I would not get too worried at this stage. In the early months of recovery from LR surgery, I had frequent medial subluxations where I was always bending down to shift my kneecap back into the right place to avoid the painful/nauseating pop of it going back in. For the most part, these subluxations have gone away as my quads have gotten strong enough to pull the kneecap up as I walk. This is not to say I am without problems; I am still having significant issues 4.5 years post-surgery. But, for your sake, I do think the position of the patella will change as your quads get stronger. I imagine 2 weeks out you have a lot of atrophy.
Good luck!
And the usual disclaimer...I'm not a doc. But in this case I do agree with your doc's assessment.
10/23/2006 08:02 PM
Julia2607
Posts: 1
Hi there,
I am 2 weeks post-op from a lateral release. I have had a chronically unstable patella which rode laterally and was quite tilted. I have had numerous injuries over the past 10 years and each one ended up with months of PT and a full year before I felt like I was back to my preinjury state. I went to numerous surgeons. One recommended doing nothing, two recommended a Fulkerson Osteotomy and the one I finally chose recommended a lateral release which appealed to me more because it is less invasive. I personally know 2 people who had great success with the release.
Here's my concern- at about 20 degrees (or so) of flexion, my patella subluxates medially. It does so just a little bit (does not end up on the side of my knee joint like it used to do laterally years ago). If I move my knee very slowly, it glides over slowly. However, if I move it quickly or if my physical therapist attempts a passive ROM test, it pops over quickly and this triggers patellar apprehension.
I try to relax and avoid the apprehension but I just can't - it feels involuntary. I saw my surgeon this morning for a 2 week post-op visit and he said that this will correct itself once my quads are stronger. But I don't know anyone who had this post-operatively and my physical therapist has never seen this either.
I hate to think that my surgeon would not tell me if perhaps he had over-released my retinaculum, but I have to admit to being concerned by this. It is slowing down my rehab and, thus, my return to normal life.
If anyone has amy advice on this or has experienced anything similar, I would GREATLY appreciate you feedback.
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