Well, I did it again…I had another knee surgery. Since the surgeries went so well with my right leg, I decided it was time to take care of the left. Last week I had a right knee arthroscopy with a chondral biopsy done. This was exactly what I had done with my first surgery on my right knee that I had done a few years ago. With all the pain I was having with the left, it became very apparent that it was time to take care of the left now.
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History of my knee pain
When I had my right knee done, it was imperative that I get that one fixed first because of the history of dislocation and how unstable it was. However, mid-way through my recovery from those surgeries, my left was giving me a lot of trouble. My surgeon recommended that I get a MRI done. So I did that. What I wasn’t expecting was to find out that the left was so much worse that the right (minus the dislocation issue). I constantly felt pain under the kneecap, as well as the bottom of the knee where it meets the thigh. After going over the MRI with my surgeon, we decided that it was best to move forward with surgery.
Why A Knee Arthroscopy?
Like the plan we had for the right leg, we knew the first step was the have a knee arthroscopy. This allowed my surgeon to go in, assess the damage to the cartilage, clean up any areas, and take a chondral biopsy. This chondral biopsy will be sent to a lab and that lab will grow brand new cartilage for me from that sample. This is called the MACI procedure. I had it with my right knee, along with a MPFL Reconstruction and it was 100% a success!
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What Was Found in the Arthroscopy?
As we expected, the chondral defect was pretty bad. So I am definitely a candidate for the MACI procedure again. Also, due to the alignment of my Tibia bone, my surgeon also believes that I need a tibial tubercle osteotomy. This will allow the surgeon to realign things. By realigning, it will help stop the damage to the cartilage on the outside of my knee.
Knee Surgery Recovery Tips
The number one thing I always recommend is the Leg Elevator. You may look at this and think, “oh I don’t need this. I can just use pillows”. Don’t think that. Seriously. I would pay twice what that leg elevator pillow costs. It’s that good. Trust me. It is a game changer. The next important thing is to ice, ice, and ice some more. Where I have my surgery, they send you home with an Ice Man machine. Just like the leg elevator, this machine is crucial and makes icing easier. This Ice Therapy Machine is a really nice one and worth the money. You will not regret it. Especially if you ever dealt with a leaky ice bag!
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Its so motivating to see a person strong as you are. 🙂
My doctor just told me a few days ago that I need to have this surgery. The problem is, I have a two and a half year old and a 12 month old, and my husband is deployed. He made it seem like the first part was no big deal and I’d “just be a little sore for a couple days.” But everything I’m reading online makes me think that it’s going to be a bit worse than that. I had been thinking I could do the first part in a couple weeks and then the second major surgery when my husband gets back in October, because I need to get it done as soon as I can since we are moving to another base in April. Do you think that is realistic? Or should I just forget about doing either one until after we move?
Hey Sarah, definitely talk with your surgeon, but here is what mine said (and my experience with the same surgery on the other knee). It is very unlikely that you will be able to have the first surgery right now and then the second in October. Insurance requires a certain amount of time to recover from the surgery and see if that surgery will help things (it won’t). Around the 9 week post surgery mark, your surgeon and the place that will have the biopsy of the cartilage and grow it, will start petitioning the insurance to get approval to cover the surgery and begin growing the new cartilage. Once approval is received, they will set a surgery date and start growing the cartilage so it is finished and shipped in time for surgery.
In my case, I had my first surgery in July, and my second will hopefully be in December. On my right leg, I had my first in October and my second in April.
As for “being sore for a couple days”…that has not been my case for either first scope surgery I had. I was on crutches for about 4 weeks and because my quad muscle is not waking up properly all the time, I am now using a cane that I am hoping to wean away from soon. You will be very stiff and it takes a little bit to get your range of motion better and to strengthen that quad muscle back up.
So my best advice, coming from my experience, is to wait to have the first and second surgery until your husband is back or you have another family member that can stay with you around the clock to take care of the kids. I do not think I would have been able to take care of a 12 month old and a 2 year old at all properly right after this surgery.