Guest viewing is limited
Lounge Doctor

Patellofemoral replacement surgeon

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

Hoosier

new member
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Messages
5
Location
United States
I've been told I need a patellofemoral replacement surgery on both knees. It's not a very common surgery (.5 - 3% of knee surgeries)

I'm trying to find a good doctor that has done many successful surgeries of this kind. Anyone help with information?? We are in Indiana, but my husband says we need to find a good one, and could go "anywhere"?
 
WElcome Hoosier,

Good Luck finding a good surgeon. I am a hippy but have patello-femoral problems with both knees. I had arthroscopic knee surgery in dec.,my surgeon did microfracture surgery on the trochlear groove. I have just started physical therapy for that knee. The other 2 sections of my knee are pristine according to my surgeon. I am 51 and very active and did ask him about a patello-femoral replacement. He strongly advised agains it for me saying they do not have the good outcome of total knee replacements. He could see problems in a few years with loosening. So we are trying other things.

Good Luck and make sure you find the best with good results.
judy
 
Hi, Hoosier....welcome to the forum!

My first question after reading your post was to ask who told you that THIS is the surgery you need? You are correct that this is not as common a surgery as TKRs and I'm wondering who would be recommending something this specific if they didn't perform the operation.
 
You might want to check out Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. They are the leader in orthopedic surgery and that is all they do.


https://www.hss.edu/


Simon
 
Simon.....wonderful suggestion!
They run TV commercials all the time that says
They are the "experts in mobility!" That's
A wonderful place to start!......Good luck
& let us know what happens!
And welcome, Hoosier!!!! :)
 
I went to an ortho surgeon, and he's the one that said I need patellofemoral replacement. He says he sees about 2 a year. I'm trying to find one that does a LOT. My knee joint is o.k. - no arthritis and cartilage is o.k. between femur and tibia. He said I don't need a knee replacement.
 
Are you near a major city? If so, you could do a little research online in MapQuest to find orthopedists in that city --- say Indianapolis. You could also Google patellofemoral replacement and find sources. I did that and a large hospital in Baltimore popped up along with others. It will take some work....phone calls and interviews with doctors, but your knees are worth it to find the right doctor.

I'm assuming you are in a lot of pain and have tried more conservative treatments. What has been done so far and how much is your life disrupted?

Sorry to play 20 questions with you, but it helps for me and others who might be able to provide advice to have as much knowledge about what you're going through as possible.
 
I am in Indianapolis. I've seen one Dr. so far, and am looking for others that do this surgery. The one I saw says he sees about 2 a year. I found another Dr. that has done about 50 of these surgeries. I had a call back from a nurse of another Dr. and she said "Dr. ..... has done one" That's NOT enough for me!

I'm in the process of calling - not getting very many responses as to how many each Dr. has done - very discouraging!

My knees have been bad for about 25 years. (I'm 67) Back then the Dr. said "when they're bad enough we can go in arthroscopically and scrape the back of the kneecap" That was a long time ago, and I hear now that surgery doesn't do much, + they have gotten a lot worse. Steps are hard for me, and if I sit too long, getting up they really hurt. The kneecaps are sitting up on top of the outside of the femur bone. I look like an old cow getting up off the floor after playing with my grandchildren. We drive to FL a lot, and when I get out of the car, I can hardly walk.

What's been done before? Not much. I try to keep moving, and go to fitness gym and walk 3 times a week. Since I went to the Dr, I've laid off the exercises that put strain on my knees.
 
Hoosier, I'm glad to hear you are in Indy. At least there you should have some choices for doctors. The one who has done 50 of those procedures sounds promising, but you would need to meet with him to know for sure. Keep pluggin' away and you'll find the right person to help you. From your posts, it definitely sounds like it's time to do something!!
 
hoosier
I know I already posted on here, but I only have degeneration on the patello-femoral groove. I did do the synvisc shots (not much help for me, but you may want to give them a try. How about a cortisone shot? That can also give significant relief. I had the arthroscopic surgery , but have not finished healing yet, but I am sure hoping for success!!!
I am surprised the doc did not suggest these alternatives as replacing the patello-femoral section is not common (as you know)
There have been a person or 2 on this site who were searching or have had this surgery. I have not seen them posting lately though.
judy
 
Judy,

My Aleve can handle the pain right now. I don't think a shot of synvisc or cortisone would help. The patella is out of place, and it's bone on bone.
 
Linda2,

The joint does not have any damage or arthritis, so I'm thinking "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" ! The patella placement and bone on bone is another thing :)
 
Hoosier,
If it is bone on bone then the cartilage is gone. Wouldn't that be arthritis? My area of bone on bone was the groove where the patella glides on the femur. The reason for the microfracture surgery is to try to grow cartilage in that space. I hope it is happening, but it is a long recovery for me.
judy
 
Hoosier, any luck in searching for a surgeon? I really hope you can find someone to take a look at your case and give you another opinion at least. Linda2 made a point that you might just want to consider.....getting a TKR and being done with it. Not saying to do that....just keep your mind open and talk to some other doctors about what is going on in your knee.
 
Hoosier, I very much doubt you'll find such a surgeon. I have never heard of a this being done as a routine thing. And, as others have said, if you have arthritis somewhere in the joint, it's probably only a matter of time before it progresses. To be prefectly honest, in my opinion it's just a two stage TKR!
 
Hoosier, you might check Michele's post.....

https://bonesmart.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2857

It sounds as though she had a patella replacement. I don't know if her situation is the same as yours, but you two might correspond a little and see....either on the forum or through PM's.
 
Hi there
Yes I have just undergone a right patella replacement. In my teens I had all my cartiliges totally removed and now 30 years later have been suffering for a good few years as it was bone on bone. As you will see from my previous posts the surgeon was very reluctant to carryout a TKR so when I eventually went down to theatre the agreement was that if he felt a patella replacement would do the trick - allow me to regain mobility and reduce the severe pain then thats what would be done at this stage although at my last consultation he said it would be unusual to do as normally you would not just have arthritis in one area. In a way when I came round and was told what had been done I was concerned as I am sure this has only prolonged the inevitable but I do have faith in him and I am sure he did what is best for me at this time.
I know very little about what has been done, I have googled it and found a little information but not too much. I am due to see the surgeon(I have not seen him since before the op) on 7/04/09 so hope to find out more then.
At this stage I cannot comment on the success / prognosis until I see him.
I wish you all the luck in the world finding an experienced surgeon and will update with information as soon as I know more.
Best wishes
Michele
PS Great to hear form Josephine, hope all went well.
 
Hi there
My name is Carol and I have also had a patellofemeral joint replacement on my left knee. I am now 56 years old and have had O/A in both knees since the age of 16 due to a degenerative wasting away of the cartlidge. Both knees were bone on bone and for years I have had severe pain with stairs, getting up from a sitting position and there was no possibility of getting down on the floor. I had my first replacement on 18th November. At the moment 4 1/2 months out, I have still some pain and swelling but I am noticing that going up stairs leading with my left leg, there is no pain. I am able to squat abit on my new knee (something that was impossible before) and am able to get to about 25 minutes of the bike.
My O/S explained to me that recovery would be long as kneecap arthritis was one of the worst as there is virtually no muscle built up. That has been my problem. My quads are very weak and I probably haven't been doing my exercises as often as I should.
My O/S would be one of the top knee surgeons in Australia and he was very confident that this replacement would be ideal in my situation and because I am a small person he was also confident that it would last a long time.
I saw him two weeks ago for my four month check-up where he reiterated that my patella was VERY bad. He was really happy with my range of motion but that the kneecap was still very tight and would loosen up as time went by. It is supposed to take at least 6-12 months for it to feel normal again.
I have decided to get my second knee surgery next year when this one is alot stronger.
I hope you find a good O/S to advise you and help you make the right decision.
All the best
Carol
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Corganics CBD

Staff online

  • Pumpkin
    Pumpkin
    Staff member since March 26, 2015
  • Jockette
    Jockette
    Staff member since March 18, 2018
  • Jamie
    Jamie
    Staff member since Feb, 2009

Members online

Total: 827 (members: 3, guests: 824)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom