Hello all, my apologies if this not the right space to ask this question. I played sports all my life into mid 20s with little to no injuries. I get tendonitis occasionally in both knees. I now (or did) jog lightly for exercise a few times a week up until summer 2020 when I noticed some swelling and tightness in my right knee. I stayed off it other than working and normal life but after a few weeks it felt stiff and started locking. I had an MRI done that showed
Full-thickness chondral defect in central aspect of medial
femoral condyle, measuring 4 mm by 8 mm. I saw a respected ortho that recommends the oats procedure. I was not able to have surgery at the time for various reasons and now would be able to however my pain now is pretty mild even with jogging. Would it be best to do the surgery to prevent further degeneration or is it best to wait until the pain returns? Is there a possibility it has healed? I am happy to do the surgery but also can't find information on how necessary it is. My surgeon thinks it will help prevent further injury but if I'm not currently having much pain is it worth doing? The recovery sounds very long with no real guarantees. Anyone have experience with this surgery? Thanks so much in advance!
Full-thickness chondral defect in central aspect of medial
femoral condyle, measuring 4 mm by 8 mm. I saw a respected ortho that recommends the oats procedure. I was not able to have surgery at the time for various reasons and now would be able to however my pain now is pretty mild even with jogging. Would it be best to do the surgery to prevent further degeneration or is it best to wait until the pain returns? Is there a possibility it has healed? I am happy to do the surgery but also can't find information on how necessary it is. My surgeon thinks it will help prevent further injury but if I'm not currently having much pain is it worth doing? The recovery sounds very long with no real guarantees. Anyone have experience with this surgery? Thanks so much in advance!