Who's had a Lateral Release & Meniscus Tear Operation?

what brakes

Hi all

Finally the doctors have decided that i need an operation on my Lateral Release and a Medial Meniscus Tear! Its only taken them about 14-15months! :x

How long did you take off work nd how soon did you get back on your bike! how quickly did you push you self once you were able to ride again?

Cheers

robdaykin

Make darn sure you need the lateral release. It seems some surgeons do it by default, when it's not needed.

I was pencilled in for one here, to deal with my meniscus tear but the butcher ahem surgeon I saw spooked me, and I went to York instead. They only did a partial meniscectomy and it's fine.

I had mine done in January. 2 weeks later I was in work, one week after that I was cycling to work, and 2 weeks after that I was doing 10 mile cross country rides on the full suspension.

Contrast that with one of my colleague's husbands who had a menisectomy and lateral release in October at Bridlington, and in February was worse than before the op, not cycling and resisting his wife's suggestions he see another surgeon. That is not an unusual story amongst people I've spoken to who were done at Brid, and they do a lateral release by default.

If in doubt, get referred to another surgeon, and check the league tables. I can recommend Tony Gibbon and his team at York NHS, they were great. He also does Nuffield if you google him, he's got good refs.

what brakes

Ive seen a private doc who also works for NHS as they all do. Ive just got his report back and he suggested i need a Arthroscopy Op to sort oout the medial meniscus.

I have had more t han enough physio to try and sort out the IT band but it still causes me pain! also the back of my knee is alomost constantly painfull. So as it stand i dont think i can be any worse! and at best the ops will resolve my probs! so im more than happy for them to do it.

robdaykin

sounds like you might need the lateral release then. I didn't have any pain in the back of the knee, mine was all front, edge of the kneecap. I was just worried in case you were getting railroaded.

I don't know anyone who has had a lateral release, and is a cyclist, apart from that one guy who was not riding after 3 months. That may not be down to the release, the orthopaedic surgery team up here not highly regarded (officially one of (if not the) the worst in the country), so there may be other reasons. Sorry, that's not terribly helpful is it...

I'll shut up now.

what brakes

Its all interesting stuff. and points worth considering.

Round my way they wont do anything unless its really vital, or thats the way it appears! nd anything takes bloody ages to get sorted as you can tell. Ive waited well over a year to get to see a specialist...

Mr Dog

Had mine in October and they smoothed scaring on the under side of my patella. Had 4 weeks off work. Still can't run but back on the bike since January. Still painful if I push it too hard. Had the left knee done 10 years ago and gives me no pain. The price I paid for years of twisting defenders in knots.

stevewj

Had a lateral release about 18 yrs ago due to a running injury. Had a total of about 8 weeks off work due to a) knee, b) getting hepatitiis from the operation c) getting chickenpox from reduced immunity from the hepatitis. Cannot run any more but am able to cycle. Still get aches at times mainly when cycling in cold/wind without enough protection to knees (I wear tights all the time apart from races) and when doing too much high gear or power work. The only pedals I can use without aggravating them are speedplay which have helped enormously.

what brakes

Sounds like the lateral release doesnt cure the problem! Soon after i got taken out by a car which caused the injuries, i decided to get speedplays! and i do like them.