Carticel Surgery - one man's diary

I stumbled upon this blog (Jim's bionic knee) a few months ago and felt as if I was reading from my own post-surgery diary (if I had kept one). He uses phrases that I have uttered word-for-word during my rehab. If anyone is thinking about having the ACI surgery here is a great overview of everything about this surgery, from the patent's perspective. In hindsight I wish I had followed through with keeping a journal of my rehab. It's hard to believe it's been 9 months since my surgery. I will say again that I have no regrets about my decision to go through with this surgery. My life had gotten to a point where simple daily activities were made harder because of the chronic pain I had. While I am not 100% back to "normal" yet I feel much better than I had before the surgery and know that I will continue to feel better. I did not have a goal of going back to soccer, rugby or triathlons but am looking forward to the next 50 years of my life and instead of saying "I had a total knee replacement at 35-40" I can say...I had this über cool surgery where they grew my own cells to make new cartilage and fixed my knee." (yes I do plan on using the word "über" when I'm 80.)

Cartilage damage - roadmap

Here is a brief overview of the knee with particular attention to injured articular cartilage. Notice in the image above the pink/red area. This is a simple snapshot of what damaged cartilage looks like and a simple easy to understand look at the inside of the knee.

What is cartilage?

Cartilage is a type of connective tissue in the body. It is made of cells called chondrocytes embedded in a matrix, strengthened with fibers of collagen and sometimes elastin, depending on the type of cartilage. There are three different types: hyaline cartilage, elastic cartilage, and fibrocartilage. Cartilage serves to provide structure and support to the body's other tissues without being as hard or rigid as bone. It can also provide a cushioning effect in joints.

Cartilage is avascular, meaning that it is not supplied by blood vessels. Instead, nutrients diffuse through the matrix. Cartilage is usually flexible, again depending on the type. Some of the bodily structures that include cartilage are the ears, nose, ribcage, and intervertebral discs.
(view the full article)

Torn Meniscus

The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of fibrocartilage which is located at the peripheral aspect of the joint. The majority of the meniscus has no blood supply. For that reason, when damaged, the meniscus is unable to undergo the normal healing process that occurs in most of the rest of the body. In addition, with age, the meniscus begins to deteriorate, often developing degenerative tears. Typically, when the meniscus is damaged, the torn piece begins to move in an abnormal fashion inside the joint.
(view the full article)

Benefits of cartilage repair

Each year, hundreds of million of people injure the cartilage in their knees, shoulders and other joints. Whatever the cause, the result is the same: pain that makes it difficult or impossible for you to lead the active lifestyle you wish to enjoy. Unfortunately, these injuries happen to people considered too young to undergo artificial joint replacement surgery. Many patients have been living with joint pain for years. Some cannot remember a time when their knee didn't throb or swell with every step, flight of stairs or short jog. Fortunately, there are new treatment options-many of them available only in the last five years.
(For more information visit: cartilage.org a website dedicated to cartilage repair. )

My Knee Story

Who am I? Why am I writing a blog about knees? Good questions!

Me: I am a 28 year old female, and I have had four knee surgeries. Two Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Reconstructions (one left, one right), one arthroscopic (right knee), one Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI) /Carticel (right knee)...in 12 years.

I now consider myself an ex-athlete, I grew up playing soccer competitively for 15 years, played women's rugby for two years in college (yes that is a real sport), and ran triathlons for two and a half years. Now I bike, swim, hike, do yoga and pilates and look towards the future. My knees need to last me a long while, it's time I start being nice to them.

Why?: After my diagnosis' I was looking for some sort of resource or group where I could talk to others who had these surgeries, and find out just what was about to happen. For my first ACL surgery in 1996 the Internet (and dial-up connection) was not a good outlet. Now after my ACI surgery the wealth of information available online was helpful, but overwhelming, and I found very little personal connection.

This blog will be a resource for helpful, concise information and a way for others who have undergone these knee surgeries (or are about to) or have other such knee injuries to connect to each other, share tips, advice, or lend a friendly ear. Please feel free to comment with questions, or advice, links, or references.