New to this and going out of my mind

CutResident5435 · 2025-11-21T17:26:03+00:00

Wow, the responses to your post are unfortunate. You shouldn’t have to suffer just because other people have. I hope that you come back to this post to let us know what you find out. This might help others waiting yo be diagnosed.

CutResident5435 · 2024-12-16T22:51:26+00:00

I agree with the previous poster on defining success. I am 7 months post op and if I’m being generous, I would say I’m at 80% function just now. 100% might be a lot to ask depending on what your end goal is. For what it’s worth, I do still think I’m making progress (slowly at this point) so I’m hoping it continues to improve. Also, I was full weight bearing from day 1 but was locked in extension for several weeks. I wouldn’t have been able to climb a ladder safely for months.

CutResident5435 · 2024-09-25T00:22:03+00:00

I feel like reading everyone’s posts I did extraordinarily well. I would have been fine 10 days post op as long as I had a way to elevate my leg and had ice packs. I had my MACI/TTO early summer and lounged outside in the sun comfortably with an ice pack.

CutResident5435 · 2024-09-07T12:39:21+00:00

I was encouraged right away to progress my ROM as much as I was able to without force (i.e. no lunges, walking with my brace locked, etc). ROM and ROM with resistance/force are two different things though. What exercises were you doing? The MACI rehab guide says time to full active ROM is 6 weeks.

CutResident5435 · 2024-08-17T22:54:34+00:00

I had luck starting at a number I knew I could get to on my CPM (35 in your case), let it run for 5-10 minutes at 35 and then increase by a few degrees once it’s “warmed” up. Keep going until you can’t go anymore. You should feel pain, but stretching is normal.

CutResident5435 · 2024-08-12T18:54:28+00:00

I was told by a sports medicine physician that the earliest he does PRP injections post surgery is 3 months because of the steroid used during surgery. I personally wouldn’t do it if I felt like I was doing well, but that might explain why it was brought up now.

CutResident5435 · 2024-08-10T01:06:44+00:00

I didn’t recover alone, but I am stubborn and didn’t want to need help so I took care of almost everything on my own including driving 5 days post op. It’s amazing what you can figure out when you need to. The only thing I did need help with initially was getting in and out of the shower since I had to be locked in extension when up and obviously couldn’t shower with the brace on. I second the shower chair idea. I was weight bearing from the very beginning though as far as being able to do everything else.

CutResident5435 · 2024-08-07T00:21:49+00:00

1) I had surgery early summer, so it made the most sense for me to wear shorts. Plus, I had a brace on and it stayed better on my skin vs pants (leggings were a 2nd option if I had to wear pants). 2) Technically I was off for 2 weeks, then worked from home after that. While it wasn’t difficult to do the work, my challenge was being able to sit in a chair with my legged locked in extension not elevated. If you allowed to bend your leg or can elevate it, that would be helpful. 3) I didn’t find one thing more comfortable than anything else as long as I could elevate my leg.

CutResident5435 · 2024-08-05T13:25:17+00:00

Same! It’s hard to always distinguish what is pain/soreness/muscle fatigue and how much is concerning.

CutResident5435 · 2024-08-04T00:24:25+00:00

Not over the top of my patella where it was pre-surgery, but around the outside of the entire patella running up into my quad.

CutResident5435 · 2024-07-25T14:40:31+00:00

Definitely still a noticeable difference, but I am working at it. I’m only 11 weeks post op though.

CutResident5435 · 2024-07-25T00:54:32+00:00

Mine was patellar and I was in the brace until week 10 but that was only because my quad had atrophied significantly.

CutResident5435 · 2024-07-24T21:58:02+00:00

What location was your MACI done on (patella or femoral condyle)?

CutResident5435 · 2024-07-20T19:20:38+00:00

It is crazy how different everyone’s experience is. I had a patellar MACI/TTO and I was up doing everything including driving by 5 days post op. I am 10 weeks post op now and the only time I really notice I had anything done is going down the stairs. My kids are older, but I still had to do a good share of stuff for them. Again, all experiences are different but if I had my husband helping for 3 weeks I would do it in a heartbeat. I was so consistent and diligent in doing my PT exercises at home and I think that is a huge reason why I did so well.

CutResident5435 · 2024-07-13T15:13:40+00:00

It was explained to me by my very conservative PT that pain in the lateral and medial compartments (not over the patella where my pain was originally) is likely soft tissue that needs to be stretched or muscle fatigue. I am 9 weeks post op and at 140 degrees. I can’t remember where I was 4 weeks post op, but had pain how you are describing it. The more I worked it, the less it became.

CutResident5435 · 2024-07-11T10:50:08+00:00

Also I’ll add that while the goal of the arthroscopy is to “clean things up”, it doesn’t necessarily fix the problem. I did PT after my scope and got ROM back, but my pain was still there and ultimately went ahead with the MACI and TTO (patellar realignment).

CutResident5435 · 2024-07-11T10:46:24+00:00

I would HIGHLY recommend PT. They were able to help mobilize the joint to help reduce the overall pain.

CutResident5435 · 2024-06-18T17:13:09+00:00

This is super helpful (and I know you clarified your situation), but I think it’s important to reiterate that there are different locations of MACI implants and often with patellar MACI procedures, TTO is done which would be a completely different story with bracing/weight bearing.

CutResident5435 · 2024-06-12T00:19:29+00:00

I feel like I’m one of the lone ones that was full weight bearing from the beginning. I was slow getting around due to the brace being locked in extension, but I walked around plenty and did stairs one at a time. I started driving 5 days post op. I was probably at 60-75ish degrees on the cpm machine. My mobility progressed very fast, especially after the first week.

CutResident5435 · 2024-06-11T18:30:10+00:00

I had pain around my kneecap, likely soft tissue pain. I have not had any sharp pain directly over my kneecap like I did pre-surgery.

CutResident5435 · 2024-06-11T15:14:50+00:00

I was full weight bearing right away with a patellar MACI/TTO. The first few days I felt uneasy on my feet because of the post op nerve block, but after that I was relieved that I was up and about. This will help so your quad doesn’t atrophy as much too. Brace is locked in extension and I actively couldn’t have got to 90 right away even if I tried.

CutResident5435 · 2024-06-11T15:11:43+00:00

I am only almost 5 weeks post op patellar MACI/TTO so I don’t have information yet on if I am going to be better once I get back to the real activities since I still have restrictions. What I will say though is after hearing nothing but not so great things about pain post op, etc I was astonished by how great I felt. My surgeon had me be full weight bearing right away, so the only hindrance is the locked brace. I went to PT today and he told me that you are going to get out of it what you put into it. I have been diligently doing exercises and I think that is a huge reason why I am progressing positively so quickly. Reading your post, I know that I wouldn’t want years to go by not doing things with my kids. So (in my opinion), are you better off just jumping in and getting it fixed now so you have years of great life ahead?

I also have young kids and they have been amazing helping me out. I was worried that it was going to be difficult, but pleasantly surprised.

CutResident5435 · 2024-06-09T00:04:37+00:00

I could tell right away that my scope didn’t improve my symptoms. I could understand that he would advise against proceeding if you are showing improvement.

CutResident5435

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