06/18/2008 08:38 AM
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andi91
Posts: 4
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I had arthroscopic surgery two years ago, but have had this problem most of my life, my knee partially dislocates and my knee cap is very unstable it took me four days to even be able to sit down after this last episode. All I did was step down the wrong way and boom I couldn't walk with out a brace on as we speak my knee is getting all achy from sitting here. UGH I do have connective tissue disease. But this is really grating on my nerves, i know there is no quick fix to this problem but I would rather try it then not, I've been through tons of physical therapy to strengthen and it helps for a couple months, but my insurance does not cover lots of physical therapy. I also have pain right above my knee in the thigh area and this is more annoying I have a cane to use for my hip, but ugh, I am so tired of this darn knee stuff I want to be able to step down without worrying about it sliding out of place. I can't straighten my leg so my leg looks all strange when I walk because my knee cap isn't where it is supposed to be, I'd rather have the surgery then having to keep going through physical therapy over and over again, I finally found a good ortho and I am hoping he will help this problem.
Everybody is different with their outcomes it may take more then one surgery, this will be my second arthroscopic surgery, and my second opinion. Hopefully my last knee surgery ever.
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09/24/2007 03:52 AM
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bcems16
Posts: 1
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I'm having Left Lateral Release this friday coming up as well as having it cleaned out. I injuried my knee back in 2003 from a car accident, and have had pain, cracking and poping ever sence. I went throught the PT right after the accident for quit awhile; but I continued having pain. I went back to work and continued having the pain, until a large house fire that I had responded to. I was attempting to pull down an exterior wall to get to the fire in the rear. While standing on a hill I managed to pull the first and larger wall down; but when I pulled the secound wall down my knee locked up and the wall nearly landed on me. I knew then it was time to go back to the doctor who finally diagnoised me with Patella Femoral pain and tracking disorder as well as possible damage to the cartilage under the knee. He had me resume PT and started taping the knee, I started this while I was on vacation. My first day back with only 1/2 hr left in my shift, a forklift let loose and pinned my foot against several large steel roles. Because of the seriousness of the injury to my foot, which happened to be the same leg as my knee, my knee was put on hold for a while. If things could not become worse I developed RSD (Reflex Sympathy Distrophy) in my foot as a result of the severe nature of my foot injury. At first my knee was feeling ok; because their was not alot of bending of the knee. As I progressed in therapy for my foot, my knee began to get worse. The doctors perforemed 24 out-patient surgery procedues on my foot, but with minimal success. My knee doctor was now afraid of the RSD spreading from my foot to my knee if he operated, so he sent me for a consultation with a doctor in Pittsburgh, PA who agreed to perform the surgery and felt that the RSD was not likley to spread. So finally after nearly four years, I'm getting my knee done this Friday. With all of the other procedure I have had done on my foot, I feel like a pro and not afraid at all. With the knee problem out of the way, they can once again concentrate on my foot. I will have three more out-patient surgery procedures on my foot starting two weeks after my knee surgery and will continue every othet week for the three weeks. After the first of the year they are supposed to go in my back and destroy the nerve that goes to my foot/ankle. Good luck to everyone with your surgery or recovery. For those who may be a little nervous, don't worry everyone I talked to said it was not bad at all.
Everyone take care and once again, good luck,
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08/21/2007 08:33 AM
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tara_1970
Posts: 1
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Hi there, I had an open lateral release done on left knee on 29th May 2007, I have got to say that re-hab is a lengthy process, but the excersises are crucial, I can now manage to go up and down stairs unaided, which I never thought I would be able to in the early days after the surgery, the scar from surgery is only about 2 inches, but I had mine done open surgery not arthroscopically, and I am now waiting to go in hospital to get the right knee done, which will be done on 11th september 2007 (3 weeks today) The pain after is worth it as my knee now works like a dream, pls dont listen to all the horror stories, because when this op works, it is great, good luck to you
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02/28/2007 08:17 AM
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jbfam
Posts: 1
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Hi, after reading up on this, I really need some advice. My son is only 15, and he is a wrestler.
He has been diagnosed with a subluxating patella, and one dr has suggested a lateral release. He has not given us much information. My question is, my son has no pain unless his kneecap is actually out of position. Other than that, at normal times, he is fine. We are going to two more surgeons to get opinions. He has been in pt for 6 weeks, but I just don't think 2x week is enough to make a difference. I have tried to get my son to do his pt excercises seriously at home, but it seems like he has given up. Once he heard about surgery, he thinks that is the cure. My fear is that he will have pain forever after the surgery, where now he doesn't. The only problem he has now is he cannot wrestle, certain common moves cause the knee to come out immeiately. I am concerned he will not be able to wrestle even after this is done. Any comments would be appreciated.
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02/21/2007 03:29 PM
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tenftbeavr
Posts: 5
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aaaaaaaargh. It is ridiculous for anyone to say, without being a qualified physician and examining a person's knee, that they should/should not have a lateral release. It is not some fabulous cure all for knee pain. It is intended for patients with VERY SPECIFIC features. Many cases of patellofemoral pain are due to malalignment of the tibia & femur, in which case a lateral release is a bad idea. Research has shown that LR surgery helps if the patient's pain is due to lateral patellar tilt caused by a tight retinaculum. In some cases, the surgery either won't relieve the pain at all, and in others, it will make the situation much worse! Besides differences among individual patients, there are differences in the extent of the procedure. Some surgeons cut a little, some surgeons cut a heck of a lot and extend the release into the vastus lateralis tendon. All of these things can determine how successful the surgery is. So I wish that people would stop saying, "do it! it's great!" or "never have this surgery! it's hell!" Just make sure that your surgeon is qualified in evaluating patellofemoral problems & knows all of the potential complications.
As for whether the lateral release can be reversed, there are a number of reconstructive procedures that can be employed to treat, again, very specific complications of the procedure. Particularly, medial subluxation, which is when the patella deviates too far medially after the lateral restraints have been cut. You'd have to find a specialist in this type of procedure; I've been told multiple times that there was nothing that could be done, but a little research shows this is not true. Not all doctors take the time to read the literature. And if they did, we'd see a lot fewer lateral releases & subsequent complications.
I'm trying to form a list of competent patellofemoral doctors & especially those who do the repair surgeries. I've obsessively researched this topic for months, so if anyone would like to share info with me, email me: avroland@hotmail.com.
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02/07/2006 05:32 PM
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axe302
Posts: 1
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Having had a lateral release procedure (amongst other knee repairs) over a decade ago (when it was still in its infancy) I am surprised that many people are still having the same problems I had, and still have, due to the one procedure. Like some on the forum, I had strong quads due to competitive snow skiing and the result of the release was a significant and permanent reduction in strength in the vastus lateralis which was cut in a number of places. Although this released the pressure on the patella, the resulting ongoing imbalance caused instability in the knee, especially under large forces in ski racing. The almost removal of one of the thigh muscles was like reducing the knee strength by 25%, and I found that fine motor control was lost. Despite 18 months of rehabilitation, it never returned to the pre surgery level of strength, and I never returned to ski racing.
A decade ago, physiotherapy and PREhabilitation were not as common as they are today. Now having a friend with a similar problem and was recommended lateral release surgery before any other treatment, I was concerned. Surgery should be a last resort, especially for conditions that are the result of muscle imbalance. Once the muscle (or tendons or ligaments) is cut it is permanently affected, for better or worse. As someone who has been through the whole process, if you are considering lateral release surgery, be certain that you have exhausted every non invasive therapy before hand. A little bit of stretching may save a whole lot of pain, time and money.
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07/05/2005 05:16 PM
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RDH123
Posts: 6
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I am now 3 1/2 weeks post-op from a lateral release. Like you, I am glad I did it. The pain now, is actually less than before surgery. Only pain now is with some "forceful" bending in PT. I found it really helps to take pain med before going to PT. I was only at about 60 degrees of flexion. In one session with PT of being on pain med, so I was relaxed, and not tightening up with pain, I was able to get to 100 degrees! The next session I got to 110, then 140- still with some discomfort , but there! It also took me until week 3 to make my first revolution on the bike, but once you do, you really feel like you are making progress! Going forwards on the bike is still kind of hard, but I can do it. Main "issue" I have now is the lack of muscle strength. It is getting better each week, so I know it is just a matter of time. I still need one crutch if having to walk for any distance. I can "hobble" around in the house now ok. I think we all just get "impatient". We want to be back to our normal selves ASAP. It is a type of knee "realignment". Although the surgical technique is not "involved", it does change the way everything in your knee works. You have to "retrain" all the muscles again to work properly in their "new" positions. With arthroscopic procedures, the scars are so minimal on the outside, it can be deceiving as to what actually happened on the inside! The healing time on the inside is the same regardless of whether it is an open or arthroscopic procedure! So, I hope others out there facing a lateral realease can see that not all of us are regretting the decision, some of us are actually doing pretty well! Just curious, when were you comfortable getting rid of all walking aid?? I have been down to one crutch since the end of week one, but can't seem to "wean" off that one crutch just yet...muscles still feel "weak" like wants to give way underneath.
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04/05/2005 07:39 PM
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untchick22
Posts: 2
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It has now been 7 months since I had a lateral release(see previous post). I do not regret having it done. The Bad: I still have some pain, especially when doing leg extentions. But it is getting better. I can tell you when it is going to rain, it aches. But the worst part was that my quads lost all muscle memory. The cramping was almost unbareable, and I was not able to bend my knee to get a good stretch. I was told that this was caused by my having extremely muscular quads. I am a soccer player, and I lift weights. They are SLOWLY comming back. Stairs were another issue. I still have some pain when going up steep stairs. The GOOD: I am basically back to my old self. I can jog, and get a full work out, do yoga, bend, squat (no lunges!!!!). I am finally able to sit through a long movie or car ride, PAIN-FREE! Just be sure to use a good OS, and remember, it is surgery. Not a quick fix. You MUST work at getting better. PT was extremely helpful (it took me 3 weeks just to make one revolution backwards on the bike!) It has been 7 months, and I am just getting back to old self. But hang in there!
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09/21/2004 07:29 PM
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volleyball7_2007
Posts: 13
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Take it from someone that has had 5 surgeries, lateral release is CAKE compared to the other surgeries you could have. I had a lateral release done on my right knee 2 years ago and was told to stay on crutches until I felt I could walk with just my imobilizer which should not be more than 2 weeks. 2 days after surgery I was walking on it with my imobilizer. I have had 3 arthroscopic surgeries(2 left, 1 right) and 2 open knee surgeries (2 left) out of all of them the right knee arthroscopic lateral release was BY FAR the easiest. I can't even tell I had anything done to it, it feels normal, I was only in physio for a month and a half after my surgery. The only time I EVER have pain now is when I ride in a car for to long without straightening my leg out. That is expected from ANY kind of knee surgery tho, so don't worry about that. I run, play volleyball, swim, play basketball and do EVERYTHING I used to do still, so don't listen to these other people, you will be fine. Just MAKE SURE you get a top notch surgeon otherwise you could very well run in to problems! God bless you and good luck! Feel free to email me with any comments/questions!! ~*Tara*~
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09/10/2004 02:02 PM
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untchick22
Posts: 2
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I just had a lateral release yesterday, and so far so good, nothing I cannot handle. I had been having pain in my knee for over a year, and decided to bite the bullet, and take care of it. I think the reason you are only seeing negative responses, is because people only post the bad stuff. I know I only had it done yesterday, but i can tell you it is not near as bad, as what I have been reading. You should expext it to hurt, they manipulate your knee, that causes it to be sore. And you will have a lot of pain in your quads, this, I have been told is from the LR. No surgery is pain free, but I also had my tonsils taken out in March of this year, and this knee surgery, has been a piece of cake compared to that. You will have trouble gettin around, but just take it easy, and elevate, and ice. Good luck, I hope all goes well.
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