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Knees won't bend after epiphysiodesis

My son age 13 had bilateral medial femoral epiphysiodesis surgery (using 8-plates) to correct his genu valgum (knock knees). The impression I had from what the surgeon said beforehand and what I read online is that this is relatively minor surgery and one can expect some pain associated with the surgery, but not limited range of motion. The day after his op he was taken for x-rays and put in a wheelchair, but as his legs were swung off the bed and bent 70 degrees he cried out in pain and almost fainted. It is now a week after surgery and his pain is still severe when bending his knees. His left knee can only bend about 20 degrees before sharp pain sets in, while his right knee can bend about 60 or 70 degrees before feeling pain. He's been seeing a physio but the severe pain and limited range of motion in his left knee bothers me. His knee feels stiff and sore and he struggles to move the left leg. I'd like to hear from an orthopedic expert, are there any obvious "mistakes" that can be made during this kind of surgery? I'm reading about kids being able to walk without crutches within a couple of days after epiphysiodesis surgery, and returning to sport within 3 weeks. Normal movement and weight bearing is encouraged post op. I don't read anywhere about such limited range of motion. Should I be worried? Maybe I'm already overly sensitive because the surgeon told my son just before the op he had another appointment and needed to leave, but his colleague would be conducting the op. He never informed me about this and we specifically selected this surgeon for his reputation and experience.
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Avatar universal
Hello
My daughter has had the same operation on both knees and is in excruciating pain. The Drs say she should be moving and there are NO reason for her not. She's on maximum painkillers. The nurses tried dragging her out of bed yesterday and I had to stop them.

How long did your son suffer with pain before he could move?

Regards Gary W
Helpful - 2
Avatar universal
My daughter just had bilateral femur and bilateral tibia epiphysiodesis surgery for LLD, no plates or screws. It has been 3 weeks and she still needs the crutches for going long distances and a cane around the house. She can not bend her knew fully either, she might get it to 30-40 degrees, there is pain if she goes too fast or too far with the bending. Her knee area is still quite swollen. We went into this surgery with the similar feelings that is was a minor outpatient surgery, minimal pain and she would be back at it in a few weeks. Which none of that has been the case. It is painful and she is still barely walking on her own at 3 weeks post op. Forget regular activities for weeks to come. I feel your frustration. When we went in 2 weeks post op, to remove the brace and bandages, the Dr. were so determined that she bend her knee right away that day, well that didn't happen, she was in tears. I think some kids are more sensitive than others and well they did just get 4 holes drilled into there bones, I am sure that takes more than a few weeks to heal
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Avatar universal
I just had the same surgery. I can walk now really slow and can go up stairs slowly. It's been a week now and I still can't bend my knees. The doctors told us that we'd be able to bend them right after. My parents keep pushing me to atleast try daily but I can't. My mom contacted the doctor and he said he would put me in physical therapy.
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Avatar universal
Could you let me know what the result was for your child? My son is going through the exact same issue. At week 3 he is only at 20% bendabiltity in his knee. This is crazy and we are worried! Dieselturbo6_5***@****
Thank you, Tim
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Avatar universal
Update: Thankfully, in the end my son recovered fully and regained full range of motion. His pain took several months to disappear completely. All is well that ends well.
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