I was in London on Friday to have the arthroscopic procedure performed on my right hip this time.
Didn’t have to wait around too long though this time since there were only 3 operations scheduled for that day, but I still ended up number 3 on the list. After the left hip operation, he knew to keep me to the end since that was meant to be a quick 30min go in, check things out and close up procedure, turned out to be a 90min operation to repair and clean up the damage.
The right hip was always the more painfull of the two and that was backed up
by the amount of damage to the joint. If you click on the extended version
of this post there are some more images. Plenty of bits floating around inside
the joint and these had to be removed which should stop my hip ‘locking up’
when I am not expecting it.
The head of the femur again had to be scraped off and cleaned up again and
the last picture shows them performing the Microfracture procedure.
Multiple holes, or microfractures, are made in the exposed bone about 3 to 4mm apart. Bone marrow cells and blood from the holes combine to form a “super clot” that completely covers the damaged area. This marrow-rich clot is the basis for the new tissue formation. The microfracture technique produces a rough bone surface that the clot adheres to more easily. This clot eventually matures into firm repair tissue that becomes smooth and durable. Since this maturing process is gradual, it usually takes two to six months after the procedure for the patient to experience improvement in the pain and function of the joint. Improvement is likely to continue for about 2 to 3 years.
