Micro-fracture surgery-any experiences?

[Calvincrowe]

I have been having pain/swelling in the knee I’ve had two previous surgeries on (hyper extension repair and ACL repair). Had my MRI results read today by my knee ortho and he said I had some “hanging chad” or cartilage that is not detached completely and is sort of catching and grinding around in there. No meniscus damage, no ligaments flapping loose, so that’s good. Lots of fluid built up and my patella needs a good smoothing out, too.

He gave me two options: one is to simply scope it and clean everything up. Two is to do a micro-fracture surgery. Essentially they create small breaks in the bone to encourage a clot and more cartilage growth. Having read up on the recovery time line I am leaning toward the simpler option. I’m 43, not an athlete, and have just returned to riding after suffering a terrible shoulder injury two years ago–I really don’t want to stop riding again!!

Anyway, I do want to explore the option, so has anyone done this?

Ironically, my surgeon also did this surgery on one of the Blazers (our NBA team)–and it was less than successful. Not a glowing recommendation!

[tarynls]

The procedure was less than successful on my husband’s knees. He went on to have bilateral total knee replacements 4 years after the scope w/ microfracture. His knees were much worse after the surgery than before.

[Grace67]

I had it done on my left knee about 6 years ago. End of next month I go in for a total knee replacement on my left knee, I will be 43. I have an offset patella and I am bone on bone with four large bone spurs. The orthopedic surgeon who is doing my replacement surgery shook his head when I told him about the other surgery. He specializes in sports medicine and works on a lot of younger folks far more athletic than me.

Oh and I was completely non weight bearing for 6 weeks then on one crutch for another month and I don’t remember, it was maybe 3 more months before I rode again?

At this point I wish I had just had the knee replaced six years ago and moved on, my quality of life has declined a lot in the past 2-3 years and tomorrow I’m going on a field with my 8 year old son except I’ll be taking a walking stick and not participating in the 2 mile hike around the redwoods.

I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to continue riding once my knee heals but to what degreee I won’t know. At least I should be able to walk and get through life on a daily basis much better than I am now.

My advice is get another opinion…and even a third before deciding.

[Calvincrowe]

I’ve decided: no micro fracture for me!! I’ve spent the last half hour reading on-line and am opting for a simple scope-and-scrape. I simply do not want to do the rehab. Not worth it. I just have a bit of detached cartilage, no bone on bone yet. My patella is rough (chondromalacia sp?), and needs smoothing, too.

Thank you for sharing your experiences! It does help to hear the less-than-stellar results. I trust my surgeon, he did my ACL 6 years ago on this leg and is the best in the area (team surgeon for 2 pro teams) and is part of the best practice in our area, as well. He likes to give all the options and help you decide what is right for you personally. I’ll let him know what I’m going with.

Thanksgiving on crutches is looking good! No cooking for me–yay!