HELP MRI scan results not under stood

dova

Sagittal T1. PD fatsat in 3 planes, there appears to be a radial tear.
In In posterior medial meniscus acute tear of ALC
Sprain of MCL. PCL and LCL are intact
Normal quadriceps and patellar tendon, bone bruise.
In posterior and lateral tibial head, no definite fracture.
Early degenerative changes and chondromalacia in the lateral patellofemoral joint, moderate volume joint effusion non-thickened.
Medial plicia interpretation small radial tear in meniscus, acute ACL tear in posterior medial meniscus. Acute ACL tear extensive bone bruise in tibial head.

njee20

Your knee's buggered.

DCR00

Surely you had an opportunity to ask the doc what that all meant ?

But yeah, it sounds like you knee is toast

coulddobetter

Acl is anterior cruciate ligament. Basically you have torn it . There's bruising to bone . What you have is a standard radiographers print out.

Why no one explained it is bizarre. Time and good physiotherapy will sort it .

ricardo_smooth

ACL= Anterior (front) Cruciate Ligament
PCL= Posterior (Rear) Cruciate Ligament
MCL= Medial (Inside of knee) Collateral Ligament
LCL= Lateral (outside of knee) Collateral Ligament

Your meniscus is a cartilage disc that sits on the ends of the bones in your leg where the knee joint is and one is torn (= pain and possible locking of the knee)

Tibial head is the top of your tibia bone in the lower leg

degenerative changes are probably normal with age (depending on how old you are)
Your tendon that joins your knee cap is fine (as is PCL LCL).

That's about the extent of my medical knowledge i'm afraid

Hopefully this pic helps too



BTW acute tear = operation time

marcg868

dova wrote:

Sagittal T1. PD fatsat in 3 planes, there appears to be a radial tear.
In In posterior medial meniscus acute tear of ALC
Sprain of MCL. PCL and LCL are intact
Normal quadriceps and patellar tendon, bone bruise.
In posterior and lateral tibial head, no definite fracture.
Early degenerative changes and in the lateral patellofemoral joint, moderate volume joint effusion non-thickened.
Medial plicia interpretation small radial tear in meniscus, acute ACL tear in posterior medial meniscus. Acute ACL tear extensive bone bruise in tibial head.

From that you will definately need a meniscus repair or a partial menisectomy (removal) so you will need a knee arthroscopy for that. If its any consolation i have a lateral Meniscus tear repaired in december and i was back riding in feb.

chondromalacia is the smooth articular cartilage underneathe the patella (knee cap) and on the base of the femur. Degeneration happens over time and is normal as you get older. Acute trauma to it can be repaired.

But the main thing to take from it is the meniscus. You will need an arthroscopy for it. Simple 45 minute operation, two tiny holes in your knee, tidy the tear up or remove part of the meniscus. You will need crutches for 3 days max, no bending for 3 days and then bend as pain allows.

Luckily cycling is very good for knee's post op.

And for reference the meniscus is the crescent shapes on the diagram.

jaxf

I had an arthroscopy for that cartilage damage almost 2 and half years ago, and within 6 weeks I was ski mountaineering, so cycling would have been no issue at all. The great thing about cycling is that it is a closed chain (pretty safe) activity.

Did you not get a grade on your ACL tear?

When I totally ruptured my ACL this year, my MRI said complete disruption of ACL, grade 2 tear of LCL, grade 1 tear of MCL, rupture of meniscus etc etc etc.

It would be very good for you to know the degree of tear on the ACL, as the ACL is very important in knee stability. Without the ACL, one can suddenly just collapse sideways.

I opted for surgery (unsurprisingly) and 8 weeks on from surgery on ligaments and cartilage and a bit of bone stuff on the knee cap, all is great. I can cycle on the road now, at 4 weeks from surgery, I could get up to 185bpm for up to 1.5 hours on the turbo trainer. I can kneel, and I can jog gently. I can't do twisty stuff yet, but it'll come.

By the way, I think the most painful thing was the bone bruising, so interesting to see the pictures from the MRI, and the amount of red, so you can get a view on how quickly that'll stop being an issue.

I had a truly exceptional and talented surgeon, and my physio is a wonderful woman who regularly manages to get me going after my many injuries.

I have friends who have opted not to go down the surgical route, and my observation is that I felt more secure and confident in my knee at 3 weeks post op than at least one of them does at 3 years on from accident.

best of luck and get someone with proper training to go through your MRI results with you ......

arran77

dova wrote:

Sagittal T1. PD fatsat in 3 planes, there appears to be a radial tear.
In In posterior medial meniscus acute tear of ALC
Sprain of MCL. PCL and LCL are intact
Normal quadriceps and patellar tendon, bone bruise.
In posterior and lateral tibial head, no definite fracture.
Early degenerative changes and chondromalacia in the lateral patellofemoral joint, moderate volume joint effusion non-thickened.
Medial plicia interpretation small radial tear in meniscus, acute ACL tear in posterior medial meniscus. Acute ACL tear extensive bone bruise in tibial head.

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Is the OP still alive after that diagnosis

marcg868

arran77 wrote:

dova wrote:

Sagittal T1. PD fatsat in 3 planes, there appears to be a radial tear.
In In posterior medial meniscus acute tear of ALC
Sprain of MCL. PCL and LCL are intact
Normal quadriceps and patellar tendon, bone bruise.
In posterior and lateral tibial head, no definite fracture.
Early degenerative changes and chondromalacia in the lateral patellofemoral joint, moderate volume joint effusion non-thickened.
Medial plicia interpretation small radial tear in meniscus, acute ACL tear in posterior medial meniscus. Acute ACL tear extensive bone bruise in tibial head.

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Is the OP still alive after that diagnosis

Doubt it, thats one knackered knee. Worse than mine whuch kept , e off work for months

motdoc

Sham surgery works as well as real surgery for meniscal tears. Do not get surgery unless you are absolutely sure there is no other option. It cannot be undone.

Personally I would not rush into anything at all, NSAIDs, bike refit by someone you trust and a good sports physio (if you don't like the one you are with get another) and then if no improvement after 6 months consider op when its raining anyway.

All the best for a speedy recovery.

PS Not a specialist but did a fair amount of orthopaedics and MRI / XRays are not the main part of the picture; you are, and your history is. Plenty of people using "knackered knees" on scanning are functioning well and plenty of people with normal imaging have a lot of pain.

dova

12 mouths and 20 days later I've had ACL reconstruction + medial and laterail meniscal repair, 11 days post op i am over the moon so far apart from the nhs Physio wich I've got to was shit and that's putting it nice, so I've booked in with a private Physio. Figures crossed I could be back on the bike in 6 weeks or is that wishful thinking ?

dova

And thank you for all replies appreciate all.

jaxf

best of luck. Last year, I had ACL reconstruction and meniscus sorted out after snapping that too. I was back on the turbo trainer (with a stool to help me get on the bike) on day 8 post op, and back on the road in under 6 weeks. I had the operation in Feb 2014, and rode more than 6000 km and 80,000 metres of climb.
So, no, not wishful thinking.