Knee surgery complications are profound and consequently we’re not fans of knee surgery or really any type of arthroscopic debridement. This surgery means that the doctor removes cartilage and meniscus tissue that is torn or frayed through a knee scope. First, there is no research showing knee arthroscopy for arthritis works and in fact there’s copious research showing it doesn’t work. Second, removing tissue has it’s consequences. As an example, check out this graph of the increased stress on the knee joint caused by removing parts of the meniscus. A concrete example of this phenomenon is the knee MRI above. This picture is from a patient asking about stem cell therapy after a surgery made his knee worse. The MRI on the left is before surgery and just shows an area in the inside compartment where the cartilage is thinned. However, the lack of swelling in the bone tells me this is a functional knee, meaning that the meniscus and cartilage are working to protect the bone. The picture on the right is after an arthroscopic knee surgery to “clean up” the knee. It’s now a mess! There’s more cartilage loss, the small remaining meniscus after surgery has begun to slip outside the joint and has new tears, and the bone is now swollen (shown above as “Increased BML”), indicating that the new “cleaned up” configuration of the knee is no longer protecting the bone. It’s therefore no surprise that the knee that began in pain prior to the surgery is now in more pain. This past week I saw the same thing happen to an ankle that was surgically “cleaned up”. The patient was able to run and had mild arthritis before the surgery and is now not able to run with dramatically more arthritis and severe lost range of motion due to surgical scarring. So why are we still performing these surgeries? Good question. Is debridement surgery ever appropriate for a joint? Sure. There are times when a knee or other joint is locking due to a torn piece of meniscus or cartilage where surgery is needed or when a large non-function bone spur is preventing functional movement. However, in our experience, these only encompass only about 1 in 3 knee surgeries these days. The upshot? Getting your knee surgically “cleaned up” has no research to support that it will help you and we have lots of clinical experience that shows up that it may make you much worse.
Knee Surgery Complications: Watch a Knee Go from Slightly Abnormal to a Mess in 4 Months!
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Chris Centeno, MD
Regenexx Founder
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Shoulder
Many Shoulder and Rotator Cuff injuries are good candidates for regenerative treatments. Before considering shoulder arthroscopy or shoulder replacement, consider an evaluation of your condition with a regenerative treatment specialist.
- Rotator Cuff Tears and Tendinitis
- Shoulder Instability
- SLAP Tear / Labral Tears
- Shoulder Arthritis
- Other Degenerative Conditions & Overuse Injuries
Spine
Many spine injuries and degenerative conditions are good candidates for regenerative treatments and there are a number of studies showing promising results in treating a wide range of spine problems. Spine surgery should be a last resort for anyone, due to the cascade of negative effects it can have on the areas surrounding the surgery. And epidural steroid injections are problematic due to their long-term negative impact on bone density.
- Herniated, Bulging, Protruding Discs
- Degenerative Disc Disease
- SI Joint Syndrome
- Sciatica
- Pinched Nerves and General Back Pain
- And more
Knees
Knees are the target of many common sports injuries. Sadly, they are also the target of a number of surgeries that research has frequently shown to be ineffective or minimally effective. Knee arthritis can also be a common cause for aging athletes to abandon the sports and activities they love. Regenerative procedures can be used to treat a wide range of knee injuries and conditions. They can even be used to reduce pain and delay knee replacement for more severe arthritis.
- Knee Meniscus Tears
- Knee ACL Tears
- Knee Instability
- Knee Osteoarthritis
- Other Knee Ligaments / Tendons & Overuse Injuries
- And more
Spine
Many spine injuries and degenerative conditions are good candidates for regenerative treatments and there are a number of studies showing promising results in treating a wide range of spine problems. Spine surgery should be a last resort for anyone, due to the cascade of negative effects it can have on the areas surrounding the surgery. And epidural steroid injections are problematic due to their long-term negative impact on bone density.
- Herniated, Bulging, Protruding Discs
- Degenerative Disc Disease
- SI Joint Syndrome
- Sciatica
- Pinched Nerves and General Back Pain
- And more
Hand & Wrist
Hand and wrist injuries and arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and conditions relating to overuse of the thumb, are good candidates for regenerative treatments. Before considering surgery, consider an evaluation of your condition with a regenerative treatment specialist.- Hand and Wrist Arthritis
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Trigger Finger
- Thumb Arthritis (Basal Joint, CMC, Gamer’s Thumb, Texting Thumb)
- Other conditions that cause pain
Elbow
Most injuries of the elbow’s tendons and ligaments, as well as arthritis, can be treated non-surgically with regenerative procedures.
- Golfer’s elbow & Tennis elbow
- Arthritis
- Ulnar collateral ligament wear (common in baseball pitchers)
- And more
Hip
Hip injuries and degenerative conditions become more common with age. Do to the nature of the joint, it’s not quite as easy to injure as a knee, but it can take a beating and pain often develops over time. Whether a hip condition is acute or degenerative, regenerative procedures can help reduce pain and may help heal injured tissue, without the complications of invasive surgical hip procedures.
- Labral Tear
- Hip Arthritis
- Hip Bursitis
- Hip Sprain, Tendonitis or Inflammation
- Hip Instability
Foot & Ankle
Foot and ankle injuries are common in athletes. These injuries can often benefit from non-surgical regenerative treatments. Before considering surgery, consider an evaluation of your condition with a regenerative treatment specialist.- Ankle Arthritis
- Plantar fasciitis
- Ligament sprains or tears
- Other conditions that cause pain