mcarey032 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 My Dr. says I need to have it. I had my meniscus repaired, but says if I don't have this surgery that because my knee is arthritic, that I will need to have knee replacement down the road which I am too young for. I would be on crutches for 4-6 weeks and then rehab for about 6 months. Anyone have any experience with this type of surgery? Thoughts? Thanks. I would appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockeryfan Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Are you talking about microfracture surgery? There are lots of techniques, but that is a common one and the success really varies. He really isn't being truthful if he is telling you it will stop the arthritis or prevent you from needing a total knee replacement down the road. He simply cannot say that. I will say this. If you are a fat ****, don't waste your time with microfracture sx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideshow24 Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 So, are you a fat **** or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdcskins Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Cartilage is pretty well spoken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcarey032 Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 He said that it was already arthritic and that they are going to use a process called carticel by genzyme. Apparently he said if I don't I will need surgery for a knee replacement down the road. I am going to get a second opinion, nonmatter what, but not looking forward to being on crutches for 4-6 weeks. ---------- Post added December-8th-2011 at 04:29 PM ---------- Also no i am not a fat ****. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockeryfan Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Lot of follow up surgeries for this procedure. Ask your doc how many of his patients require follow up surgeries. If he says something ridiculous like he has a 99% success rate, just find another doctor. http://smogknee.com/images/ACI5yearOutcomeCORR2005.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcarey032 Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Thanks for that info. Skimmed through it. Will ask though. Wonder if doing nothing will be the best thing? He did say that I couldn't have knee replacement. Said I was too young. Know of any other proceedures to ask about for this articulate cartliage tear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockeryfan Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Depends. He's going to describe the lesion in more detail. Location. Is it on the Femur or Tibial plateau, etc. He'll size it. He'll classify it. Grade I through Grade IV. Then come up with his best guess for a plan of attack. Honestly, these things used to be found by accident. They don't always hurt. Someone would go in for an ACL repair and they would find a big area of cartilage damage they never knew existed. In fact, he's basically guessing that it actually is the cause of your pain if he's being truthful. There simply is no way to know. ---------- Post added December-8th-2011 at 07:51 PM ---------- Also, it is articular cartilage, not articulate, btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcarey032 Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Basically you hit the nail on the head. He thought that my ACL was torn but couldn't tell by analyzing me in office and the MRI was negative. Once he got in there he saw the tear there and said there was a 5 cm tear that was there or Something to that affect and that it was arthritic. He basically said that they would have drilled holes in my bones, but the tear was too large for that. That is when he talked about carticel. My wife did a little research and in some cases follow up proceedures for Carticel. Not exactly what I would call encouraging. Going for the second opinion. Just sucks because I would love to go back to playing pick up ball but I think that is looking less likely. Thanks for your reply. It has been helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcarey032 Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Depends. He's going to describe the lesion in more detail. Location. Is it on the Femur or Tibial plateau, etc. He'll size it. He'll classify it. Grade I through Grade IV. Then come up with his best guess for a plan of attack. Honestly, these things used to be found by accident. They don't always hurt. Someone would go in for an ACL repair and they would find a big area of cartilage damage they never knew existed. In fact, he's basically guessing that it actually is the cause of your pain if he's being truthful. There simply is no way to know. ---------- Post added December-8th-2011 at 07:51 PM ---------- Also, it is articular cartilage, not articulate, btw. Thanks, sorry about the misspell. I saw that when I started doing searches on the procedure. I appreciate all your input and experience on this. I guess I am just frustrated because we had one surgery and they couldn't get it done and now I am basically given the no choice choice. If I don't take surgery he said it will become arthritic, which he says is already there and then it would require a replacement, which I am too young for. Guess we will see where this all leads. Going for a second opinion with an another orthopedist here in Arlington and see what he says. The Dr. I am seeing sounds on the level, but I want to make sure that there isn't some alternative to me having to go under the knife or a less invasive way of correcting this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcarey032 Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Depends. He's going to describe the lesion in more detail. Location. Is it on the Femur or Tibial plateau, etc. He'll size it. He'll classify it. Grade I through Grade IV. Then come up with his best guess for a plan of attack. Honestly, these things used to be found by accident. They don't always hurt. Someone would go in for an ACL repair and they would find a big area of cartilage damage they never knew existed. In fact, he's basically guessing that it actually is the cause of your pain if he's being truthful. There simply is no way to know. ---------- Post added December-8th-2011 at 07:51 PM ---------- Also, it is articular cartilage, not articulate, btw. Got the second opinion and the Dr. basically said that this procedure is in its' infancy. This surgery is not even at 85 percent. I said that I had seen it gauged around 60-75 percent success rate. He put it at more like 60 percent, to which I said is basically a coin flip as to whether or not it would be successful. He also added that insurance isn't always willing to pay out and also that it is quite an expensive out of pocket surgery. The surgery would cost around 40,000 and it would probably cost me around 5,000-6,000. In addition, I would be on crutches for 4-6 weeks, rehab for 6 months and at the end no guarantee that the procedure would work! The Dr. told me that I could modify what I do. Not as much impact sports and strengthening. The funny thing was that the Dr. that did surgery basically told me that I had no choice that I had to have the surgery. The second opinion left it entirely up to me. He said if you want to give it a shot and go for the surgery and play basketball you have to weigh your options. I basically have decided that I want no part of surgery if I can get away with it. This surgery sounds like it is hit or miss and all the complications that go along with it are not worth the risk for me. I will take my chances and not do the surgery. As of now, I am not really feeling any pain related to the knee, so I will refrain from high impact. Just ticks me off that my surgeon was willing to put me under the knife making it sound like I had no choice. The Second opinion said that if this was a life or death procedure like cancer, 60%-75% you would take these odds. He also said that I wouldn't need to total knee replacement. It would be possible to do a partial knee replacement. We shall see, but thanks again for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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