Describe what happened, how you treated it, and what's going on today
I was born with subluxated kneecaps, which means that my kneecaps were positioned toward the outside of my knees rather than in the middle where they should be. Though very active, no problems were noticed until puberty when my left kneecap dislocated while roller skating on the carpet at a rink. I was in a lot of sports, but my kneecaps would increasingly dislocate over the years. I had to "favor" my left knee especially and be careful not to put it in certain positions. Eventually though, by the time I was in my forties, my left kneecap always felt loose and was constantly moving. There was much pain and swelling, and I couldn't move my knee in many situations. Finally, I had the Elmslie Trillat surgery on both knees, along with arthroscopy and medial retinacular repair on my left. Essentially the surgeon broke off 3 inch portions of my upper shin bone with the tendon attached and moved the bone towards the center a few centimeters, which therefore relocated my kneecaps. Much damage had been done over the years, and the rehabilitation and physical therapy was painful. For 3 weeks I had to have my legs up in a constant motion machine to keep the knee bending. I used a walker and leg braces and could not bend my knees while standing. However, there were excellent results from this surgery over time. I no longer have pain, my kneecaps do not move out of place, and I walk 1.5 miles a day and ride my stationary bike every other day for 30 min. However, I do have swelling, which I found out was normal. I cannot be on my feet for more than about 40 minutes due to swelling. I have to sit down and rest my legs. I cannot go for long shopping trips. Standing in the kitchen cooking is something i have to schedule and be careful of, or my knees will swell and I'll be useless the rest of the day. All in all, I'm grateful for the surgery, but I only had the problem fixed when I was in my forties. It may be much better for a younger person without so much damage to their knees.
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