Lateral release surgery on knee?

[Leash]

Hi,
I don't know if this is the right place for this but figured it was worth a try. I wanted to know if anyone has had this surgery(or someone you know). I dislocated my knee a couple months ago and the MRI showed a "loose body" in my knee which is likely a piece of cartilage that broke off when it dislocated. So my doctor has said that he will likely need to remove that piece since it is becoming a problem by getting stuck in the joint and locking it up. He lso said as long as he was in there he would probably perform a lateral release since the probable reason for the dislocation is tight ligaments that pulled the patella out of place.

So I am happy that this procedure would almost guarantee that it would never spontaneously dislocate again but the thought of cutting things off my knee is kind of creepy and makes me a little nervous. I'm also worried about recovery, it has been a little over two months since the dislocation and I am still in physical therapy and my knee is still swollen, painful and I cannot bend it very much so if this is taking so long to heal how long would surgery take.

I guess I would just like to hear from anyone who has any experience and advice so that I kind of know what I'm getting into if the doctor says yes to the surgery.

Thanks.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Oh we have been there and done that this past March with ds 21. He had it done over easter break, the next day he was using his crutches going out with his friends. The surgery was about 45 minutes. They did it laproscopically with a camera and the dr. took pictures and showed them to us. He came out with a huge ace bandage on. That came off in a few days after like 2 stiches came out. He had to do physical therapy. He only went to to a few sessions and did the exercises at home. Unfortunately his surgery did not work, he is a rare exception. The dr. said it would take about 6 months to know if it worked. His knee still does not line up correctly. We had to do a new cat scan of the knee. So the dr. said there is nothing else they can do for him right now. He has alot of pain sometimes, but he has to learn to stop playing basketball so much and he does not seem to want to to give that up, so he has to suffer with the side effecrts I guess.

The operation it self was fine. Best of luck to you and hope all goes well.

 

[Leash]

Thanks so much for that information. That is one of the things I'm worried about - that it won't work and then I'll be stuck. But good to know that the surgery itself went well and recovery time seemed speedy.
I'm sorry to hear about your son, hope he gets better.

 

[mommyofboys]

I had a lateral release done in 1998. I thought it was an easy procedure. (It was my 2nd knee surgery in a year.) According to my MD, there is usually swelling afterwards (the size of a grapefruit), but I didn't have any. Just like the PP - had to do therapy, but as long as you do your exercises at home, it makes it easier. Just remember to keep it elevated after surgery - even the week after. It really helps with any swelling. I just had my 3rd knee surgery this past June so I sympathize with you!! Good Luck!

 

[Leash]

Ok so that sounds encouraging, I'm pretty used to swelling at this point so I am fine with that. When I spoke to my PT today he said he might also reccomend cutting out some of the scar tissue and performing a "manipulation" on my knee as long as he's in there. I said why don't we just replace the whole dang knee "as long as he's in there" . Oh well at least therapy is progressing, slowly but still making progress.
Thanks for the responses.

 

[sparkyboy]

I had my surgery back in 1980's. The only thing that I can recommend is to keep working hard at the therapy. I've given up the distance running but even with the tremendous swelling, I still am so thankful that I had the surgery.