Lateral release surgery

my doctor has already done the lateral release and now he tells me i need the TTT done on the same knee.... surgery is scheduled for tomorrow - so i guess im checking about this surgery at the wrong time.... i understand that the doc is going to do this, but he never said anything about screws. its not as though it matters, i need to have my knee repaired, i had it crushed over 13 months ago between an engine and transmission at work - and i have had nothing but problems with it.... after my lateral release, i slipped on the ice and tore my meniscus, doc says it will heel itself, then about 3 weeks ago, i fell dead center on my knee cap - now he wants to do the TTT, he has already told me no driving or weight bearing on my leg for 4-6 weeks. but yet i read that it is immediate weight bearing, i dont know who to believe, i have faith in my doc, so i guess i should go by what he says. i also heard that it can take up to 2 years to heal from the TTT. since my accident, i have limped, and i think i was walking better before my lateral release, am i going to be limping even more? will my knee EVER be "NORMAL" again? for 15 years, i was a waitress, am i gonna be able to do that ever again????? please - if anyone has the info on these questions, email me at cindy_johnson2423@yahoo.com

Hi, I'm a 23 y/o female and just had an arthroscopy and lateral retinacular release done 3 wks ago(today), after having been in severe pain for over 4 years (every doctor up until now said I was faking, until it was found I have severe chondromalacia and malpatellar tracking). I am a single mother of an active 4 1/2 y/o boy and am not sure how to handle the pain that I am still having. I am to start pt this week (2x per wk for 4 wks), and I was prescribed percocet for the first 2 weeks. Well, of course, I wasn't doing very well, being that I wasn't able to rest much with the munchkin running around, plus going back to work...I basically ditched the crutches (my post op said weightbearing as tolerated), as they were cumbersome and mostly ineffective. Anyways, I am currently out of meds and when I went in for my 2wk post op appt, he told me to use Aleve and ice. I can't take NSAIDS because I get ulcers, but, hey, I figured my os knew what he was doing, so I did it anyways. So here I am, stomach hurting from taking the Aleve (not the generic, I actually forked over $8.99 for the namebrand). I attempted to contact my os today about writing me another script for after my pt appts, and still haven't heard back. I also do respite care for foster children, so I am not able to just take off at a moments notice to go pick up an rx from over an hour away...anyone have any suggestions? I'm about at my wits' end. It probably doesn't help that I'm a complete clutz and bang my knee constantly...kinda worried about reinjury if you know what I mean lol

Christine (Braydensmom)

Hey I am a fourteen year old girl who is very active in sports. My knee has been bothering my for three years. My first docter said that it is PFS and I would grow out of it with time and therapy. I have gone to therapy for 6 months and it has not helped. So we changed to a new docter for a second opinion, he also said that it was PFS and wanted me to try therapy again, so I did and it also has not helped, so he has recommended doing a lateral release. I wanted to know how succesful the surgery is and if I could ever play sports again after the surgery.

I am 49 years old and had a lateral release 3 months ago. Prior to surgery my knee was locking up badly and I was unable to walk at times.

Now, I have pain and cannot go up or down step with out assistance. My knee varies from slight pain to very painful at time. About a 6 weeks after the operation, I could go up the stairs with little problem. I started doing some leg extensions on a weight bench with one 2.5 pound weight. Thing have not gone as well as I had hoped.

I have told my wife that I would not have done the surgery if I knew then what would happen. She always reminds me that I could not walk without a cane prior to surgery.

I am still hoping to someday I will be able to run, play golf, work on cars, . . . .

Background: I went in for a torn meniscus and come out with the lateral release. No torn meniscus.

I am scheduled for a lateral release next month and am interested in exercises for pre and post surgery. Those of you who have had the surgery please let me know. I have had knee pain for over four years and am 24 years old. I also have a four month old and am nervous about caring for her after the surgery. Do you think this is a bad time for the surgery?

I have a lateral release scheduled for monday and reading all this scares me. Have had pain for the last year. Been a competitve powerlifter for six years and strongman for a year so the surrounding muscles are plenty strong but I want to get back to the level I should and these people can barely walk. I'm not for sure

I was told NOT to use crutches after my lateral release so I walked on it as soon as the spinal wore off.

Cookswife, I totally agree with your statement. Presurgical exercise programs can greatly affect the outcome of the surgery. WIth a lateral release the surgery is only half the battle. The surgeon simple cuts the lateral retinaculum "releasing" the tighness that causes the patella to track laterally. But without proper post-op rehab you will still continue to have problems and the surgery would have been a waste of your time. Also working on the contralateral leg will also enhance your results. Research has shown that to a degree muscular strenght and even proprioception can transfer between the normal and injured leg. So if you are in too much pain to work your injured leg, do the exercises on your good leg. Also remember that there are many causes of patellar dysfunction, and if the problem is biomechanical in nature this will need to be addressed. If anyone has any questions feel free to e-mail me at PTAce@msn.com

I had a lateral release in 1982 with a full recovery. I actually went on to be selected for an all state baseball team that same season! It helped my knee throughout my college years and now I'm 36. Due to an injury- I have just had my 2nd lateral release 2 days ago. I hope I have the same luck but have hope it will be as good as new! Keep up with the therapy and you'll do great!

Try visiting my site http://www.backfixnodywork.com visit Foods for Structure and Helps Orthopedics articles. Then go to What's New little white box on Nome page for knee tightness info. Read suggested articles. All will give you info about diminishing pain, promoting healing, preventing future injury and regaining more flexibility. Carious health food store supplements if top of the line can also feed repair if you also do the foods suggested. Crunchy knees, not from an accident or blow, mean tight muscles for a long time. Accumulated shortness article gelpful. Check out the testimonials. email me if you need to. If your internal knee parts are indeed damaged, I know of a naturopath who did an enormous amouont to heal himself from a totally blown out knee accident. No surgery. But that's hard to do. Have a friend who tore tissue inside knee and got a lot of benefit from the treatment described on the site. The combo with surgery (that I encouraged him to get) helped him a lot. You may email me.

I had a lateral release in 1983 and it did not help. I had to go on and have a realignment and maquet procedures on both knees. That helped the pain I was having all the time, but I still have been pretty limited--ie no sports, etc. Am presently looking into hyaluronic acid injections as they have been getting a little worse lately, but this was done almost 20 years ago so did pretty well.

I had a patella re-alignment/lateral release. I did very well after the surgery (6 yrs ago) and most of the pain and instability went away. It was very effective for me. Until a PCL/Posterolateral corner injury

I am a 26 years old man and I have been diagnosed with pfs a few months ago. I also tried physical therapy to strengthen the vastus medialis for three months, Ihave tried brace and nothing seems to work. My OS think that I should have a lateral release. He says that this procedure works for 60% of the time. From what I read it does not look like it works too well. Can somenone tell me if it was succesfull for him or her. Thank you.