab to have my cartilage regrow on a collagen pad. Neat, huh?!?
After doing rehab for three months, I will go back in and have surgery to have my new cartilage put where it needs to go in my knee. During that surgery, the surgeon will take donor tendons and reconstruct my tendons and stabilize my knee better. I also have a tilt to my kneecap that is causing me so much pain, so he will be taking care of that too.
Now I said that I would “possibly” be having two surgeries. Possibly because if once the surgeon is in there cleaning up my kneecap and he sees that I am not a candidate for the MACI procedure, he will finish cleaning up the underside of my kneecap and then use the donor tendons to reconstruct my tendons.
How I’m Planning for Knee Surgery
I’m not lying when I say I am beyond nervous for surgery. However, I know this is really my last option. I have exhausted every other non-surgical option. And, to be completely honest, I can’t take the pain and fear of instability anymore. As for planning, I really don’t know what to expect. So far I have begun deep cleaning my house. It’s like I’m in nesting mode, kind of like when you are about to go into labor! Today I steam cleaned my entire first floor! Besides cleaning, I am thinking about the kids schedules, making plans to get them where they need to be, as well as thinking about what clothing I need. If I was having surgery in the summer, it would be super easy to just wear shorts. The other thing I told my husband we needed to get is one of those raised toilet seats
Hi Leah,
I’m so glad I found your blog. I am considering a Maci procedure and i feel like all I hear are failure stories, so it’s encouraging to hear your successes and that you are overall happy with your results. May I ask where your defect(s) were?
Hello! I just looked up my MRI to see exactly what it said. It said: “cartilage signal abnormality at the patellar apex. Cartilage thinning at the posterior aspect of the lateral tibial
plateau”.
Hope that helps. Good luck.