Arthroscopy of the knee?

[BronteM]

Just back from my GP where we discussed the knee X-ray that I had just before Christmas. There is a piece of loose bone or cartilage floating around that is causing pain and swelling, as well as some arthritis. I've been referred to an orthopaedic surgeon for a possible arthroscopy.

Has anyone had this, and how did it go? At the moment I am stable on rituximab and steroids, but I don't know if this will be something that worries the surgeon. I would like to go ahead with some procedure as I'm getting a bit bored with a wonky knee that is painful at night and liable to give way on steps and at other inconvenient moments.

[piglette]

I think some surgeons do not like to operate if you are on a high dose of steroids. Some are a bit more laid back about it. It seems 7.5 mg or below is usually OK, but some surgeons may even operate on a higher dose. You just need to ask.

[BronteM in reply to piglette]

I'm on 5mg at the moment...each time I try to go down further I end up coming back to the 5. So that should be OK? I do not suppose that I'll get an appointment very quickly, and I've a clinic appointment at the beginning of February, so I can ask then. It would be nice to hear from someone who has had it done successfully though and get an idea of what it's like.

[piglette in reply to BronteM]

I would have thought 5mg fine. A friend of mine had it done but she was not on steroids. She seemed to recover quite fast, she was seventy years old. She had a hip done which seemed to take a lot longer to heal.

[PMRpro in reply to BronteM]

I know people who have had hip replacements at 10mg - which really is rather more dramatic than an arthroscopy! It will very much depend on the surgeon I think so if one says no - shop around as my friend who had her hip done on 10mg did. Her daft GP had told her she hadn't a chance of it being done for years as she was too young at 60 - neither age nor pred stopped it being done just a few months later because it was needed.

[Macedon]

I have just had a 'new knee' and not really experienced any problems other than my stamina (which was already pretty bad) seems to have taken a further hit. I have MPA and have been fairly stable for some time now though still on a high number of different medications - including prednisolone. I found it to be worth doing...aged 72 years.

Nick (Australia)

[BronteM]

Thank you for your helpful replies. Hopefully I'll find that the surgeon isn't too worried, and is happy to go ahead, even though I'm on such a range of meds. I also understand that I could have rather a long time getting back to normal mobility, but I don't think they'll do it until the summer when it should be easier. We are off to Leipzig in the spring to visit the city that my husband's family left in the 1880s for the first time. Wonky knee or newly repaired one might be equally tricky!