I'm after some feedback from people that have had an Artroscopy operation.
The reason is that I have a meniscus problem with my left knee as a result of a reasonably spectacular crash on the First in Grindelwald about 3 years ago. At the time of the crash my knee was wrenched quite well, usual meniscus story with a bit of swelling, quite painful etc. The doctor I visited advised me to rest it, take anti-inflammatory pills and if it then seemed to settle down it would most likely be OK and I could avoid surgery. My knee did settle down and seemed OK but not as strong or as "steady" as my right knee.
Since then, I have had one or two episodes where my left knee has suddenly given way or somehow clicked out of place - anyone that's had a meniscus problem will know what I'm trying to describe, if you haven't then hope that you don't ever need to find out as it isn't a whole lot of fun.
Now, I have a problem with my knee. A few months ago I took up Muay Thai Kick Boxing, so far my knee has not given me a single problem but yesterday, whilst delivery a pretty decent shoulder high right leg kick to my sparring partner my left knee "clicked out" and I was left sitting on the ground, clutching my knee and moaning gently - not a normal part of the Kick Box ritual. After a pause of about 10 minutes everything seemed OK again but then when I tried to put weight on my left knee it clicked out again.
So, I think I will need to get an Artroscopy process done to sort out the meniscus - obviously I will be going to the doctors to get professional diagnosis and opinions but I would like to hear feedback from your folks - I'm asking here because I know that the meniscus injury is quite a common problem in Skiing and that some here may have had this.
In particular, I'd like to know what it was like as I understand this is usually done under local anesthetic, how painful, how long did the healing process take. Most importantly, how is the post operation result? Is the knee as good as before?
I had an artroscopy operation on my cruciate 1.5 years ago and everything is fine. Its not painful at all, no scar but it took 2 months to be completely recovered. But ok, it was cruciate, so a bit more delicate. After that I had problem with my menisk. Well, the problem is still on going and I know exactly what you mean with what you described. But the chirurg I spoke with told me that whenever I want we can do the operation and the day after maximum a week I could back work (it means, it will be possible to drive the car, walk...) but its always an operation so if I can have a normal life with some sports he suggested me not to do.
Ah, by the way, in the krankenhaus (I currently live in Germany...) they told me that I must do this operation. The same doctor then explained me that Krankenhauses receive money from the gov. also based on the number of operations they do. I am not sure about it but to me it sounds quite reasonable... Think about
I had it done about 10 years ago. The scars om my knee are almost invisible. There are two, one was from the camera and the second from the instrument. I had an epidural and it was very interesting to see my knee from the inside (I didn't take the tranquilizer they offered me because I wanted to see it) but if you are a delicate person, then maybe take it when offered.
It took about two weeks to heal but it has been painless ever since then. I can recommend to have it done if you need it which is why I'd say get a second opinion to make sure it's not done merely for the hospital's benefit. Good luck.
For me, some of the important decision making aspects are is it necessary to have this done or is it a "slight" improvement - it seems that this is a major improvement. Of course, what I want ideally is for the knee to be as good as it was before I crashed when skiing, in other words, as good as new (if 46+yrs counts as anything like new).
I've done some research (well, google-research which was good enough for the German Defence Minister until recently) and I think I understand what's involved in the procedure - two small incisions, one for camera and one for tools, if/when it's my turn I doubt I'll want to watch, unless they provide me with an interesting array of potentially Class A psychoactive drugs which might make it a lot more interesting - hey man, look at all the colours!
Again, thanks for the feedback. Any more from folks that can confirm/deny the strength etc of the knee post-op would be much appreciated.
Just as a general comment: what you are describing sound more like a serious knee instability rather than just a meniscus tear. If in fact your knee "gives out" on you (like you have described), it most likely means you have torn your ACL. This requires a much more involved, still relatively arthroscopic, surgery. I have had two of these and one meniscus only surgery.
The ACL reconstruction is a major surgery, and is/was a six month minimum recovery. They go in arthroscopically to clean out the torn ligament and then take the lower third of your patellar tendon (or hamstring or cadaver or, etc.) to replace your old ACL. So you have two arthroscopic holes and then a small scar where they removed the patellar tendon. I am sure advancements in the past ten to fifteen years (gasp!) have made it a little less painful--especially judging by previous threads on the topic. But it is nothing to scoff at, and it was very painful for me at 15 and 17 years old.
If you have just a mensicus tear, it is 6-8 weeks recovery depending on your age/general health before surgery. Anesthetics are your choice--I had a epidural (controlled local) once, a general once, and a nerve block with a sleeping aid once. You can of course watch under local (or epidural) anesthetic if you want.
And recovery is completely dependent on you: the knee can only be as good as your recovery efforts. So if you are very regimented in your physical therapy after surgery and you push yourself to full recovery, then you will have a better knee than before.
Fully agree with what JLF said. The success of your recovery will only depend on the level of injury (surgeries and surgeons are not miraculous in what they can do, not yet at least!), and on your determination to push the long and potentially painful regime through. More often than not, from my experience, it does not become 100% of what it was, but you can make it pretty close. Cycling is usually the best you can do to get the strength back.
Usually doctors here would do X-ray and MRI scan. if so, you would know if you have the ACL or not. The knee may give way even if you have the ACL. It is all about the strength of the muscles around it. In fact, the current opinion is that if it is only the ACL missing, then they may still advise you to try and strengthen the muscles without an op. But this approach differs from doctor to doctor. if there are more problems with the knee, like even maybe what they call here arthrosa, then ACL repair would stabilize the knee + still you would need to do a lot of exercises to build the strength, so that you can slow down the arthrosa progression.
If you like further details of surgeons, and physios in Zurich, Wallis or London, send me a private message. I Have 16 years experience with knee problems, 2 arthroscopies and one major ACL repair etc.etc etc
Additionally, just to note that I would go for an op if necessary, however much it seems unpleasant, but choose a well established surgeon. Your knee would get better after a surgery that is deemed necessary.
someone i know had a keyhole knee op after a skiing accident. not sure if same thing as you. got a 6cm scar. almost lost use of her leg as something went wrong during the op and certain muscles in the leg were deprived of oxygen.
Like other members have posted it sounds like a tear. I tore my acl and mcl playing rugby, i had the operation 2 1/2 years ago and recently only got back to stage where i have felt more confident in taking part in contact sports or sports like snowboarding. Its a serious operation and requires months and months of rehab, if you dont do it (like me!) you will never get back to a stage where u have full support/confidence in your leg! unfortunately i have to go back to the uk for another mri scan in july as i have had numerous occasions recently where my knee has given way in simple daily tasks (such as walking round a corner).
I feel for you! It can be a very depressing and annoying injury
Many thanks for the description, I hope I don't have the ACL problem as that looks/sounds rather nasty. I had a look at Wikipedia to get some more info following your post here, really not an attractive option so I'm hoping I don't have that. Of course, I'm only a layman when it comes to these things so I will be seeking professional opinions and then considering my options. I am disappointed that this problem has re-surfaced, I am really enjoying the Thai Kick Boxing and this throws a decent sized spanner into the works right now. It's hard to explain the "give way" sensation that I experience, forward/backward movement of the knee joint is absolutely normal, I only experience any problems with sideways or twisting action. Yesterday whilst launching my shoulder height kick with my right leg I wrongly pivoted on my left knee rather than my foot/ankle and that's when the problem happened. It didn't so much completely give way but I had a sort of wobble in the joint accompanied by considerable pain so I sat down to get the weight off the leg as fast as possible. Normally I experience no discomfort or pain or restriction in movement of any kind. This morning the knee was stiff but not swollen and not actually really painfull, just a little uncomfortable.
Now I wish I'd pursued this matter rather more when I lived in Switzerland and had the benefit of good private health insurance. Now I'm in Hungary and at the mercies of the national health system - unless I decide to fund any necessary procedures privately. I will explore options.
I am determined to get the knee back to the best possible level of performance/fitness that I can. I fully understand that this will involve some pain and a lot of effort, that's fine, I can handle that.
A few years back I managed to rip a few tendons in an interesting fashion (lifting my daughter over a stair gate and rotating my leg at the same time, accompanied by a twanging sound and what felt like a sharp blow in the back of my calf). This involved a few days in a semi-rigid cast followed by weeks and weeks of physio and exercise, some of it really painfull. The good news though was a perfect result with no lasting damage and no shortening of the tendons. I mention this example only to show that I am determined and willing to do what's necessary to get it better. Nevertheless, I am a total wimp when it comes to doctors mucking about with my body
I got a substantial experience with knee accidents, always with a positive end. Have torn twice my ACL, and always recovered completely... up to skiing again without problems (I wedeln, which requires great knee power), running marathons, etc.
As long as you are in good health, the only trick is to be extremely serious with the rehab. There is no gain without pain!
Louis, if your difficulty is lateral stability rather than sharp pain and swelling then that really does sound more of a ligament issue . Get a scan and see someone. The two conditions are very different. I have had several scopes for cartilage and meniscus cleanup, all of whIch are quite small procedures. However ligament repair as has been said is a much larger op even when done arthroscopically.
I too have knee problems after a skiing accident on first at Grindelwald two years ago. Had 6 months of physio which ended a year ago (dr intiially said it would get better on its own, so no physio, then developed severe tendonitis in my lower leg) Leg/ knee still not right, currently waiting to see if acc insurance will cover me again, if not will just have to go see dr anyway and cover cost myself....
Exactly my thought as I read the OP. And even more so when you talk about the stability. The CLs work together to basically hold you knee in place. If one goes, then you'll get instability in one movement plane but not necessarily any other. Did you get a second opinion?
ACL can be treated with physio alone - you have to counter the lack of the ACL through building muscle in other areas to give your knee the stability it requires. But if you were going to have an op for the miniscus prob, then why the concern over ACL op? It is a very common injury in rugby, and indeed I remember a friend of mine telling me that the entire front row of the All Blacks at one point didn't have ACLs - although I've no idea if this is true.
There are now a number of posts that suggest that ACL is the most likely culprit in my case. So far I have not had a second opinion from a doctor, as I mentioned the doctor originally diagnosed meniscus problem and prescribed anti-inflammatory, painkillers and rest which seemed to have done the trick. Having said that, the knee has been somewhat weaker that its brother since this happened three years ago. Now though since taking up more sport I've had a recurrence and I want to get it fixed properly. The only concerns about the procedures I have hinge on the fact that I'm a bit of a wimp about doctors - white coat syndrome perhaps :-) Nevertheless, when necessary I will do what has to be done, however uncomfortable it might be.
Thanks to everyone for their comments and advice, it's much appreciated and I now have a far clearer picture of the problem and possible treatments.
Thanks for this, the fact that you can get back to good performance is important and it's what I wanted to know - ideally as in your case from someone with personal experience.
I was reading on iphone so didn't see all the details...
A lot of people have mentioned that ACL can be a major op - and I fully agree. But it is also possible that physio will do the trick. Really you do need to speak to a Dr to get the right diagnosis (as opposed to us arm-chair docs ).
In many cases that I've come across, surgery has been the second-line option after physio has failed. However this assumes that the tear is only partial and only small.
One thing that is good, is that up until know you have been able to use your knee - although as you say it felt weaker. Conversely this is also the bad part - you have may have damaged it more by 1) not dealing with it sooner and 2) through your recent activity.
Get it fixed and now, otherwise you really will have a long term problem.
I had a long standing knee issue and the local hospital did Artroscopy. Operation very straightforward but a year on my knee is not great and although my knee would lock out once,twice a year before, now it aches whenever I'm physically tired or have been sitting for an extended period, and gets very stiff leaving me like an old man (which I am becoming) when I get out of cars. I no longer have the lock out issue but all dreams of a low slung sports car are now shelved.
If the lock out is tolerable, and with a weak knee, perhaps Thai kick boxing isn't the best thing, I would leave it.
No that would not be great - and could actually be libellous. We have no idea why the operation went wrong. In medical terms, the riskiest option is always surgery - that's why drugs and/or physio are always the first choice if there is no time constraint and they have a reasonable chance of success.