Total knee replacement after Tibial tubercle transfer

amidee

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I had a tibial tubercle transfer after numerous patella dislocations at the age of 16. I am now 33 years old and very active. I teach dance and gymnastics and have young children.

My knee started bothering me for the first time since I was 16 about a year ago. Since then it has just slowly gotten worse and worse. I now cannot climb up or down stairs without very bad pain and am not able to perform most activities that are required of me at my job.

I have received two different opinions from doctors and both agree that I need to have a total knee replacement. I just wanted to see if anyone had any other suggestions other than a knee replacement? I feel like I am too young for one but I have got to find a solution soon because the pain has gotten almost unbearable at times.
 
Hi @amidee and :welome: to BoneSmart.

Do you know what’s causing your pain? If it is osteoarthritis, and your knees are bone on bone, knee replacement may be the only way to get rid of that pain. You might be able to hold off TKR for a while with cortisone shots and other kinds of injections. These can work for some people for months or years. If you have tried these, and your doctors are telling you they have nothing else to offer other than TKR, then you probably need one (or maybe two).

You’re young, but we’ve seen younger members come through here. The only real question for whether to get a knee replacement is “Will this improve your health and quality of life?” Because sitting around, unable to walk or move and being in pain for the next how many years... how is that going to be better than a knee replacement? If a knee replacement restores your ability to walk, climb stairs, engage with your children and job, and relieves your pain —that’s worth doing it.

Knee implants being used currently last 30 years or more. My surgeon told me he didn’t know how long mine would last, because the people with them haven’t worn them out yet —but that I was looking at 30+ years.

Also, I hope a few people will stop by here and weigh in with their experiences of how they went about trying to ward off TKR. Very few people have the operation without having tried everything else they could think of. :)

Here's some pre-op reading for you.

If you have concern about pain with this surgery, Plan For Pain, can be helpful for having this discussion with your medical team.

New BoneSmart members like you are in various stages of their journey to joint replacement. Making the decision whether or not to have surgery and preparing for surgery can be easier once you have done your research and know what lies ahead. Here are some tools that can help you decide what is best for you.

If you are at the stage where you have joint pain but don't know for sure if you are ready to have surgery, these links may help:

Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic knee?
Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis
BMI Calculator - What to do if your surgeon says you're too heavy for joint replacement surgery
Longevity of implants and revisions: How long will my new joint last?

If you are at the stage where you are planning to have surgery but are looking for information so you can be better prepared for what is to come, take a look at these links:

Recovery Aids: A comprehensive list for hospital and home
Recliner Chairs: Things you need to know if buying one for your recovery
Pre-Op Interviews: What's involved?

Regardless of where you are in the process, the website and app My Knee Guide can help you stay organized and informed. The free service keeps all the information pertaining to your surgery and recovery in one place on your smartphone. It is intended to be a personal support tool for the entire process.

And if you want to picture what your life might be like with a replaced knee, take a look at the posts and threads from other BoneSmarties provided in this link:

Stories of amazing knee recoveries


If you have any questions, fire away - we're here to help.
 
Hello @amidee - and :welome:

I'm going to ask @Josephine , our Nurse Director, to advise you. She is very experienced in orthopaedic matters.

It sounds to me as if you do need a knee replacement. Nowadays, your age shouldn't be an impediment to that, because the deciding factor should be the state of your knee.
Knee replacements nowadays can last for 30+ years, so you don't have to wait until you are "old enough" to have one.
We have had several people on here who have had knee replacements in their thirties.

I'm giving you some pre-op information. It could be helpful to you if you fill in the chart in the article, "How Bad is My Arthritic Knee?"

If you are at the stage where you have joint pain but don't know for sure if you are ready to have surgery, these links may help:
Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic knee?
Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis
BMI Calculator - What to do if your surgeon says you're too heavy for joint replacement surgery
Longevity of implants and revisions: How long will my new joint last?

If you are at the stage where you are planning to have surgery but are looking for information so you can be better prepared for what is to come, take a look at these links:
Recovery Aids: A comprehensive list for hospital and home
Recliner Chairs: Things you need to know if buying one for your recovery
Pre-Op Interviews: What's involved?

Regardless of where you are in the process, the website and app My Knee Guide can help you stay organized and informed. The free service keeps all the information pertaining to your surgery and recovery in one place on your smartphone. It is intended to be a personal support tool for the entire process.

And if you want to picture what your life might be like with a replaced knee, take a look at the posts and threads from other BoneSmarties provided in this link:
Stories of amazing knee recoveries
 
Don't obsess about your age. If your knee needs a replacement then so be it. I think you'll find yourself a lot better off with it.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I do have pain because of osteoarthritis but I am also having pain from patella destabilization again. I have tried steroid injections and physical therapy. I am not overly concerned with my age if I can get back good quality of health but both doctors I have seen have been concerned with my age. I will go in the morning to meet with one of the doctors that I have felt most comfortable with and ultimately decide what we are going to do. I have exhausted all other options that they have had other than surgery now (PT, injections and I turned down stem cell therapy) and I just wanted to see if anyone had any other ideas other than TKR but it seems there really is not another option. I have tried to do research on options after TTT and really can not find much information.
 

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