Caricel

Thanks for the reply John. My MRI in May revealed two damaged areas in the articular cartilage, torn meniscus and a "partial tear" of the ACL. The OS said that since joints get stiffer as we age the partial tear of the ACL was not a big factor since the job of the ACL is to provide knee stability, which my "advanced age" of 53 was compensating for. (hmmm....) I had surgery in June to "tidy up" the meniscus, cartilege and "see what else was going on" in my knee. Last week, considering all the factors, I took the MRI and the pixs the OS had given me and got a second opinion. The 2nd OS said that my "partial tear" appeared to him to be "NO ACL" and since knee stability is paramount in the Carticel process, recommended that I take care of the ACL first. I got the rest of the pixs this past Friday and dropped them off at the 2nd OS. I hope to hear from him this week since I'm supposed to make a decision on Friday.

All that history aside, has anybody had ACL and Carticel tied together? Has anybody else been told that the ACL is "required" prior to Carticel? Or microfracture, for that matter, since it too requires a very stable knee for cartilege growth.

Here are some things to make sure your OS talks with you about. Pardon if you're already aware of these.
1) Carticel is for focused injurys, not degenerative (widespread).
2) The shape of the injury makes a difference. The ideal injury would be similar to the old waterwell, with straight, clearly defined "vertical" walls. This provides a firm(er) surface for the cover flap to be attached/sewn to. Also, its a better container for the carticel. Less ideal are "morter shell holes", in which the shell comes straight down, explodes and the crater walls have "some" slope to them. Least ideal are artillary impact craters, where the walls are very sloped and irregular. Pardon my warlike analogies, best I could come up with.
These will be factors in the success or failure of the procedure. I've got artillary shell craters and to spend 14 to 18 mos out of commission with a low(er) probability of success is something I'm thinking real hard about.

I'd be interested in what your OS says John, about the other procedure.

Thanks
Tom

Hi, I had my Carticel implantation (as well as a meniscus transplant) on 1/4/06. I had been a hockey goalie and an overall active person and can't wait to get back to the things I love. I am 36 years old and had a major tear to my medial meniscus on 9/9/04 after a repair failed I had a large portion of the meniscus removed. Shortly thereafter, I conintued to have pain and swelling in the knee. An MRI showed that where I once had full cartilage in the knee was now down to bone on bone. Many options were discussed with multiple doctors and I chose the Carticel implatation and trasnplanted meniscus because the doctors informed me it would give me the knee back whereas the other options (microfracture, mosaicoplasty, OATS, osteotomy) would not be able to do the same for me. I also based my decision on friends having similar issues and the paths they chose did not work for them as they had hoped.

I have to agree with others that it takes a huge commitment on your part. The recovery is from 9-12 months and I you need to be vigilant in your rehab as well as no going to far too fast. I spent 8 weeks in a CPM machine for 6-8 hours a day which does not leave time for much else. Work was out of the question for me as I am a Physical Education teacher. I lived on crutches for this time. I made two week jumps after surgery of 0% weight to 25% weight bearing, to 50% to 75% to 100%. Those were very satisfying times to be able to graduate from one to the next.

I don't know your full situation, but if it is just a carticel implantation your surgery will be less invasive as mine. If however, it is more than that I would warn you about the first week after surgery. I will preface by saying that I have had four other knee surgeries (both knees) and I have never felt as horrible as I did after this latest surgery. You will obviously survive the week, but I jokingly tell others that I think I ground my teeth down to nothing from the pain. I could not eat a thing, and a femoral pain pump and pain killers did not appear to do much for the pain.

I am just over 4 months out from surgery, but was feeling pretty good once I was at 100% weght bearing. I went back to work 8 weeks from the surgery date. I obviously could not participate with the kids in PE, but it felt great to be doing something again. I have since been having some issues with the "new" knee. A recent MRI shows that I have a tear in the brand new meniscus. The tear is not from any accident or from doing something stupid. I have been very good to do just what the Doc says as well as what the physical therapist sets up for me, so it appears that the new meniscus may not have liked its new home as much as I would have liked. But the GREAT news is that it appears the caritcel implantation has taken to the knee very well.

My hope now is that the upcoming surgery, to either repair or remove the torn portion of the meniscus, will not damage the carticel area. As always I'm trying to stay positive and keep my eye on the prize of getting back to some "real" activity. Since I have been dealing with this for some time now, I would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have in regard to the procedure.

No matter what you choose, I hope it all works out for you and you can get back to the things you love.

Mike

How are you doing now Vicki? Thanks for your posting. It answered many of my questions.

Have you recovered to 75%/80%/85% pre-injury status? At what stage would you say is your recovery now? What's the pain factor and your activity level?

I'm thinking of Carticel for my knees but the lack of short/long term recovery info is causing me to hesitate. I'm 52, very active even with "bad" knees so am trying to gather as mmuch info as possible to help make an informed decision.

Anything you can tell me would be helpful.

Best wishs,
Tom Bridgeman

Has anyone tried this, had this? What is it like? How quick is relief? How old are you, if you don't mind a range? What did the doctor tell you about long term results? Jenn