Question - Arthroscopic Lateral Release (pain after surgery)

My son is 15 years old. He is an avid baseball player and has played some basketball and football. This past summer he started having trouble with his knees. He was being treated for Osgood Slaughers.

He had been in therapy for a couple of months with little relief. He had an MRI is showed a meniscus tear. He had arthroscopic surgery two weeks ago today. His meniscus was intact but his patella was not tracking properly, so a lateral release was performed.

After a couple of days he was still in a lot of pain and his leg was 2-3 times larger that his other one. He went back to the doctor on Saturday and Tuesday and they tried to aspirate both days with no luck. He had been going to therapy 3 times a week with a little progress.

He is still on crutches and it is very painful to put weight on it. How long do I wait before seeing another doctor?

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Question - Arthroscopic Lateral Release (pain after surgery)

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Oct 09, 2008
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lateral release
by: Bart - SII

Lateral release surgeries swell a LOT. That is usually the limiting factor after surgery - it is very normal for him to have quite a bit of swelling and pain even 2 weeks out from surgery.

Wearing a compression sleeve or elastic bandage can help to control the swelling - limiting excess time on his feet, elevating and icing when he can - and perhaps an anti-inflammatory are all things to try.

Therapy will also help, as long as they are not trying to progress to fast and increase his swelling. Everyone reacts differently to this surgery, but it does take time.

Bart