proximal tibiofibular joint injury/instability

I went to see an orthopedic doctor due to noticing a few months after a skiing injury.  I was having severe knee pain and it felt like my right leg was going to give out on me even when walking. I also noticed that my fibula head was sticking way out.  They diagnosed me with a proximal tibiofibular joint injury/instabilityand my knee is and joint is very unstable. They wanted to see if PT would help. My therapist was very weary of working with that leg and after 4 weeks of therapy and tapping they referred me back. I now have ankle pain and numb. I feel like my right foot actullay drags. I know they are going to discuss surgery but not sure what procedurethey are going to discuss. I am very atheltic and as well as work for a local rescue squad and mountain rescue so what ever they do it needs to be very succesful. Can anyone tell me what type of options there are on how to fix this at the stage my injury is in.

[Michael L Gross, MD]

There are many surgical alternatives for either repair or reconstruction of the proximal tib/fib joint.  What is more important thant the procedure chosen, is the expertise of the surgeon doing it, and his experience with the particular procedure. In other words, you pick the surgeon, let him pick the procedure. You should inquire as to his experience with this repair, it is not a common operation, and not all orthopedists have done a lot of them.