FIXED my failed lateral release! (Exercises for medial patellar instability)

[crankerchick]

Amanda,
You are in fantastically capable, wonderfully caring hands. And you got yourself one very cool (and very funny) dude for a doc, on top of all that! Congratulations on your choice!!

Definitely this! Good luck tomorrow and definitely see you on the other side!

[acheek71]

Hey guys!! Sorry it took me so long to get on here. And thank you so much for many prayers. The surgery went good, of course I now have hardware ands a newly constructed lateral ligament. Last night was rough, but i was released to the hotel late this afternoon. The cannonball exercises are a necessary evil! I have a ton of swelling and my whole leg is bruised. I have an appointment with Alan in the morning, and injured from there they will tell me when I get to go home. That is going to be a rough trip.I am going to take a nap now. Will fill u in more tomorrow.

I am tired

[crankerchick]

Hooray

See the light?!?! It's your life, and it's getting closer.

The first night is rough, but it gets better with each day, so just hang in there. Cannonballs every hour, cryocuff, elevation, and as much rest as you can manage in between. Hopefully you are sleeping well, but if not, consider the ambien. If I could change one thing, I would have taken the ambien so I could sleep!

Ah, Alan, he's awesome! I wish I had a PT like him at home. He will take care of you and get you moving without making you feel worse.

Great job chica!

[WorkinWings]

Amanda, dear!

I can't tell you how happy I was to hear from you. Thank you for your email and your post, here.
Congratulations on having had your previously normal anatomy restored through the LPFL reconstruction, and on straightening out your twisted parts. Very nice. And, to me, very exciting indeed

I hope you are recovering well, and not in too much pain. Whenever you feel up for it, I would absolutely love to hear how you are doing, and any details you care to share about the surgery and the rehab. And I am sure I am not the only one interested, so perhaps you ought to consider a post-op diary?
Hey, how about an illustrated diary, complete with xrays full of beautiful, gleaming hardware?? Do you have copies??

Rooting for you!!

A.

[WorkinWings]

See the light?!?! It's your life, and it's getting closer.

LOL, Latise! That's right. You know I agree with that statement!!

[greyliston]

I just got done reading this entire thread. Wow!

I am in the same situation as everyone on here. I had a LR 7/10, my knee felt terrible so had another OS go in on 5/11 to see what he could find (bad idea I know) and he said he thought the first LR was not long enough so he revised and lengthened it.

I am now 3 months post op and have never felt worse.

I used to be a triathlete, skiier, backpacker, climber, surfer etc. so this has been INCREDIBLY difficult to put my life on the shelf.

I am now in the research phase that WorkingWings went through.

I am in Portland, OR right now and am 26 years old. Any help is appreciated!

[drmark]

Reconstructing the lateral patellaofemoral ligaments and repairing the vastus lateralis tendon is not really a major feat. The incision is longer that do do the lateral release, but the recovery period is not that much trouble compared to where you are.

[greyliston]

Dr. Mark,

Do you know anybody that has good experience with reconstructing the LPFL ligaments?

Thanks,
Grey

[drmark]

That answer is yes.

You should establish a new thread on this issue. Lots of people don't read the old ones. I am certain that several of my alumni as well as the alumni of a few other docs interested in medial patellofemoral instability can point you in the right direction.

[greyliston]

OK done. I added a new topic to the PF board. When you say alumni, are you referring to patients?

[Titus82]

Carrie I'm probably having the same issue as you. When I bent the knee from a fully extended position, I have to manually move the patella to the outside of the knee or else it'll pop-lock. This happened after loose acl repair + plicae removal. Can you share any knowledge on this issue? Have you dealt with it? What's the cause? I've tried to send a personal message but was unable to. Please help.

[Silkncardcrafts]

I am a very old poster and suffered from medial instability after having lateral release.

It can only be fixed with surgery.

[WorkinWings]

This whole thread is about my story: the story of someone who developed medial subluxation from a lateral release, and who was able to recover without surgery.

[TheGator22]

Hey guys,

I've suffered patella maltracking ( sublaxation and tilt ) on my right knee and now left since i was 15-16 ( im now 22 ).
I tried conservative treatment on my right knee which involved increasing the VMO strength, foam roller etc but that didnt work. So its 2014 and ive just had my third bout of surgery and Im so nervous.

Here is all my surgeries i have had and issues that have arisen.
2011 March- Lateral Release
The Lateral Release did next to nothing in terms of correcting the maltracking and just caused more problems . My knee was constantly getting inflamed, it was difficult building up muscle and whenever i touched the area it stung.

2013 December - Distal Patella Realignment/Scar Tissue Revision. My surgeon said he was ' extremely confident ' that this would work. This recovery has been one of the most debilating and hardest things i have ever had to go through. All of 2014 i was unable to hardly walk and again the lateral release area was overly sensitive when i touched it ( with my knuckle softly ). I have been working on strengthening the VMO, core strengthening, calf raises and glute strengthening. It seems like there is a lot of pain on the screw site when touching and after a long day/activity. Also when im doing the exercises including bike riding, i get really inflammed kneesand have pain under the kneecap and lateral of the.

2014 - September - Screw Removal and Knee Arthroscopy
So I came into this surgery really optimistic. In regards to the sensitivity on the lateral aspect of my knee, my surgeon told me that he ' fused the tissue together' as there was a fairly big gap. He said there was only a minuscule gap now and that the body should naturally re-generate tissue to feel that gap.He also said he removed some ' velvet scar tissue ' under my patella.
So its 4 and 1/2 weeks post op and im anxious as about my knee.
- Problem/Concern #1 - Lateral side of the knee including the scar feels soft, numb, aching and vunlerable. When i have a bandage or any tape on the lateral side of my knee and try to rip it off softly it feels really weird as it aches and feels really numb and weak. It also feels really soft. Why is this ?
- Problem/Concern #2 - The lateral Scar - I can notice that it feels more stern post surgery but there is still little random areas that are fairly sensitive like before. So my surgeon said that the tissues will grow back, how long does this take ? I just want that to feel the same as my left knee in terms of it not being senstive and feeling weak and numb . I feel like the lateral release i had just ruined it completely. Is this ever possible ? Can you correct this lateral release ?
Problem/Concern #3 - On the Lateral side of my lower limb ( near the fibia ) it feels hard and i have like a tingling/ electrical sensation. Does that make any sense ? Abnormal ? Will this go away ?

Problem/Concern #4 - The Lateral Collateral Ligament area feels like it always gets aggravated when i go for a swim or i do my rehab exercises .

Problem/Concern #5 - Tibia still senstive/sore where the screws were

So its 4 and half weeks post my recent op and my my main questions are :
1. How long till the sensitivity/soreness in the Tibia ( where screws were ) goes away ?
2. How long till the tissues ' regenerate' and fill up the gaps where the lateral release was repaired ? will this area ever get better ?
3. Is this softness/ache/vulneIrability on the lateral side of my knee normal ?
4. is my knee going to be fucked for the rest of my life ? I am so drained mentally and physcially. I have lost all of my friends and i have bad anger and anxiety problems. I dont even socialize anymore because my knees took over me. I dont want people saying ' you have to go do something about it ' . I have been trying my heart out for years now and i still dont see a light at the end of the tunnel.

5. My Left knee does the same but i have a very strong vmo and quad muscle. Any rehab or treatment i could do to possibly treat it ?

6. What are different surgeries to fix patella maltracking ?

Anyway, replies would be appreciated.

Thanks.