Hello all,
I had arthroscopic knee surgery on my left knee cap about 3 years ago and I still have the scars. Does anyone know of any good ways to get rid of them? Or even just diminish the coloring of them? Any suggestions would be mostly appreciated! :wave:

Do a little research on Vitamin E. I think there are a lot of lotions out there whose main purpose is to help fade scars. I'm not sure how much will happen 3 years after the fact though. I just wear mine proudly. :)

Neosporin might help.

Neosporin! I never thought of that. Thanks! :)
I tried Vitamin E for about 2 months. Never did anything. :'(

Neosporn will not help with wounds that are closed/healed. Since your scar is 3 years old, I am assuming it is not an open wound. This far out, your scar is mature, and therefore silicone sheeting with pressure would probably be of little benefit, but you could try---let me know if it works. This is how new scars are managed, and it works quite well. Otherwise you could see a plastic surgeon, and he may be able to inject the scar with steroids that may help flatten it out.

I had a bad scooter accident about four years ago. For a while I put vitamen e on it. It helped but didn't do much for the reddness. If it really bothers you, you may be able to get it lasered. It has done wonders on mine! you can bairly tell and it was a fairly huge scar underneath the left side of my nose. I also heard coca butter helps but I have only tried it on blister scars.

You could try mederma. I used it in the past for surgery scars that were about 1.5-2 years old. It helped, it didn't make the scars go away but helped fade them some.

i've had 3 arthroscopic knee surgeries in the past 2 1/2 years and my scars are still present- I worried about them at first, you know not shaving over them and what not- vitamin E would help and Mederma as well, they can both fade the scars but as Nixona does, I wear them proudly- I mean they're so small no one can see them, but you still can see them and it's a little reminder that you've been through that and (hopefully) you're doing better, as I can't say, but if you can't get rid of them think of it this way- as they slowly fade it's just a part of your life that you're overcoming

Neosporn will not help with wounds that are closed/healed. Since your scar is 3 years old, I am assuming it is not an open wound. This far out, your scar is mature, and therefore silicone sheeting with pressure would probably be of little benefit, but you could try---let me know if it works. This is how new scars are managed, and it works quite well. Otherwise you could see a plastic surgeon, and he may be able to inject the scar with steroids that may help flatten it out.

Yes it most definitely can. Neosporin can significantly improve the appearance of hypertrophic scars (and keloids). Even scars that are years old from burns, surgical procedures and minor skin injuries can show significant improvement with its use. Another good one to try is over-the-counter Hydrocortizone.

With your scars from arthoscopy...do any of them look like little craters? One of mine does, its the one of the right side of my right knee below where the tube was. What would cause that? I think it's kind of funny looking. I really don't see the problem with wanting to fade scars from knee surgery, no offense, I mean, I have the arthoscopy scars and a 4.5 inch scar on the same knee for a TTT that I had done at the same time as a lateral release. Its interesting because when I wear skirts no one really even notices who didn't know I had surgery, except for little kids for some reason, maybe that's because they're short though.

My other post, that was from a breast reduction so I wanted to fade those because you could see them when I wore a bathing suit. Mederma did work for that, like I said before, so if you do want to fade the scars, try that, just make sure to give it time - it won't happen over night.

froggy123: "4.5 inch scar on the same knee for a TTT that I had done at the same time as a lateral release"

what's the difference between a TTT and Trillat surgery- they're kind of thrown around together but i'm not quite sure I get what the TTT is or does- I'm having the trillat surgery and they said they're gonna go in and the release again which is why your post caught my eye- let me know if you could about the difference, or how your surgery went!- thanks so much

plus my arthroscopic knee scars are like craters as well- 2 out of the three because i've gone into the same holes twice out of the three surgeries so maybe that's why- i haven't found anything that can make them stand up? i guess

thanks!

mcrug101 -

Honestly I've never heard of Trillat surgery. A TTT is actually called a Tibial Tubercle Transfer. Hrmm, how to explain this? Ok, so look at your kneecap. If you tighten your quad muscles and feel below the kneecap you will feel a tendon. If you feel down toward the bottom of the tendon, going toward your foot not toward the kneecap, you will feel a bump on you shin. This is the tibial tubercle. During a TTT they graft up this bump (the tibial tubercle). They move it over medially (towards the inside) and screw it back in. My surgeon also elevated it some to help relieve some stress on my kneecap. I had the surgery done because of patella maltracking issues. Basically, with me, the outside of that groove that holds you kneecap in place, never formed. So instead of my groove looking like a "V" (like it should), mine looks like an "L". The theory with the TTT is that since your tendon below the kneecap help direct the kneecap, moving it inward will help the kneecap stay where it should. Doing the lateral release along with the TTT allows the TTT to work better in that there isn't as much of a lateral pull anymore.

Honestly, the recovery part of my surgery was horrible. I mean, I knew that I was going to be in pain, but I wasn't expecting the type of pain I felt. I guess I was associating it with the pain from the brest reduction (which was the only thing I really had to compare it to other than my chronic knee pain), and the reduction really wasn't bad. I was in the hospital for I think 3 days 2 nights, including the day of the surgery which it was done at 9am I think. They only expected me to stay in the hospital for one night, that didn't happen! They finally took me off the morphine IV before I went to bed on the second night. I was on some pain meds for about 2-3 weeks post op, but I forget what kind. Well, since they moved the bone, I was in a full leg cast for 6 weeks with toe touch weight bearing. I was in a wheel chair at school and for long distances during that time. I was in the wheelchair at school for a couple months after surgery because I go to a big school and the surgeon didn't want to risk me getting bumped into and falling and messing everything up. After the cast was taken off, I was in an immobilizer for a couple weeks, but was walking. I went to physical therapy for 4.5 months. I found that the first 2 weeks post op were the worst, I was nauseus, and couldn't get comfortable, and then with my muscle atrophying the cast got loose and was slipping, but I got it recasted I think a week after surgery. The surgeon made the cast a little loose with lots and lots of fluffy stuff in it around the kneecap because he didn't want the cast to hurt. Which in the end, I am glad he did that because after I got the second cast it was alot tighter and caused some pain too.

Although the recovery was way worse than I expected (which makes me nervous about doing the surgery on the other knee) I'm very glad I had it done. My surgeon was great, I healed very well. I did have some superficial nerve damage where on one side of the big scar I cant feel temperature and light touch, but I'm slowly getting the feeling back like I was told I would. My knee still gets a little sore, more of a stiff feeling than anything, when there's a big storm. But other than that, it's so much better, I can't even explain it! The only problem is that I can't kneel on that knee, like with my knee against the ground because my tubercle is elevated, it puts lots of pressure on that one spot and causes pain. but I don't kneel much so it doesn't really impact me that much. I just cant explain how happy I am with the final results, I can drive without pain, I can walk, still a bit scared to try running and I probably won't for a long time since my other knee hurts, I can walk, I can jump, I can go up and down the stairs - all stuff that really hurt me preop. It's great!

Wow, I wasn't expecting this to get so long! But that's my experiences with the TTT and what it actually does. But I have no clue about the Trillat surgery as I said before, sorry! Is this similiar to what the trillat does?

Thanks for the reply- i'm still confused a little bit because that's exactly what they told me that they were doing, so I know that it's gonna be moved over and screwed in and all of that sounds the same, and i know they'll do the release (again) as well-
sounds like recovery's tough- from the three other surgeries i've had it's been the same but i'm told that this is bigger so- i'm not sure if i'll have to get the cast- i guess since they're moving the bone than i'll have to...i think i was just rattled when i went into the dr on thursday since i wasn't expecting another surgery, and i just kind of heard "surgery" "screw" "bone" i guess-
i know about the immobilizer and about the kneeling, they said they'd most likely within 6 months to a year take the screw out but we'll see
just a little worried i guess, after it being my fourth surgery and them maybe having to go back in to take the screw out, i guess i jsut want it all doen with before i go to college so that i don't have to stay here and having had this pain as a skater and just as a 17 year old i just want it to be done with, i don't expect it to be perfect but a little less pain would be nice

good luck with the second surgery! I'm sure your surgeon is great and it's good that you trust him/her as i trust mine

i'll do some more research, sounds like the surgeries are very similar...
thank you so much for your help!

The surgeries do sound similiar. They actually aren't planning on taking the screw out of my knee. But I guess docs are different, they do different things. I'm 17 too, and am going to college this fall as well. In a way I would like it done now, before college and all, but there's lots going on in the family and I'm not sure if Id want to have the surgery, start PT here and hten go up to where my college is and start PT there, I think I'm going to wait until the summer after my freshman year because then I can research different physical therapists and I definately know I'll have a car to be able to go to physical therapy 3 times a week. You know?

Maybe you should ask your doc what the difference between the two surgeries is. He would probably know better than anyone. Do you have a surgery date scheduled?

i can't believe you're 17 too- it's nice to have someoen to talk to about it who's my age- i think waiting to go to do the surgery next summer is a good decision for you I would probably do the same-it'd be good to have a good idea of where you want to go for pt that would suit you, it's really important to be really comfortable with your physical therapist- and plus having the car would help tremendously-
i'm going into my senior year this year so that's why i want to get it all done now and i figure this is the time- when i called to schedule they had two dates- the 22nd of june and the 20th of july which suck because i wanted asap- and the 22nd of june is 6 days before we go on vacation so it's not a possibility, because i'd miss the post-op visit and what not so- i guess it's gonna have to be in july but i'm on the cancellation list and we're really trying to push it up because i'll go nuts between now and then i'm sure!
i'll ask my doc what the difference is but thanks so much and hang in there i understand what you're going through too!

Hey,
I finally found stuff about the surgery your having...compared to what I had done. Here's information about the different types of TTTs, appartenly I had the fulkerson procedure.

Roux-Goldthwait Procedure
In this procedure, the patellar tendon is split vertically. The outer (lateral) half is pulled through under the inner (medial) half and attached to the tibia, pulling the patella over to the medial side.

Maquet Procedure
Maquet was the first to suggest that cutting the bone (tibial tubercle) to which the lower patellar (kneecap) tendon is attached, and bringing the kneecap forward would reduce the resultant backwards force described at the beginning of this page. He calculated that bringing the tibial tubercle forwards by two centimetres would reduce the backwards force by 50%. Some surgeons move it only one centimetre because they think that most of the effect comes in the first centimetre, and also the resultant deformity of the tubercle does not look so bad. The Maquet operation requires a long cut alongside the kneecap and its tendon, and careful dissection of the kneecap tendon away from its underlying bone along its length. With a hammer and chisel the bone is cut, keeping the patellar tendon attachment intact and not breaking the bone piece free at the bottom end. The loosened piece of bone is then wedged forwards with a bone block, to elevate the tubercle by 1-2 cms. This bone block can be freeze-dried cadaveric (donor) bone, or can come from the patient's own hip (the top rim where you put your hands on your hips). Freeze dried is good as it does not compact as much as fresh bone. Criticism of the Maquet is that the tubercle and tendon cannot easily be moved medially (towards the inner aspect of the knee) - maybe half a cm is possible, but not more. But there is no need for screws, and the patient is encouraged to mobilise early - CPM (continuous passive motion - on a CPM machine) and weight bearing (in an immobiliser) is begun immediately with weight bearing at 3-4 weeks post op.


Elmslie-Trillat Procedure
This procedure is similar, but involves hinging the tibial tuberosity over medially.

Fulkerson Procedure
The Fulkerson procedure differs a bit from the Maquet. Here the bone is actually cut through at the bottom, allowing for more medial displacement (the bit of bone and tendon are moved more towards the inner aspect of the knee) and screws are used to hold the bits in place. This makes rehab a bit more of a problem.

So I guess if you're having the Elmslie-Trilliat procedure and it's similiar to the Maquet, then maybe your recovery won't be as long as mine was, you might be put in a ROM brace or something like that. Actually, only me and one other person that I know have been put in a cast for a full 6 weeks, some are in one for 3 others are put in an immobilizer or ROM brace.

Just thought youd like some info, but have your surgeon tell you exactly what he is going to do during the surgery, whether you will have a cast or brace, recovery, pain, bla bla bla.