Sports Girl is not just having the surgery so she can continue to play sports. She is having the surgery for her quality of life and peace of mind. Each time the patella subluxes, cartilage damage occurs which eventually results in osteoarthritis. Cartilage cannot be replaced; knee replacement is used to correct the problem. We certainly don’t want Sports Girl to be looking at a knee replacement surgery at age 40.

Then there’s also the fact that each time her patella subluxes, it is very painful and frightening for Sports Girl.

Of course we are hopeful that Sports Girl will return to soccer and basketball and whatever else she wants to do in full force. We are told the recovery time will be 3 to 6 months, so we are planning for her to return in time for summer training. She starts high school next year, and the hope would be that she has a bright scholastic athletic career before her.

Why do kneecap dislocations become a recurrent problem?

Sports Girl’s left patella subluxes laterally – which means it slips out of place to the outside of her leg. Research I’ve found online explains that, “When the kneecap comes out of joint the first time, ligaments that were holding the kneecap in position are torn. The most commonly torn structure is called the medial patellofemoral ligament, or MPFL. This ligament secures the patella to the inside (medial) of the knee. When a kneecap dislocation occurs, something must fail to allow the kneecap out of the groove, and usually it is the MPFL.” I found this information on the Division of Pediatric Orthopaedics of Morgan Stanley Childrens Hospital of New York – Presbyterian web site.

So the doctor is going to go in and insert a cadaver/donor ligament to replace her MPFL – at least that’s how I understand it at this point. I should know a lot more about it after the surgery tomorrow, but the way he explained it last month in our office visit, I believe Sports Girl’s repair will looking something like the illustration below right. A normal MPFL is illustrated below left.

Normal MPFL Patellar Ligament

Reconstructed/Donor MPFL Ligament

Sports Girl herself has contributed to my blog for the very first time. Read all about her pre-surgery anxiety here – from her point of view!