anyone here had a Lateral Release??

You sound similar to me, I've have being constantly on & off the bike since I was a little fella. Now 27 and decided to have a guy have a look from the inside and he did a lateral release on both knees. Had the last one done 4 weeks ago. Had no problem with operation, done on a Friday, back in work on the Monday but only in an office. If you have to walk as part of job thats a different story. Should be able to walk half normal after about a week though its very weak.

Hope to try it out on the bike in October.

Don't know if he treated a cause or a symptom of the problem.

[font=Arial]One good thing of the operation is that the guy can look at the rest of the knee and see how your cartilage and ligaments are. Good to know the exact condition of these. [/font]

I hope all goes well for you in your surgery. Lateral release surgery tends to be, not always, one of the biggest failures in knee surgery along with debridement of the patella. It does sound like you have exhausted all other modalities and 32 is young to give up biking. Good Luck!!!

Almost 20 years ago now I had a friend (a decathlete) that did this. It went well for him and recovery time was very short.

I'll assume you've tried all the non-surgical remedies?

Rochefan said:

You sound similar to me, I've have being constantly on & off the bike since I was a little fella. Now 27 and decided to have a guy have a look from the inside and he did a lateral release on both knees. Had the last one done 4 weeks ago. Had no problem with operation, done on a Friday, back in work on the Monday but only in an office. If you have to walk as part of job thats a different story. Should be able to walk half normal after about a week though its very weak.

Hope to try it out on the bike in October.

Don't know if he treated a cause or a symptom of the problem.

[font=Arial]One good thing of the operation is that the guy can look at the rest of the knee and see how your cartilage and ligaments are. Good to know the exact condition of these. [/font]

How was your cartilage?

I had one.

I had a history of complete dislocations of the kneecap... each dislocation was excruciating, with the right kneecap all the way out on the right side of my leg, waiting for me to pop it back in.

The killer was, each occurance made another more likely. I was damaging my cartilage in the process, and could feel (and hear) grinding in my knee.

Three years ago, after a season in which I had to ice the knee after every ride, it popped out one last time, during a simple light lift.

My doctor explained that the lateral release was my last resort for relief from the dislocations, so I had the surgery later that year, over the X-mas holidays.

I was on the Lifecycle at my gym 3 weeks later, and on my own bike, mounted on the trainer, after 30 days.

I trained for and rode four centuries that summer, with no pain. It took two full seasons for my leg to return to it's former size, but it had returned to it's full strength over one season.

A few weeks ago, I completed the RAMROD, a one-day, 154 mile loop around Mt. Rainier, Washington State, USA. The ride crossed two mountain passes, totalling 10,000 feet elevation gain. I think I've fully recovered.

I don't even think about it anymore, and I'm glad I did it.

Steve

I should probably add, I was 42 years old at the time of the surgery.

Presently 45 and kickin',

Steve

2zanzibar said:

How was your cartilage?

[font=Arial]Cartilage was fine. I was expecting it to be well shot after all the years of trouble and that I’d have problems when I get older. Hope it works out for you. [/font]

Thanks everyone for all of your kind responses, its a hard decision to make because it can open up a pandoras box of problems.
At the moment, cycling even 1 mile down the road and I'm in pain, so a Lateral Release is becoming a more serious option though I think I'm going to give the non-invasive therapy one last chance. (not that I've stopped doing the myriad of rehab techniques learnt thus far) The only thing that has worked so far has been when the physio did patella massage/mobilisations, so I'm going back to him. If this can get me back to doing 50 mile rides (or at least 30!) then whoopee, if it doesn't then its back to the OS' office in October to talk about the knife.
Its not like I have any of the classic malalignment issues that preciptate this pain. My knee tracks OK, I've got good balance, core stability, VMO strength, I've had a professional bikefit to resolve a minor leg length difference, and from what health professionals and clubmates say I look pretty 'normal' on the bike, maybe prone under stress to slightly deviate laterally - but did anyone see Vinokurovs knee tracking on the steep finish of stage 19!! it was all over the place!
I guess from what I've learned about this condition is that it rarely makes sense. Though hearing success stories certainly lifts the spirits!

thanks