Plasm rich platelet therapy or surgery?

Hello,

I recently posted a question on here about a patellar tendon tear in my left knee.  I am thirty years old and played a lot of sports when I was younger.  I also have very flat feet (especially my left foot).  I've had knee pain in this left knee for about 6-7 years.  A few years ago I bought custom orthotics for my feet and that helped relieve some of my knee pain.  However, this past year it has gotten worse.  Activities such as running, jumping, and squatting will leave me with stabbing knee pain for days before it calms down.  Sitting in the car for long periods of time is also very painful.

The first orthopedic surgeon I visited performed an x-ray and MRI.  He said that based on the MRI, it looks like my patellar tendon is about 50% torn towards where it connects to the kneecap.  He said that is an estimation and wouldn't know for sure until he opened me up.  He suggested I can either live with it or have open knee surgery where he uses a fiber to stitch up my tendon, drill an anchor into my kneecap, and reattach it.  There is a long recovery time for this type of surgery and it scares me.

I visited another orthopedic surgeon today to get a second opinion.  She recommends that I take my MRI to another specialist who performs Plasma Rich Platelet Therapy.  She recommended this before having surgery because she says it is often affective and less invasive than surgery.

I am very torn.  My surgery is scheduled for next Monday and I have my pre-op on Friday.  I am visiting the third specialist tomorrow to have her review my MRI and determine whether or not I am a candidate for PRP.

Any suggestions or opinions on this situation would be very helpful.

Thank you so much.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

PRP is an option used for inflammations of the tendon or tendonitis. While it may help settle the inflammation and healing of minor injuries, a 50% tear is unlikely to respond to PRP therapy. Though there may not be any particular harm and may be partially beneficial, I would suggest discussing this with your operating surgeon as well.
Hope this helps.

Take care!