UKC

Has anyone had the above at all, and how did your recovery go.?
I had my right knee done last friday, and whilst ive heard of people going back to work after just 3 days or so, my own knee is still incredibly swollen. Im hobbling about a bit, and doing the intended exercises, keeping the knee raised when not in use , just as the Consultant told me etc etc, but still no sign of improvement as yet.
(Ive rang the hospital in question several times to get the opinions of the nurse/Dr/specialist but no answers as yet).

Anyone got experience of these matters ?

In reply to Newbuild100:

arthroscopy is just a method of entering your body, what did they actually do to you? I had a cartiledge repair vis arthroscopy on my right knee about 4 months ago and im currently climbing better than ever before! I do have to warm up very carefully and avoid massive rockovers and drop knees though and if i over do it then i nknow about it the next day!! I was originally told i could not climb for 5 months after the op but i was back again after 2!

In reply to maybe_si: How long before you was walking again ??
"They" did mention just a clean up of the menisiscus etc. Daft of it is, I took ages coming round from the aneasthetic and actually forgot to ask what they'd actually done/found.
I will presume that it went well though. Maybe I could ask if someone ever answers the phone at that end!

In reply to Newbuild100:

I would be interested in the responses to your post because I am having an arthroscopy +/-lateral meniscus repair in two weeks time!!

In reply to jim robertson:

Had a Meniscus repair in February and just about sorted now!
Others seem to have much shorter recoveries, I guess it depends what was
done and maybe how conscientious you are with the Physio.

In reply to jim robertson: I had a medial meniscus repair in August and am back climbing now but still have to be careful (no heel/toe locks or crazy drop-knees). Its a much faster recovery is they remove the offending bit (6 weeks to full strength/normality) but you stand more chance of developing osteoarthritis. Normal time for a repair is atleast 3 months but more often around 6 months.

In reply to Newbuild100: I had my right knee done by arthroscopy in July to fix a tear in the meniscus (with an associated cyst which gave me lots of grief when cycling). The doc also cleaned up some rough cartilage behind the kneecap (chondroplasty) at the same time.

The knee felt better immediately and I gave up using the crutches after about 3 days (was told to use them for a week). I was cycling (on-road and off-road) again after about 3 weeks with the blessing of the physio. I was very good about doing the physio exercises. It was a month or more before the swelling had totally disappeared.

I got fed up of waiting for the NHS so paid £2500 for the op. Money very well spent in my opinion as the knee is now pain-free.

Hope this helps.

In reply to Newbuild100:

I've had the following procedures done on separate occasions:

- Partial medial meniscetomy (i.e. trimming off of the damaged bit of cartilage)
- Meniscal repair (use of plastic sutures to anchor the damaged "bucket handle" tear back in place).

Both were done by arthroscopy.

The partial menisectomy op is fairly commonly used, but it's my understanding that the repair op isn't carried out that often, unless the surgeon thinks there is a really good chance of the repair working. Cartilage has a very bad blood supply so doesn't heal as well as other body tissues when it's damaged.

anyway - after the repair op you'd commonly be in a fabric/plastic brace type thing for 4-6 weeks to restrict movement, and give the cartilage the best chance of healing properly.

If you haven't been given one of these brace thingies, my guess is that you had the menisectomy op. My experience of this op was that I walked out of hospital without crutches and climbed after 3 or 4 days. After about a month I was back climbing at the same grade as before the injury, although I had to exercise some care with anything needing a very high step with the damaged knee. There were just moves that were impossible.

Now (a couple of years on) it gives me very few problems at all, although I know there is an increased risk of arthritis in old age after a menisectomy.

Hope that helps.

In reply to jim robertson:

Me too having just been referred for the MRI scan and probable op. Fascinating and worrying all at the same time but also very hopeful.
Out of interest, how long did people have to wait for 1) the scan and 2) the op after that?
I know that is incredibly subjective to all sorts of variables like postcode etc but interesting all the same.

In reply to Newbuild100:

Ive had a shoulder done, of course I cant comment on knees but be v careful with Non steroidal Anti inflammatories.

Diclophenac has screwed my stomach, try and get off such evils asap, it creeps on you and sabotages your stomach lining. Good luck with the knee.

In reply to Tim Sparrow:

Didn't have the scan as symptoms suggested a tear (my knee locked and wouldn't straighten!). I had BUPA cover so the op was done within 3 days of injury.

In reply to 1234None:


I think things have moved on a bit now. I had a repair and got no brace or crutches. I had a new procedure which I think is called 'homogenisation' (or something like that) which increases the chances of successful repair from about 70% to around 90%ish. The tissue is deliberately agitated to flood the knee with blood. Because the meniscus has a poor blood supply, this extra blood apparently assists proper healing of the surgery site. Unfortunately, it does leave you with (and my surgeon didn't tell me what to expect) a big, swollen, red knee which is hot and to looks infected to any medical personnel not up on this procedure! I had two weeks on the couch with enforced walking and little else- then physio. I could ride an exercise bike by about 5 weeks and made pretty rapid progress after that. Your quad withers away which leaves your kneecap loose and floating in a sea of swelling- this can cause some pain. As soon as you build back the lost muscle, things improve quickly.

In reply to Tim Sparrow:


I went to my GP suspecting a cartilage issue, which he agreed with and referred me to the Royal Free in London and told me to rest it for a month. That was early August. I got my hospital appointment later that month. Rather than seeing an orthopaedic consultant directly, I was under the care of a physiotherapist. She started me on exercises and I had three subsequent appointments in the physio clinic. At that time I had returned to work (probably against my GP's advice) and was working through the pain (with the help of a mixture of diclofenac and paracetomol). There was no improvement by mid September and I basically told her that we didn't seem to be taking things forward and that the exercises seemed fairly ineffectual due to my general mobility not being compromised (albeit with painkillers). She requested an MRI and X-rays, which I had within a week, and they were reported by the end of September. The radiologist confirmed a lateral meniscus tear. I immediately went back to my GP and he signed me off work until I have had surgery and recovered. I saw my surgeon at the end of October and have been scheduled for my arthroscopy mid December.
Overall my treatment has been fairly swift, apart from the fannying around with the new referral pathway system. Once that hoop was jumped through, things moved quickly and I have kept well within the 18 week target.
My only concern is that during this time my knee has deteriorated significantly and I am dependent upon the painkillers even when resting and at night. At the outset my knee was just tender really, now it feels completely unstable and has given way several times and is significantly swollen most of the time. Continuing my job and basically being on my feet for ten hours a day has done me no good at all leaving me reliant on the painkillers which had been masking the damage I was doing.

In reply to Carnage:
I could ride an exercise bike by about 5 weeks and made pretty rapid progress after that. Your quad withers away which leaves your kneecap loose and floating in a sea of swelling- this can cause some pain. As soon as you build back the lost muscle, things improve quickly.

Moved on? I had the brace on (daytime only) for 5 weeks, and then within a week or two I was pretty much back to normal. Cycling and running after 8 weeks. Sounds to me like the brace might be a less debilitating option during recovery. Mu quads didn't wither too much as I could walk around as much as I liked so long as I didn't bend the knee beyond a certain angle. The brace is adjustable and allows the docs to gradually allow more movement etc.

In reply to 1234None: Well folks. As the surgeon cannot give details of what was actually done re my knee (on the phone), I cannot report as yet, although I have got an outpatients appointment in two weeks. I will have full details then.
I was about 4 months from seeing my GP to the op, but that will depend on what postcode one has !
I didnt have MRI,I was told it wasnt needed. I did have an "ordinary" Xray and had it explained to me that, it would suffice. (I was even shown the pics to prove it, although I may have been looking at pics of the moon really).
As per my first post, I have heard of guys walking out of the hospital after the op but personally, I think i should have been on crutches for 3 or 4 days at least, theres no way I could have walked. I didnt have a knee brace fitted. (I think the theory is that there should be as much movement as possible afterwards, as long as its relatvely pain free).

Anyway, back to OP again, it seems that the swelling I still have 6 days later is normal(ish). Hopefully, ill soon be back to the great outdoors.
Good luck to those of you about to have the op.
Get well soon

In reply to Newbuild100: Had both of mine done last winter, trimming of both miniscus. Climbing a month after, though very wary on rock overs. No problems at all now. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

In reply to Newbuild100: This is a very variable area. Depending on the type of medical condition, whether it is being looked at or treated, how good your knees are in the first place, how active you are, how active you want to be and when following the procedure, how fit and healthy you are, there's a huge sliding scale.

In reply to Newbuild100: had a partial trim of the cartilage via arthroscopy. Afterwards I honestly believed it was a complete failure, then suddenly 6 weeks later it was 100% better. Did all the exercises etc and after the about 6 - 8 weeks was fully hill fit, and its been great for 10 years.

In reply to cragtaff:

Reading some of these success stories is making me feel I should have mine done, I've been dithering over it for months. Medial meniscus tear last Feb (skiing), confirmed by MRI, doc was dead keen to operate the next day ($ signs visible in his eyes as it was on insurance). Decided to hold it, went on another ski trip, and over the summer it got better and better and I'd decided not to have it done, until... went out jogging a few weeks ago and came back with mild pain, swelling and more clicking. Slightly improved now but still stiff and maybe a bit swollen. I went to two specialists and neither could really tell me what the chances of it being improved by trimming are. But some of you seem to have had positive outcomes.

In reply to Newbuild100
Took me about two weeks, to get back to more or less where I left off after I had one. Recovery seems to be very variable though.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=124995&v=1#x1724456

In reply to Newbuild100:
Seems a really common op in climbing circles. Too much dropping off boulder problems and funny torq-ing (sp) I think, or maybe we're just a busy bunch who punish ourselves too much too often.

I had a bucket handle tear. The knee locked in a bent positon after 2-3 years of issues with it temporarily locking. Which was fun at the top of a boulder problem, had to one leg down climb it.
Any way, the surgeon chopped out 1/3 of my cartilage/meniscous.
Took a solid few weeks to get back walking enough to go to work.
Took 2-3 months to build up confidence to climb outside my comfort routes.
I still do not boulder high enough to fall and scw##w it fully, the confidence in the knee is gone. So I am currently sticking to rope stuff.
Took 3-4 month to climb as hard as I was before.
I do not have full range of movement still (can't bend it fully) which makes big rock overs/drop knees a cause for concern.

Makes all manner of grinding/popping noises at times.

Good luck with yours, I think recovery is dependant on the amount of change your knee goes through. Beats being lame.

K

In reply to Newbuild100:

Not sure it's cheering news but have had 3 meniscal repairs via arthroscopy - first one failed, next a year later took 2 years+ recovery, third one 2 months to get back on form.

What I learnt was it helps to have good muscles around the knee as recovery is faster. my first op followed 2 years of non diagnosis and near constant swelling so my leg/joint was weak and in poor shape.

Swelling in your knee now is fine but follow instructions religiously about regular icing and rehab exercises. Getting it repaired was worth it, but getting it strong and keeping it that way will take a bit more effort than you give to a healthy joint.

Good luck!

In reply to fizz: Thanks once again for all your comments.
Have a good weekend folks.