Four knee surgeries later – SUCCESS!

Lateral Cartilage Transplant/Femoral Microfracture procedure helps Doctor ride bike again.

Almost exactly a year ago I was under the knife for a fourth time to remove scar tissue and manipulate my knee under anesthetic to get more range of motion back. I had been stuck at 90 degrees of flexion – hardy adequate for cycling after a grueling cartilage transplant surgery four months prior.

To make a long story short – I had a slight setback this spring when I was concerned that a piece of donor cartilage had broken off while performing a leg stretch. An MRI showed this was not the case. My surgeon believes it was likely a few permanent sutures coming undone but luckily the cartilage is stable.

So is my knee 100%?

No – nor will it ever be. I feel that it might be 70-90% of normal which is waaay better than before! I am very gracious to my Toronto surgeon – Dr. Jas Chahal. Considering how damaged my knee was prior to the latest surgeries he did a great job inserting the donor cartilage. I am also very grateful for organ donors as this surgery wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

What have I given up?

• no more deadlifts (unless done with minimal knee flexion)
• no more squats (YAAAH – an excuse for my chicken legs 😉
• no more cutting sports (I had given these up decades ago)
• no more running long distance (I will, however, be training for a sprint Triathlon in two years – only a 5km run)

What is next?

I was confirmed for another surgery recently to stabilize my very loose ankle but my surgeon abruptly moved away to BC. I have found another surgeon and am meeting with him soon to discuss options. Stay tuned but in the meantime…

I am sooo happy to be riding my bike again!