One decision I had to make before the surgery was whether or not to have a femoral nerve block to help with post op pain. The procedure involved an injection into the femoral nerve to numb it similar to an epidural. I opted not to do this. It was one more thing that could go wrong. Additionally I was going to only spend one night in the hospital and I didn't want to be at home when the nerve block wore off. I would rather be in the hospital where I could receive intravenous pain medication rather than find out I couldn't handle the pain and have to come back to the hospital after it wore off.
I woke up from surgery in minimal pain. I was already receiving intravenous pain meds through my IV before I woke up so I actually felt pretty good. My pain was around a 4. I was moved to a hospital room which I don't really remember getting there. I slept most of the day and night. At some point during the night I was weened off the intravenous pain meds and was given 2 Percocets every 4 hours for pain. This worked fairly well. Toward the end of the 4 hours my pain would climb up to a 6 or 7 but slowly subside as the pills took effect. I was also put on antibiotics through an IV to prevent infection.
I left the hospital late afternoon the day after my surgery. I could keep my pain under control with the Percocet so I was ready to go home. The worst part about leaving the hospital was standing up on crutches to get in the wheelchair. The blood began to rush to the bottom of my leg and the pain was intense. However once I got settled in the wheel chair the pain subsided a bit and I felt ok enough to leave.
Megan - did you have to pay any out-of-pocket costs for the growth of the cells. I have my second surgery scheduled for Jan. 29. My cost is about $5000. Do you think it is worth the risk at this point in your recovery.
ReplyDeleteHi Katie, I did not have to pay anything for the surgery. My insurance covered all the costs so I was lucky. However, I would have paid $5000 to try this procedure. For me I was starting to get pretty depressed about not being able to do all the active things I wanted. There were not really any other options so it was aci or just live with it and get a knee replacement at some point. Everything I have read says aci has fairly good success rates and my surgeon said the same thing. The success rate drops with larger and multiple cartilage lesions. My lesion was very small, only about 1 1/2 cm. So I thought I had a good chance of success. At just over 4 1/2 months, I'm still hopeful that I will be able to run and I can say I'm glad I had the surgery. It has been frustrating and i'm still about 6 months away from being able to run. I'm slowly getting stronger and my pain has almost disappeared so I am hopeful for a full recovery. Good luck! Please let me know what you decide!
DeleteHey Megan I don't know how you got through those first couple of days without the nerve block. I was dying in pain once I removed mine.
ReplyDeleteWell, it certainly wasn't comfortable...lol. I had some pretty strong meds in the hospital that did the trick. The worst day was the 2nd day after I left the hospital. But Percocet around the clock helped a lot.
DeleteHi Megan a year has past... How are you doing ? Did you recover fully? Can you run again?
ReplyDeleteHello. I'm about 14 months post op and I'm not running yet. I really don't feel much different than before I had the surgery. I just had an MRI and I'm waiting for my surgeon to get back to me with the results. I'm worried something is wrong with the graft because my symptoms are still the same. Luckily I'm not in much pain day to day but not being able to run is a little frustrating.
DeleteNot sure how I stumbled upon this site... but here's my experience. I had a freak "kissing lesion" injury that left me with a rather large quarter size hole in my cartilage. I was told by my doctor that I would never run again, that I should look into biking or swimming. Unacceptable... so I got a second opinion from Dr. Jereb from Barrington Ortho and he took a shot despite the size of the defect. Rehab was tough, being locked in a brace for 8 weeks, non weightbearing was frustrating but the scar tissue that develops was even tougher. Learn to breath on the stretch. Still, that was back in 2005 at age 34. 12 years later, while not 100% (that was never gonna happen) I would say I am at %90. I just need to be careful with heavy loads such as squats and leg presses. But I am running at least 3 miles 3 or 4 times per week at a 6-7 minute mile pace. I have totally eliminated road running and run only on trails/grass etc. I strongly suggest you do the same when you return to running ( and yes, i think you will be able to run eventually if you put in the rehab work and are PATIENT. It took me almost two depressing and frustrating years because I heard that was about how long it takes for that cartilage to reach the same strength and texture as the surrounding cartilage - and I did not want to go through another 50 grand surgery and all the rehab again. I was back running after 2 years. Small hiccups along the way.... bursitis,bone bruise, etc... early on... mainly because of form, loss of flexibility, and muscle loss/weakness/imbalances from the two years of not doing much. So work on that first - strengthening the leg muscles will take the pressure off your knee joint.... if you are over weight, lose it... I'm 6'3 and I got up to 229 lbs and my knees could tell. I'm down to 205 for the past 3 years and I have been feeling better that I have ever felt since the surgery. I run in 6-10 mile hilly trail races once a month in addition to my regular 3 mile runs. So, I am very thankful and I feel it was totally worth it (especially when I got to play tag with my kids). Stay strong and don't give up hope! Positive thoughts and prayers to all of you!
ReplyDeleteDennis, thank you so much for your story. It's good to hear that you are able to run and back to 90%. I have had much of the same experience with a long and frustrating rehab. I'm at 20 months post op now and haven't started to run yet. I am still working on trying to get my leg strength back. I've made a lot of progress but my right leg is still stronger than my left.
DeleteHey Megan,
ReplyDeleteI am writing a research report for my biomaterials class on a hypothetical graft that would encourage cartilage growth in patients suffering from subtalar osteoarthritis. Your images showing the application of the carticel are awesome and I was wondering if I could use them in my report. If so, is there any particular way you would like me to cite/reference your blog?
Thanks,
Will
Will, of course. Feel free to use anything from my blog and cite it as you wish. I sounds like an interesting topic. Good luck on your paper! It would be amazing if someone discovered a way to regrow cartilage.
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