chondroplasty and im 19yrs old

[fedupinpa]

I'm a 19 year old female I have  a work related injury and my left knee cap had subluxed and went off to the left side after having to go through 3 to almost 4 months of pt  the Dr's  and the therapist  told me there was nothing they could do but go in and do a elms lie-trillant which in the end they decided not to and that they were just going to let me rest up and no movement well this went on for months and I had more x-rays then anything I could imagine and they told me to seek a better Doctor and well I did and this doctor did an mri arthogram (talk about pain!!!) but I got through that on the 14 of January well I went back to this doctor who is a specialist mind you he looked at the films and he gave me more answers that I should have been told in the beginning see I had problems from the time I was a little kid and no one could tell me what was wrong they would just say I bruised bones in my knee I'd do pt it would be ok then it would happen 2 or 3 years later well I had the same thing happen about 2 years ago and they said the same thing I was off of work for a month no pay I slipped and fell in the parking lot all because this knee gave out,I got back to work and on march of last year it happened again only I was tripped at work by another worker and the knee popped out I refuse to give up on this and the doctor in going in  on Feb,28 for a chondroplasty and I was wondering what I had to look forward to and what there going to be doing and my recovery time is going to be I have been out of work for 9 months and I know it's going to be about 3 to 6 months before I'm able to go back oh and I'm having a lateral release with that  I know there is going to be a painful recovery but I'm up for it before all of this I was very active I played basketball in high school and I was heavy to begin with but not very over weight I did get around I was very active and I love the out doors and I love my dog with whom I like to take on long runs and walks I haven't been able to to a lot of that and have put on almost 60 pounds which I hate but it is way to painful to do anything and if I over use the knee is go's out off to the left side I do home exercises and  and as much as I can without hurting it too bad    

any help on this would be great  

thanks a lot
               Roni

[JainMD]

Hi Roni,
How are you feeling? I am sure it is terrible and I can understand that as I am an outdoor person too.
Chondroplasty is a procedure where in there is an area being stimulated to re-cover itself with new cartilage, the problem is that the new surface is not true hyaline or joint cartilage, but a rather inferior version called ‘fibro-cartilage’.
You would continue to have pain due to procedure itself and there would be new cartilage formation. You should be continuing on physiotherapy and take minimum possible analgesics.
I would be helpful if you get down with your weight as upon recovery the main concern would be putting more pressure on your knee.
Keep me posted if you have any queries.
Bye.

[fedupinpa]

Thanks JainMD,

i understand all of this but i have tried to get that weight off and every time i try something happens with the knee then the doctors give me pill which in turn i dont take cuz i hate the way they make me feel i only take about 800 mg of Ibprofine/Motrin  a day and about 200 to 300 mg of darvoceta day which i hate but my thing is if they would have caught this early would i be in as much pain now  like i had stated im advid in sports and outdoors and i want to know if later in life is this going to make it worse and if so how bad and is there anything besides what im doing now to help

[JainMD]

Hi,
I think chondroplasty should help you with pain initially, but this is a stop gap option before permanent treatment.
Analgesics are helpful in executing day to day activities and what dose you are taking is minimal.
I am sorry but this time I didn't get your question correctly.
Keep me posted.
Bye.

[fedupinpa]

Thank you

My question is in my later years is there going to be a problem with my knee i have been told that i might have to have a total replacement when im a bout 45 to 50 years old i was wondering if that were true um.i also go bad new my white blood cell count is is high i have to take antibiotics  they say i have an infection but were not sure if its a cold or my teeth because i have a broken tooth there giving me more but they want to postpone the surgery if it doesnt clear up i wanted to know what that means

Thank you

[JainMD]

Hi,
I had mentioned in my earlier post that chondroplasty is a stop gap option and you would require some definitive treatment later on.
You are right in thinking that you might need total replacement at a later date.
If you are infected or there are signs of infection, then it is difficult to operate as there are chances that the infection would spoil the surgery and there would be more complication due to infection after surgery.
Keep me posted.
Bye.

[fedupinpa]

ok thank you for clearing that up for me i have surgery in two days being the 28th and im hoping all goes well and i will be asking for more info on what might happen in the future and what will i have to do i also had another question up what does the elctro stimulator do because i think thats going to be apart of my pt ?

Thank You Roni

[JainMD]

Hi,
I want to ask who has mentioned about electro stimulator and in what context they have told about electro stimulator.
If you are talking about Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation then it is for nerve growth and ablation of pain.
All the best for your surgery.
Keep me posted with your answers.
Bye.

[fedupinpa]

thanks for all your help i had my surgery eveything went well they did a lateral release and they said something about a tare in then something about synovitis  i have a fallow up on the 17th im already moving around pretty good i can bend my leg to about 75% and i can lift it up pretty good i have physical therapy on wed,thats when they'll take all the dressings off im running around with an iceman cooler that pushes cold water in and out of a pouch under my dressings to keep swelling down well hopefully you can tell me what synovitis  is and why there was a tear in it well thanks look foward to hearing from you on and after the 17th  i will have the pictures and video of the surgery well like i said thank you and i'll talk to you later