Knee Arthroscopy Surgery-- keyhole cartalidge surgery

I have heard so many people are worse after Arthroscopic keyhole surgery on their knees .Are you thinking about having  knee arthroscopy surgery ?

I am on a waiting list to have keyhole surgery on both my knees after an accident years ago on a normal sunny summers day I was at the local free swimming pool with my daughters as usual as well as my sister in law Joanne & her sons were enjoying the day as well.

After a swim & play with the girls I was standing there in my bikini talking to Joanne when I suddenly fell foward onto my knees hard on concrete.

That night the pain was awful , almost screaming in pain sleep was almost impossible.

The next day I was told after having x rays that I had done a lot of damage to both knees and nothing could be done for me.

It was a matter of putting up with the pain and later on getting arthritus in both knees.

It was suggested I sue the council however I didn't like the idea of the locals losing their free swimming pool because of me.

I decided years later to see if there could be any chance of having something done to help me

with my knees so after a visit to the doctor I had them both checked out in Perth.

Another visit to the doctor and I now maybe have some hope.

On the 20th December I have another appointment down in Perth, This time with a Dr Fick

who will let me know what can or can't be done.

There was mention of keyhole surgery on my knees or arthroscopy

About knee arthroscopy

Arthroscopy is used to investigate what is causing your knee problems, and to treat a variety of knee conditions. Doctors use arthroscopy to diagnose problems such as arthritis and inflammation, and also use it to repair damaged tissue and cartilage. It's also used to take small tissue samples (biopsies), which can help with diagnosing things like infections.

Knee arthroscopy is performed through small cuts in your skin, using a special telescope (arthroscope) attached to a video camera. Compared with open surgery, arthroscopy is less painful, carries less risk of infection, and has a faster recovery time.

This is when problems occur during or after the operation. Most people aren't affected. The possible complications of any operation include an unexpected reaction to the anaesthetic, a wound infection, excessive bleeding or developing a blood clot, usually in a vein in the leg (DVT).

Arthroscopy complications can include:

• accidental damage to the inside of your joint
  
• infection
  
• loss of feeling in the skin over your knee
  
• bleeding into your joint
  
• the surgery may not be successful or it may have to be repeated

Have you had keyhole surgery on your knee  and if so how was it after you had it done ?

How long are you out of action for afterwards  once the stitches come out ? Does it stop the pain in my knees ?

Will it stop me having arthritis ?

What was your experience like ?

As the time gets closer for my keyhole surgery on my knees I find I have more questions I want to ask .

Keyhole knee surgery pain afterwards  , Is the pain bad ?

Should I go for it ?

A joint is where two bones meet. Joints allow movement and flexibility of various parts of the body. The movement of the bones is cased by muscles which pull on tendons that are attached to bone.

Cartilage covers the end of bones. Between the cartilage of two bones which form a joint there is a small amount of thick fluid called synovial fluid. This fluid 'lubricates' the joint which allows smooth movement between the bones.

The synovial fluid is made by the synovium. This is the tissue that surrounds the joint. The outer part of the synovium is called the capsule. This is tough, gives the joint stability, and stops the bones from moving 'out of joint'. Surrounding ligaments and muscles also help to give support and stability to joints

In the knee joint, the cartilage covering the lower part of the joint is thickened in the inner and outer part of the joint. These two areas of cartilage are sometimes called menisci. The menisci act like shock absorbers in the knee and are sometimes torn following a knee injury. Also, there are two strong cruciate ligaments in the middle of the knee joints which are attached to the ends of the tibia and femur (the calf bone and thigh bone). These also can be torn following a knee injury.

I have had my appointment with Dr Fick in Perth & I am happy with the news that I am on the waiting list to have keyhole surgery in March - May on both knees at the same time !

Instead of travelling down to Perth I will have the keyhole surgery on my knees in Geraldton about 1 & a half hours away !

It is looking more like it will be in May at the moment so I am spending time trying to find out how long my recovery time will be after having both knees done at the same time .

I have been given a date for my keyhole surgery in Geraldton , May 12 th , however I am not so sure about having it done now after reading how so many people have worse problems after having Arthroscopic surgery on their knee or knees .

You are supposed to rest for a few days, keep you knees dry for a couple of weeks & then be ok but I have heard people say the pain is worse .

Anyway have a read of the link below to make up your own mind.

Thousands of people having keyhole knee surgery could be wasting their time and money, according to U.S. researchers.

They found that patients who underwent 'dummy' operations were just as likely to report pain relief as those who actually underwent a proper procedure. The findings cast serious doubt over the true benefits of arthroscopy - one of the most common treatments for osteoarthritis of the knee.

In the UK. several thousand patients have arthroscopic procedures, either on the NHS or privately, aimed at reducing knee pain by tidying up damaged cartilage and ligaments or removing loose debris from the joint.

The operation involves two small stab wounds made on either side of the front of the knee. One is for a telescope called an arthroscope, enabling the surgeon to see directly inside the area, and the other is for an instrument to carry out the surgery

Researchers at Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Centre compared real surgery with a placebo operation in which patients were given a drug to make them sleep and a local anaesthetic for the skin incisions.

Altogether, 180 patients received surgery which cut away torn or loose cartilage, or lavage which flushes out damaged cartilage, or simulated surgery. All the patients reported reduced pain and better knee function, and there was no real difference in outcome between those who had real surgery and those who got the dummy or placebo procedure.

At certain stages during two years of follow-up interviews, 'dummy' patients reported more improvement than patients having cartilage cut away. The patients were told they might not have real surgery, but none was made aware of whether they had actually received it during the follow-up, says a report published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

It is rare for surgical research to use a sham procedure for comparisons. But in this case, researchers convinced patients they had had surgery without subjecting them to more than minimal risks. Surgeon Bruce Moseley, who operated on all the patients, said there are many American surgeons doing the operation --which costs about £3,000.

He added: 'I would like to think they would now change the way they practise. Now that I know really nobody is a good candidate, I won't do it.' Lead researcher Dr Nelda Wray said ways should be looked at of testing other surgical procedures to find out if they are doing any good.

She said the fact that the effectiveness of the operation is no greater than that of placebo surgery 'makes us question if the dollars spent on these procedures might be put to better use.' A spokesman for Arthritis Care in the UK said the study results should be treated with caution.

She added: 'It is widely accepted that washing out damaged knee joints with saline solution has a therapeutic effect because it washes inflammatory agents in the joint fluid. 'The study doesn't say how old the patients were, or how bad their arthritis was, which could have been a contributory factor in producing such surprising results.

'This would appear to show that the power of the placebo is even greater than we already thought. 'But this is only one study and we shouldn't jump to the conclusion that arthroscopy is a waste of time.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-127549/Keyhole-knee-operation-useless.html#ixzz1JCAZLaDl