Lateral Release.. should I be worried?

Been there! I had the same problems!! Yeah I did the lateral it was painful, but tolerable. I am two years post op on the right knee and in a month I will be doing the left knee. I still have some pain, but not like it was.

ihad my operation last weekinfact its a week tomorrow. i have found that its been extremlypainful and i am stillfinidng everything very difficult. i have a bigblister underneath my operation point is this normal, wat caused this ??? the surgeoan also decidedthat heddo keyholeon the other leg at the same time which has also madelife moredifficultforme. any opionions would be good thankx.

I have had LRs done on both of my knees my left done in 1991 and 2002; my right done in 1993. I have had minimal issues with my right knee since - I have not returned to my OS for that knee since. My left one worked except I had scar tissue build up that tightened the ligament again, which resulted in the second one. My pain did return which caused my doctor to do a TTT on me nearly 4 weeks ago. He determined that my LR was still successful, but that my alignment was causing the pain, not the tilt.

If you do not know your OS very well it is always good to get more than one opinion. I trust mine completely so I never questioned him. If you get a second opinion that is far different from the first, then get a third or fourth until you get answers that make you feel comfortable.

Please check on other sites as well before judging your surgeries. Unfortunately I have found more horror stories on this forum than I do on others, such as kneeguru.

i have read through a few stories here and obviously everyone has different reactions to the procedure. I was 17 when i had my release - i live in Australia and originally injured it skiing in the snow tearing my medial ligament! i played netball at the time at a representative level and when i returned from my trip 3 weeks later i was back on the court and slightly tore my cruciate. it wasnt until 12 months later the doctors told me i had to have scans and then this resulted in an athroscopy with at last resort lateral release. I was unaware of the procedure and the doctors were reluctant in informing me with much more then it's a simple op. The doc was unable to find my medial scarring and performed the later release. I have to admit i had a horror run as i had a reaction to anesthetic which isnt normal however i was anal about my rehab as i had to get back to my playing level. the recovery is painful - but so is any surgery that is something youll have to take on the chin!
I attempted to move onto tredmill (walking) work after 3 mnths of intensive pool and bike work - i couldnt walk for the next few days! i was told my recovery was perfect thus far and i had healed well great range of movement ect ect. 10 months later i had missed another season and still couldnt run the surgeon told me he had released me too far the pain that i was still having was in my head and i quote "the knee cap had tricked (him) into thinking thats were the pain was coming from" and sent me off on my own.

I have since been to other surgeons and the LR has been described to me as a retirement operation and one that is different on every person as there is no scientific proof how far to slice one person to another (hence i had an aggressive cut) i can never play at an elite level again and i cant even kneel on the ground without my knee cap dislocating. I cannot strenghten my surrounding muscles as my medial pain is still present and this is 6 years on and after numerous rehab attemps each one attempting different ideas!

Yes i have spoken to people who have recovered well but there have been a few in my boat unfortunately i wish i had this information before i underwent my surgery - i have to sleep with a pillow between my legs at night, i still cant run, jump, side step all crucial to my sport! i cant kneel and as i cant strengthen my leg muscles enough it collapses on me at the most inconvenient times! Before you take the plunge i cant stress enough to do the research on your surgeon and rehabilitators!

This has been a horror story and i am sorry but i wish i knew about the information i have read on this page and heard from surgeons post op - and i could have still been at the peak of my sport! If anyone out there surgeons or rehab specialists could direct me into another avenue i would be most grateful - this has been a raunmatic trail of events and i would love to hear something positive apart from - you will live on pain killers and imflamortories - strap for a basic game of backyard touch footy or cricket!
Thanks for listening!

I have to agree with enhilker. A lateral release will not stop the knee cap from dislocating. There is always the chance that it will mess up the mechanics of the knee, creating more problems, or it can cause the knee cap to dislocate to the medial (inside) of the knee. Injuries and stretching of the medial patellarfemoral ligament play a large part in instabilities of the knee cap. I am in the process of rehabbing from my second TTT, tibia tubercle transfer (one on each knee) after continuing dislocations after a complete lateral release. Get more opinions! Also check out the OrthoSupersite (www.orthosupersite.com). In the video section is discussion of the lateral release procedure by Dr. Fulkerson. Good luck! Patty

Go for 3 opinions before you have a lateral release. I believe they are done as a last resort.