It's been awhile since I wrote an update. This is mostly because I haven't had any changes in my knee. It's been a year and a half since my surgery and I feel the same as before I had the surgery. I don't feel any relief from my initial symptoms. Fortunately, I'm not in a lot of pain on a daily basis. But I haven't been able to get back into running which is disappointing.
I got an MRI in Oct. Unfortunately I had some trouble getting my surgeon to read it since I had to mail the disk. My surgeon is in San Antonio and I live in New Mexico. The nurse I have been working with gave me the wrong address and it was returned to sender. She has been very difficult to deal with and 50% of the time doesn't respond to my emails or phone calls. Anyway, I finally got my surgeon to look at the MRI. He said everything looked normal with the graft and the "pothole" in my cartilage looked like it had been filled in successfully. So I asked, "why do I feel the same as before the surgery?" His response was, "sometimes it's hard to tell exactly what is causing the pain." I've done some more research on ACI and read several articles in medical journals. I think I have damage to the subchondral bone beneath the cartilage lesion and while ACI filled in the missing cartilage, it did nothing to address the underlying issue with the bone. I've read about procedures in which the damaged bone is replaced with a graft and then ACI is performed on top of the bone graft. It is described as an "ACI sandwich." I don't know why this wasn't ever addressed with my case. Maybe my surgeon was not really experienced with ACI. So I believe my pain is coming from damage to the bone that was never addressed with this procedure.
I don't plan on having any additional surgeries. At some point I'm sure I'll need a knee replacement but after this experience I'm not in a hurry to do anything surgical.
My surgeon did suggest trying PRP (plasma rich platelet) injections. So I will try this in the next week or two. I'm not expecting much from it but it won't hurt to try.
I'm trying with ozone injections and they hurt. Not much, but the doctor told me that PRP injections hurt a lot more so be ready for that! ;)
ReplyDeleteI just got a PRP injection and I'll update with my next post. The injection did hurt but I've had very little pain afterward from the injection. I was expecting to be really sore and stiff but haven't really felt any discomfort. I am very surprised.
DeleteJust writing to see how the injection went? I am considering the ACI procedure, but it sounds like overall it was not of great benefit to you (esp. considering all you had to go through).
ReplyDeleteI didn't notice too much after the injection. Maybe it helped a little but it's hard to say. I didn't have any extra pain from the injection though which surprised me. I think ACI would be good for people who are in significant pain that aren't ready to do a knee replacement yet. I think it has the potential to help with pain but as far as getting back into running, I'm not sure that is a realistic goal.
DeleteHi Megan,
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading your blog and first, want to thank you for taking the time to share your recovery and second, ask you if you think the whole thing was worth it? I recently suffered a traumatic injury to my left knee and have a chuck of articulate cartilage (2.3cm long x 1.6cm thick) carved out of the joint. My surgeon didn't even mention ACI surgery and instead told me that they could do a Microfracture and remove the "loose body" (damaged cartilage). He said it would get me mobile but that I would never be able to run again and would need to limit any activity that causes impact to the joint. Which to me is a death sentence. I'm very active, am a yoga teacher/studio owner, and live to hike and backpack (true Pacific Northwestern). I found ACI online and have another appointment with a different surgeon to discuss if I am a good candidate. Reading your blog and the intense recovery you went through to come out on the other side and not feel a whole lot better and still think you'll eventually need a knee replacement... would you have still done the surgery with that knowledge? I would love any insight you have to share! ~namaste~
Hi Sarah, I'm coming up on 3 years post op and I don't feel a whole lot different. I run a little but not much. Luckily I'm not in a lot of pain day to day. I'm not worse off after the surgery so I guess I don't regret it. I just wish I had better results. I think if I hadn't tried it I'd always wonder if it could have fixed my knee.
DeleteHey Megan, thank you SO much for your extensive blog. I’ve followed it, and it’s been very helpful to me. I’m 8 month’s post MACI on my trochlea, medial, and lateral femoral Condyles. (I had three big defects). I’m curious if stairs have gotten easier for you at your stage now? I had the most symptoms with stairs pre-surgery, and I’m starting to wonder if this surgery was worth it too. Progress is very slow, and stairs still hurt more than pre-surgery. I also may have to have another scope for possible scar tissue :/. Thank you! Shannon
ReplyDeleteHi Shannon. Thanks for the comment. Stairs have become much easier at this point. But I remember this taking a long time. It was over a year before I felt really good on stairs. Today just over 3 years post-op I still have weakness when I climb stairs. But no pain. Hang in there. It takes a long time to recover.
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