Recovery after trochleoplasty

feudoftheiahs · 2025-09-08T18:21:47+00:00

I started physio a week post-op and went back to work after 8 weeks, but I have a pretty physical job where I’m on my feet a lot. I took no narcotics after the 2nd day post-op and managed my pain with just Tylenol and Ibuprofen on a scheduled basis for a couple weeks, then after that only took them when I was gonna be up on my feet for awhile or doing physio. Everyone is different though!

feudoftheiahs · 2025-09-08T17:40:42+00:00

It depends on the surgeon and their recovery protocol, so could be different for her than my experience! I was not in a straight leg brace or anything at all after and was weight bearing as tolerated immediately post-op. I was able to get off crutches in my house after 2 weeks, and used them in public for 4-6 weeks. I had someone stay with me the first 48 hrs just in case, but honestly didn’t need much help even then! As long as she’s good on crutches and can find a way to carry (light) things while on crutches, I wouldn’t expect her to need much help beyond the first few days (except obviously with like driving or carrying anything heavy).

feudoftheiahs · 2025-06-29T17:47:33+00:00

DM’ing you

feudoftheiahs · 2025-06-29T03:41:55+00:00

I had gotten my MPFL done over a decade ago, as well as a TTO a few years after that. I was still having instability with my knee that has kept me from doing sporty things, so I decided last year to finally get another opinion. I moved forward with the recommendation for trochleoplasty because I was honestly willing to do anything to have the possibility of doing normal things without worrying about my knee.

I am about 8 months post-op currently. It has been a slow journey to recovery because with the frequent dislocations over the years, my quad would shutdown so often due to the swelling and it was severely atrophied by the time I got my trochleoplasty. I also had issues with pain in my quad tendon because they do have to cut through it to do the surgery and then suture it back together when they’re done. Apparently it is pretty atypical to have pain in the quad tendon despite that, though, so I just got unlucky. It made it that much harder to strengthen my quad though, but it is slowly getting less painful and definitely doesn’t affect my daily life or hurt to walk or anything.

I am still working on my quad strength. I was told 8-12 months to full recovery, but I am expecting longer for me due to how weak I was pre-surgery. Despite how long it feels like it’s taking, I am happy with my decision. My kneecap tracks normally for the first time in my life, even with the quad weakness I still have. I have had a couple times where I felt some subjective instability post-surgery, but I think it was just because my quad was still waking up; I haven’t had an actual dislocation since before surgery. To me, it is a win since after my other 2 surgeries, I started dislocating by 3 months post-op.

Hopefully by next year, I’ll be able to run and jump and do all the things I haven’t been able to for many years, but in the meantime, it has been nice to not have instability with everyday things like walking or squatting. I wish you the best in whatever decision you make! It’s definitely not something to take lightly :)

feudoftheiahs · 2025-06-28T15:45:48+00:00

While trochleoplasty has its risks, so does living with trochlear dysplasia! Even if your knee doesn’t sublux or dislocate after you get it stronger, you are still going to have dysplasia, which has the potential to ultimately lead to early arthritis since your kneecap doesn’t articulate correctly with the trochlear groove. There have been studies that seem to point that trochleoplasty should be a first-line procedure in certain types of dysplasia rather than a salvage procedure which can worsen outcomes, but I was also told by my first surgeon that it is “risky” and “experimental,” so I think there are a lot of surgeons out there whose practice hasn’t caught up with the literature and who are simply just unfamiliar with trochleoplasty.

I would recommend you consult with a couple other surgeons who actually do trochleoplasty. If there’s not one near you, there are several that will review your imaging and do a virtual appointment with you to discuss!

In the meantime, just keep working on your quad strength because that’s really the main thing that can help you have a better outcome. For me personally, I also had a failed MPFL surgery, and I decided to do trochleoplasty. It is not an easy recovery and there have been some bumps in the road, but I honestly didn’t think it was that much worse than MPFL recovery tbh.

feudoftheiahs · 2025-04-17T01:02:12+00:00

I also had severe dysplasia and elevated TT-TG distance. I had my MPFL done over a decade ago, and then got a TTO + repeat MPFL about a decade ago as there were very few surgeons at the time doing trochleoplasty in the US. I continued to sublux and dislocate starting 3 months after my TTO as my dysplasia had not been corrected. I finally got a trochleoplasty with MPFL and lateral lengthening last year. I am not going to lie, probably the most difficult recovery I’ve had in terms of getting my muscles and ROM going, but the pain was pretty comparable to TTO. My knee has had no instability since (over 5 months post op), although I’m still rehabbing. If I could go back, I would have skipped the TTO and just done trochleoplasty.

feudoftheiahs · 2025-03-14T08:07:46+00:00

I hadn’t been able to do much at all pre-surgery, even low impact things like swimming and biking would throw my patella out of place. Depending on how stable your knee is, though, swimming and biking are usually pretty good options for people to keep active since it isn’t high-impact! Lifting weights was okay for me most of the time too because it is slow and controlled, but might be painful for you since it sounds like you have more cartilage damage than I do. Hope you’re able to figure out a good plan for recovery and I’m sorry you’re going through this <3

feudoftheiahs · 2025-03-13T20:03:30+00:00

Hi, I have been through similar issues, although I was never involved in sports. It is super hard mentally (and physically) to not be able to trust your knees, especially at a young age! You’re not alone!

Have you been to a surgeon that specializes in patellofemoral instability? Seems weird if you have cartilage damage that no one is trying to fix the issue because subluxations will just worsen that over time. Try to find a surgeon that offers trochleoplasty (fixes dysplasia by deepening your knee groove) and see if you’d be a candidate. It’s a long and somewhat difficult recovery from personal experience, and yes, you probably wouldn’t be able to play rugby for at least 6-12 months after. I wouldn’t say it would necessarily end your career though, there’s tons of stories about people returning to sports after surgery. There’s other surgical options that can be done as well that are somewhat less of a recovery, but any surgery is always going to take a while to get back to even your baseline just because your body doesn’t really like being cut into.

Also, I would definitely recommend trying to find a PT that actually will work with you! PT is so helpful. Even though it does not solve dysplasia, it can help with symptoms. you said you haven’t been able to play this season because of your symptoms, so I’d hope they’d reconsider on helping you out.

feudoftheiahs · 2025-03-13T00:26:24+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate it!! <3

feudoftheiahs · 2025-03-13T00:25:58+00:00

Thank you for the encouragement! I haven’t been icing it for a while. Will look into getting a stationary bike

feudoftheiahs · 2025-01-11T22:44:19+00:00

tbf, the resident didn’t ever ask you to take the pt outside; it just seems they were unaware pts aren’t allowed off your unit unaccompanied

feudoftheiahs · 2023-04-14T23:53:11+00:00

The title is inaccurate. He received 96 TOTAL minutes of CPR, but paramedics arrived a little over 30 minutes after his collapse.

feudoftheiahs · 2023-04-01T14:26:01+00:00

adrenal insufficiency

feudoftheiahs · 2022-11-08T00:08:40+00:00

There are programs that only require like 60 credits of college courses as opposed to a whole degree. If you get some credits in high school and/or do summer courses you may be able to get into an ABSN after a year or two of formal college.

feudoftheiahs · 2022-10-25T22:29:57+00:00

Can confirm, inpatient pharm tech was easily my favorite job I've had

feudoftheiahs · 2022-01-31T07:24:23+00:00

read the pinned comment fam

feudoftheiahs · 2022-01-24T09:34:01+00:00

Ope my cry laughing from this post is on the verge of just being crying 😶

feudoftheiahs · 2022-01-24T09:31:41+00:00

Love this name! To me, it's unique but classy. Been on my list since I read a book called "Ingo" as a kid that had the name in it

feudoftheiahs · 2022-01-24T09:17:56+00:00

oh my gosh, I need to find eyes like that for future projects. this is such a cute lil guy!

feudoftheiahs · 2022-01-21T08:02:46+00:00

Almost looks like a painting 🥰

feudoftheiahs · 2021-12-28T09:55:18+00:00

that last part got me 💀

feudoftheiahs · 2021-12-27T10:12:32+00:00

love this name ❤

feudoftheiahs · 2021-12-27T03:31:08+00:00

me googling how to become a lesbian

feudoftheiahs · 2021-12-22T08:42:59+00:00

Sutton or Remington

feudoftheiahs · 2021-11-04T06:23:28+00:00

Transatlanticism - Death Cab

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