TROCHLEOPLASTY - what do people think?!

[katieross1]

Hi,

I have no idea if this is in the rite place, but sorry if its not!

I have just had a right trochleoplasty and MIP and I was wondering if there are any others on this site?
Or anyone who has an opinion on trochleoplasty's?
I live in the UK and the doctor who did mine was called Dr Elderbrige i believe and he told me that there is only him and another guy who do it in the UK, which is pretty remarkable and that they have only done about 100 between them !
I have to say when seeing the amount of students who would be watching my procedure i was rather amazing !

I had mine done a week and 2 days ago and things are going REALLY well!

Please get in touch etc

Thanks Katie

[Silkncardcrafts]

Hi Katie,

I had mine done in Melbourne, Australian by Julian Feller.

Have responded to the post you put on my post-op diary.

It is indeed a rare operation, but has worked really well for me so far. No more instability, yay !!!!

[mhsflute07]

Hi Katie,

I am almost 10 weeks post-op from a trochleoplasty. So far mine is going well too. I see my OS in a week, so we'll see what he says then.

Erin

[katieross1]

Hey, Thanks guys!

Erin
Hey how long did it take you to get off your crutches, and continuing with normal day life?
Where did you have it done?
and good luck with your OS.

What is a OS ?

Yes I know I've only just had mine done but the stability is excellent!
However the day after my op my epidural feel out so I was in Alot of pain but things all happened just as quick !

Thanks guys x

[Silkncardcrafts]

Hi Katie,

An OS is an Orthopaedic Surgeon, OS for short.

Good luck with your recovery.

[mhsflute07]

Hi Katie,

I was on crutches for 4 weeks, then went down to one crutch for 1 week. Once I was off crutches I could function pretty normally with day to day activities. Stairs were (and are) still difficult, though.

I'm glad you're doing so well and hope that continues.

Erin

[katieross1]

Thanks guys

OS- must be a complete blonde moment !

That's brilliant!

I was under the impression that I would be on crutches for 2 months! but form what I've heard it sound like I'll be getting on with things soon!

Thanks
Katie

[Silkncardcrafts]

Hi Katie,

My OS told me I would be on crutches for about a month, but I ended being on them for about 10 weeks because of a car accident.

Once I got off crutches and gained strength every day activities became easier.

Have you started physio yet ?

[adlottis]

Hi,

I wanted to inquire a little about this procedure, I saw my OS yesterday and he mentioned this procedure as a possibility for me but wasn't recommending it also said it was a bit risky. What do you all think or have heard. Also how old are you guys. My problem is that i also have a lot of damage in my knee which will require me to have a TKR in the next 5-10 years. A procedure like this might not be worth it. I've heard rehab is really difficult. I'm not sure it could be much worse than rehab after my proximal/distal realignment surgery 2 years ago.


Annette

[mhsflute07]

Hi Annette,

I don't know a whole lot about the procedure. Initially, my OS only recommended ACI (patellar defect) and a Medial Reefing (I had already had a TTT) for me, but once he scoped my knee to take the biopsy for ACI he decided I needed the Trochleoplasty, another TTT, and the ACI. My insurance wouldn't approve the ACI at the time, so I'm still looking at the possibility of having that done in December.

As far as the trochleoplasty, I got the impression that my OS does them regularly, so I just kind of went with it. Mine was not done for recurrent instability. My patella was still tracking laterallly a good bit despite a prior TTT and LR and my OS felt that the lateral tracking was causing my patella defect. My OS explained that the trochlea helps to guide the patella as it tracks, so that's why I needed that in addition to the TTT. Because I already had a defect, I'm assuming that the trochleoplasty is not likely to cause more damage.

I'm 10 weeks post-op today. The first week was pretty bad because I got behind on the pain because I was so nauseous. After the first week, things gradually improved. I started PT the day after surgery. At this point in PT I ride the bike, do a few different exercises with therabands, bridging, TKEs, leg press, mini squats, lunges, SLRs, quad sets, etc. However, I admittedly still have a lot of pain underneath my kneecap, so I can't tell you if this surgery was successful or not.

Erin

[adlottis]

Erin,

thanks for the information, i too have a defect behind the patella due to many dislocations, My OS did a chondroplasty 2 years ago. My problem also is that I have lots of OA, so I will probably hold out to do the TKR in the next several years.

I hope you find great success with this latest surgery.

Annette

[Silkncardcrafts]

Hi Annette,

I've had a trochleplasty on my left knee and haven't looked back. The recovery isn't too bad. In the first few months you can't do any weight bearing exercise as you need time for the bone to heal, well that was the protocol of my OS anyway. I went to the gym after 3 months post-op. As you load more weight through the knee the pain can be bad, but just need to listen to your body and what it can take.

The is no evidence to suggest that the trochleoplasty causes arthritis or makes it worse. I have the start of OA and don't have any pain in my knee anymore. Knee cap is tracking so much better.

I would definitely consider this surgery before a TKA. My OS decided to do this operation as I had recurrent instability both medially and laterally and was my only option after conservative treatment failed.

[adlottis]

I'm glad you are doing well with your trochleoplasty. I was NWB for a while after my realignment procedure 2 years ago.

Here's the deal for me. I have OA and a defect behind the patella, both which are pretty advanced. I'm starting synvisc injections and hopefully will get 5 years out of them before having to do the TKR. So to do a trochleoplasty and then turn right around and have to do them TKR is alot of surgery. Plus I've had 2 surgeries in the last 2 years. I have a young family and theses surgeries are hard on me and my family.

Annette

[Silkncardcrafts]

Hi Annette,

I was on crutches for about 10 weeks but was weight bearing as tolerated. So, wasn't too bad. I was on crutches for a lot longer as I had a car accident 3 weeks after my operation.

Before the trochleoplasty I was in a lot of pain and since then I hardly have any pain, which is great. It must have been my OA that was causing part of that problem. My knee surgeon now says that he doesn't think I will need any knee replacement in the future. Think I may have needed one down the track if I didn't have the trochleoplasty.

It must be hard having a knee like you have when you have a young family.

Not sure if this helps but I am in my mid 30's. So, having a functional knee again was really important to me.

[AliLou]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site and was hoping for some advice.
I am 26 years old and have suffered from recurrent knee dislocations, particularly in my right knee, since I was 7. In this knee I have had several lateral releases and TTT. Following TTT I have only suffered from one dislocation but it continues to subluxate every time I bend and straighten my leg. I suffer quite badly with osteoarthritis and survive on analgesics. My previous OS stated he would perform a TKR when I was 25 which I obviously wasn't too keen on. Anyway that particular OS has now retired and I thought it was time to see what, if anything, new had become available. After seeing another OS yesterday he diagnosed me with trochlear dysplasia and has stated that I need a trochleoplaty. I have read that a couple of you have had this procedure. I have several questions which I would be extremely grateful if any of you could answer.
1 - I have over the years become 'use' to the instability in the knee and am not too fussed about this, my major concern is the pain which I currently experience daily. Has the surgery improved your pain, improved just the stability, or both?
2 - Was your surgery carried out under GA or via an epidural? if via an epidural what did this feel like, did you feel any pain at all, how did it feel when they were hammering away?
3 - How long did the surgery take?
4 - Truthfully how bad was the pain? In comparison to TTT for those who have had this surgery?
5 - Approximately how many cms is your scar? does anyone know of any OS who can perform the surgery via key-hole?
6 - My OS stated that if the underside of the patella had worn significantly he would need to, at a later date, harvest stem cells to regenerate new cartilage? Have any of you had this done, and if so was it performed at the same time or at a later date?

Thankyou again for reading my post and any answers will be greatly appreciated
AliLou xx