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Patellectomy

Hello,

I am going to have patellectomy surgery(removing of knee-cap) done on my left knee. I was supposed to get both knees done at the same time but chickened out at the last minute. I have read to many bad story about people that have had this surgey. Im 24, m with two young children and i want to be able to play with them when they get older. And so far what ive read scares me. My knees dislocate when i bend them and relocate when i extend them. I had gone to several doctors and all told me that if they tryed to put a screw in my knee or even try to replace it my knee will more then likely go back to dislocating in a matter of time. I finally went to another doctor in October. They checked out both my knees and told be that my femur and tibia. Didnt have a grove to accept my kneecap and thats why my knee would dislocate when i would fold my knee. He said that there was nothing much to do in my case but to get the patellectomy. Is there anything else that can be done? If not what is waiting for me at the other side of the OR. I can't run or do any athletic things will this stay the same or could there be a diffrence?
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Avatar universal
Hello,
I am considering having my knee caps removed. My knee caps have dislocated on a daily basis since I was 11. Did you have yours removed? If so how did it go, and if you could do it all over again would you have had it done? I have exhusted all other options. I have had over 20 surgeries on my left knee, and it still dislocates even with my braces on. I have two small girls and I would love to be more active and play with them. The thought alone of this scares me to death, but I can't handle the way things are any more. Any information that anyone can give me will be greatly appreciated!
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Avatar universal
Thank you for your advice. This problem i have has been going on for about 10 years. When i was 14 they where going to operate on my knee but the day of the surgery, the doctors decided to cancel it because they didnt exactlly now what needed to be done. We have gone to about 4 different doctors and none of them ever have anything to say about my condition. I got really scared beacuse I was checking cases of people with patellectomy surgery and most of them had nothing good to say. I did see two or three people that said they felt better then before. The doctor told me that sense my kneecap was so bad in place that my recovery would probably make me do stuff better then before. See like I posted before when I bend my knee my patella goes to the side( left knee goes left right knee goes right). In my case what do you think is the best thing to do. Keep my knees how they are or try the patellectomy with one knee and see how it affects me?
Helpful - 0
182474 tn?1223950559
Patellectomy is a significant surgery, and you're pretty young.  Consider getting a second opinion, it's good to get more advice when a procedure has such significant side effects on walking and taking stairs

Enoch Choi,MD
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have been told that having this done has cause more damage to my body that I could ever imagine! The pain is still in my knee...and now, it has done major damage to my back, from the way the way I walk now, with out a kneecap! DON'T DO IT!!!!
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