Bilateral knee dislocations
In reference to the patient story below, I have had bilateral knee dislocations my whole life. I am now 28 and my problem is also hereditary. My dad, two of his siblings, my grandmother, and first cousin all on the same side of the family all have this problem. My mother developed this problem in her 20's. She had knee surgery back in the early 80's soon after this problem started. My one full blooded sister, does not have this problem.
I had anteromedialization with tibial tubrical transfer and a lateral release done on my right knee in May 2003. I am almost 2 months post op. I have experienced a subluxation twice since surgery but my doctor said it is possible that it will happen due to the swelling.
As for you being concerned about a painful surgery/recovery, I also had that fear. I have always heard that knee surgery is one of the hardest to get over and one of the most painful recoveries. I have done much better than I ever expected to do as far as no pain. I was admitted over night after surgery and was given pain meds around the clock. In the first two weeks after surgery, I took maybe 6 pain pills total. I have been in physical therapy 4 weeks now and I have had more pain this last week than I have had since surgery. I wouldn't say its pain, it is more of a dull ache. I do have a scar that is approx 7 inches long and one side of my knee is numb. It will be a long recovery but it so far has not been too bad. Two weeks after surgery, I was in summer school 5 days a week, 3 hours a day. I have done extremely well and I would be happy to share more info if you would like.
The dislocation is 100 times more pain than I have had total since the surgery. *********************************************
Dislocation on both knees
Since I was 8 years old I have suffered from dislocating knees. My left one is the first one that developed this problem and is the one that continues today to dislocate. For a time in my early teens, my right knee would also go out (once both of them did at the same time!). My problem interestingly enough is hereditary! My mother, a few of her sisters and a few of her neices all suffered from the same problem. None of the men in the family, as far as I know, ever had it. I was told by an orthopedic doctor, back in the 70's, that it was caused by laxity of the ligaments (double-jointness). The problem worsens when I weigh more. Although I regularly workout at a gym, the left knee continues to have the problem. If it wasn't for fear of painful surgery/recovery, I would have had the surgery by now. Did anyone else out there who suffers from dislocation of the knees have the problem in their family (in other words, inherited it)?
From:
patykake@earth1.net
