PKR My Drama Queen Patellofemoral Knee
- Thread starter Jockette
- Start date
robert johnson
member
You're reading my mind. Sometimes it's better not to know too much. We're putting our trust in the surgeon and hoping he knows what he's doing. 
It's like the time I had my house retrofitted with A/C. About an hour after they started I went into the garage to see what they were doing. The whole garage looked like a furnace factory, with parts all over the place. It was impossible for me to tell for sure what they were doing so I said the hell with it and went back into the house. I figured they must know what they were doing. It came out great!
It's like the time I had my house retrofitted with A/C. About an hour after they started I went into the garage to see what they were doing. The whole garage looked like a furnace factory, with parts all over the place. It was impossible for me to tell for sure what they were doing so I said the hell with it and went back into the house. I figured they must know what they were doing. It came out great!
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OP
OP
@beachy I dare you to ask for your operative report! It’s a great read. And, thanks to Bonesmart, I understood more than I thought I would.
It said the patella has severe wear on the medial facet and the trochlear had significant wear in the central portion.
The articular surfaces of the medial and lateral femoral condyles, however, appeared satisfactory, as did the articular surfaces of the medial and lateral tibial plateau. He therefore elected to proceed with the Patellofemoral arthroplasty as planned.
I do wonder about the “satisfactory” condition of those other compartments. I notice he did not say excellent or pristine.
It said the patella has severe wear on the medial facet and the trochlear had significant wear in the central portion.
The articular surfaces of the medial and lateral femoral condyles, however, appeared satisfactory, as did the articular surfaces of the medial and lateral tibial plateau. He therefore elected to proceed with the Patellofemoral arthroplasty as planned.
I do wonder about the “satisfactory” condition of those other compartments. I notice he did not say excellent or pristine.
To me, satisfactory isn't good enough. He had to know that you would have to have a total eventually and in my opinion, he should have done it right then. Maybe he was hoping for some more business from you!
OP
OP
He has plenty of business, he won’t miss me. And as far as totals, he has many happy patients, some in my community. I bet I would have had a great outcome if he’d done total.
It sounded like he had lots of experience with those and you were almost a test subject with a partial. Same on him. I'm sure your next appointment with the new OS will be much better! You know what to ask and what answer is baloney. I checked you weather and it's just rain for you now on Tuesday.
OP
OP
It’s sunny here at the moment. 
Here, too. I even rode my bike up to the mailbox and back. But, the wind is blowing, so that made it difficult. I hope it doesn't aggravate my knee!
KarriB
Former BoneSmart staff member
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Just checking in to see when your appointment is and how it goes. : )
OP
OP
I had my second opinion appointment today. . The doctor was very nice. Took new X-rays and showed me what he didn’t see that might indicate loosening. He honestly thinks my issues are nerve related. He gave me a script for blood work to look for inflammation. He didn’t think a bone scan would show anything and didn’t recommend any type of surgery.
He said my leg moves well and the patella is tracking well. He gently moved it this way and that way and it didn’t hurt, only some tenderness on the medial side when he pressed on it.
I had given the list of concerns to the PA, she read them and discussed them with me, as well as my operative report, then she took them to scan into my file. The doctor read them before he came in to see me, and had them in front of him while we talked.
He seemed to care and I did not feel rushed.
I think I’m going to make an appointment with my husband’s neurologist and get his thoughts, and try gabapentin again. My husband started gabapentin recently but at a gradual pace, unlike my experience with it last year. Maybe I would have done better if I’d done it the way my husband’s doctor has him taking it.
The good news is I don’t need a revision. The sad news is, I think there may not be a fix for all my discomfort. I have trouble believing ALL my discomfort and limitations are due to upset nerves in my knee, but I definitely agree that those nerves are very upset.
He said my leg moves well and the patella is tracking well. He gently moved it this way and that way and it didn’t hurt, only some tenderness on the medial side when he pressed on it.
I had given the list of concerns to the PA, she read them and discussed them with me, as well as my operative report, then she took them to scan into my file. The doctor read them before he came in to see me, and had them in front of him while we talked.
He seemed to care and I did not feel rushed.
I think I’m going to make an appointment with my husband’s neurologist and get his thoughts, and try gabapentin again. My husband started gabapentin recently but at a gradual pace, unlike my experience with it last year. Maybe I would have done better if I’d done it the way my husband’s doctor has him taking it.
The good news is I don’t need a revision. The sad news is, I think there may not be a fix for all my discomfort. I have trouble believing ALL my discomfort and limitations are due to upset nerves in my knee, but I definitely agree that those nerves are very upset.
beachy
supremo
Nerves are a tricky thing. You can have a nerve problem in your hip or back, for example, that affects your knee. Not saying that's what you have, but hey..... NO REVISION!!!!! 
I'm glad you had a thorough appointment!
I'm glad you had a thorough appointment!
gia2cats
member
No revision! That is wonderful news! That whole office sounds like a patient oriented group. What a huge difference from your last trip for a second opinion! If taking medication to calm down your knee pain works, what a blessing that will be! I am so glad your long traveling was well worth it. Maybe I ought to go to him, too!
liam2015
post-grad
i'm glad you had your concerns acknowledged and explained. did the surgeon recommend a medication or is he going to wait until results of bloodwork come in? it's good that everything mechanical is working ~ hope you can get the discomfort settled down.
OP
OP
He did not recommend a medication. He will not be treating me for the nerve issue.
@Jamie
I asked him if he does Patellofemorals and he said no. I forget exactly how he worded it but he basically said some surgeons think it shouldn’t be done and some think it should. I said, something about lots of opinions and he said yes.
I think he has a compassionate attitude towards revisions. I asked if he did revisions, which I knew he did, so I said it as a statement and he said yes, but in a kind of sad way. I asked how many, in a year, and right away he gently said, too many. He didn’t tell me how many, because I think he thought I meant this year, and he was thinking and calculating and he said it’s only February, then he said he’s doing one this week. I didn’t pursue it because we weren’t going that route with me.
