Knee Cartilage Transplant/Microfracture Surgery a Success!

After a grueling two surgeries and a very challenging rehab over the past six months I have achieved my goal of riding to work again! Does that mean my knee is perfect? No – but it does feel about 85% better. My range of motion has improved from around 100 degrees of flexion before the last surgery (my fourth) to now approaching 135 degrees. There are still a number of mild symptoms:

• low grade pain (1-2/10 on a pain scale)
• stiffness in the morning or after workouts
• swelling (especially after rehab exercises)

The benefits at this point far exceed the negatives:

• no more stabbing pain (8/10 on a pain scale)
• better range of motion
• ability to do squats for the first time in a decade
• ability to cross my legs for the first time in a decade

The true test will be a follow-up MRI early in 2015. This should provide us with an update regarding how the donor cartilage lateral meniscus (foreign DNA) has meshed with mine. We will also get some sense of how the new cartilage (filling the chondral defects) looks after the femoral condyle microfracture.

Today I will be consulting with a surgeon on my next issue – ankle ligament reconstruction. This is an old high school basketball injury (ankle sprain). Since then I have sprained it about 20 times and the ankle joint is way too loose. Hopefully this next surgery will be the last for a very, very long time!

This post is also featured on The GoodLife Blog