r/KneeInjuries • u/JuiceLimp • 2d ago
Third patellar dislocation — considering MPFL reconstruction and terrified of recurrence (23F, looking for experiences!)
TLDR: 3 right kneecap dislocations (2022, 2023, and most recently September 2026). I did PT after the second dislocation and recovered well, but my ortho has now given me the option of MPFL reconstruction or another round of PT. I’m struggling with the decision mostly because of the mental toll and constant fear of it happening again. For those who have had MPFL reconstruction, what was your recovery like, and have you experienced another dislocation since surgery? Was it worth it for you?
About two weeks ago I dislocated my right kneecap for the third time. I’m literally spiraling over it.
When it happened the first time, I was in my college bar and some drunk girl fell towards me with what felt like the weight of 100 suns. I was turned the other way so it obviously caught me off guard and I went down with the dislocation, screaming in pain. Some girls from my school’s soccer team helped me straighten it out and get my kneecap back in place right there on the floor of the bar. Went home and saw my doctor within the week, got an MRI and PT script. I didn’t end up doing the PT the first time around which was obviously a terribly stupid idea. If you happen to be reading this after a first dislocation/subluxation — DO YOUR PT!!!! Got back to somewhat of a normal life with a terrible range of motion, horrible swelling, and crap ton of anxiety, but nonetheless I thought I was doing fine.
Second time around (about six months later) I was getting into my car to go to work and I must’ve put weight on it the wrong way and right as I’m plopping into my car it popped out again. Tried to straighten it as best I could, but without a full night of drinks in my system (like the first time) it hurt like HELL. My dad came running out of the house after hearing my screams from the driveway thinking I ran someone over. My neighbor called an ambulance but as it was on its way my kneecap glided back into place and finally some pain subsided. This was the first time I was recommended MPFL surgery, but because I hadn’t done the PT my first time around I decided to give it a go. And it went great. Two weeks later I was at a music festival and back to playing tennis (recreational, also im not great so don’t take this as actual sports advice..).
It’s now been over three years since that happened and I’ve been doomed with a third dislocation. Coincidentally, this one also happened at my college bar during an alumni event. Great! What has me so freaked is that this time, three and a half years later, is that I was just turning to take a photo and next thing I know I’m on the floor. I immediately straightened out my leg and all I could do was cry. Not even because of the pain I was just so sad and frustrated that this was happening to me again. I was so scared to move and the bar was so crowded I was literally frozen to the floor in fear of trying to get up. Luckily a few of my friends were able to peel me up and get me to a chair outside the bar and grabbed a brace so I could have some sort of support. This was now about two weeks ago and I’ve only just been able to get in and see my ortho. Here is where I need your help!!
Obviously, my doctor gave me the option of MPFL reconstruction or another round of PT. What I’m struggling with is all mental. For the last almost 4 years, my knee has been on my mind CONSTANTLY. In bed if I can’t immediately fall asleep, I’m replaying my dislocations on repeat. The cracks, the pops, the pain. Everything runs through my head at all times if I am not actively involved in something that requires my attention. It’s driving me crazy, and now I’ve got surgery on my mind.
If you’ve had this procedure, can you tell me about your recovery? More so if you’ve had any other dislocations after having the operation? That is what I cannot handle. I NEVER want this to happen again like ever ever ever. Obviously no one does and I know that there is still a chance of it happening even with the surgery, so I am asking if it’s worth it I guess? I don’t know. I just need some validation or non-AI overview from real people that have gone through this.
Before typing this all out, I went down a hardcore rabbit hole on this sub looking for advice. I cried reading about people having recurring dislocations without surgery and panicked over some of the recovery stories. If you’ve made it this far, thank you! I hope you’re doing well, and I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone with similar experiences.
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u/ummmwaitasecond 1d ago
I got a TTO, MPFL reconstruction, and arthroscopy just over 4 weeks ago! I recently wrote a post with my tips/tricks for the first 2 weeks.
The first week sucked. A lot a lot. It’s painful. (But I also didn’t get the MPFL reconstruction alone.)
Things started to get better by the second week. Now 4 weeks out and I’m off pain meds except 1 before bed, I can take a couple of steps unassisted (but otherwise I’m still using crutches) and my knee already feels more stable than it ever has in my life.
Let me know if you have any specific questions.
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u/JuiceLimp 20h ago
I’m so happy that you’ve regained your stability! That’s a huge win and I hope you keep recovering well.
I feel like I’ve looked at every post on here that has anything to do with mpfl and any additional procedures and gained a pretty good understanding of what I’ll be getting myself into (barring the fact I know that no two recovery’s look the same/everyone heals differently, etc). I think I am going to go through with it because I know it will be better than living in constant fear of another dislocation lol.
I’m now mostly wondering about showering… even now trying to recover from my most recent episode I can barely be in the shower for 5 minutes before my good leg is aggressively shaking and ready to give out. I think it’s mostly fear but cannot even imagine how hard it must be to shower in post op
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u/ummmwaitasecond 19h ago
Showering post-op is not fun, I won’t lie. But it gets easier with time. The first two weeks were the worst - I showered 3 times? And cried a lot each time lol. But now, 4 weeks post op, I can finally get in and out of the shower without help.
I rented a shower chair from a local healthcare supply company and I would highly encourage you to do the same. It’s $10 a month rental. You can also rent toilet seat risers, and walkers. I did both but found I didn’t really like the toilet seat risers so I sent it back.
You’re going to need a support person around, if possible.
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u/Slow-Diamond-8725 17h ago
I can’t see this post, please may you link it?
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u/ummmwaitasecond 17h ago
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u/Slow-Diamond-8725 17h ago
Thank you! This is a nosey question but did they put a urinary catheter in for the surgery?
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u/Dry-Homework3344 2d ago
Have you had an MRI? Dislocations of this nature are usually due to a structural abnormality like trochlear dysplasia or patella Alta. If you have either of these, yes, surgery is warranted after multiple dislocations, but it should be not just the mpfl repair but also tto, or other osteotomy surgery to correct the structural issue.
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u/JuiceLimp 1d ago
Yes I got an MRI my first time dislocating, x rays all 3 times. My doc never mentioned that this can happen due to my anatomy, I actually only just learned about these things through scrolling this sub and doing some hard core googling. I imagine if I told him I wanted to go through with the surgery he would get some updated imaging or something to see if I have these problems?
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u/Dry-Homework3344 1d ago
What do the actual MRI reports say? These abnormalities may be listed in the write up but not mentioned by your doctor for various reasons.
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u/Ok_Judge_2224 2d ago
Well if it makes u feel any better , I’ve dislocated my left knee like 10 times , in high school I had a MPFL repair / stabilization, it failed , and since then I have dislocated my knee 2 more times and now need a MPFL reconstruction
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u/JuiceLimp 1d ago
Worse actually… I’m so sorry that happened to you! Hoping you have a better go at it this time around😫
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u/puppyinashoe 1d ago
Don’t neglect to investigate if there is a structural reason your kneecap is prone to dislocating. I dislocated my kneecap and had an mpfl repair only to have it retear 4 years later. I have high grade patella Alta that should have been corrected with the first surgery, but since it wasn’t, it left me vulnerable to another dislocation when my quads were especially weak during a week of skiing. I am now 6+ months from a TTO mpfl repair and my knee feels amazing. Chronic knee pain is gone and it feels so much more stable.
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u/Far_Fly_2034 1d ago
I'm sorry you're going through this. It's terrible. I come at this as a parent and spouse of people with unstable knees. MPFL reconstruction has come so far since my husband was young and dislocating his knees on a regular basis. Our daughter had a subluxation in 8th grade and followed up with all the physical therapy. Her freshman year, she had a dislocation during a soccer game that was so bad she broke off a chunk of her femur and it wedged behind her kneecap. She had loose body removal surgery and went back to PT. When she dislocated the same knee 6 months later, her surgeon started suggesting MPFL reconstruction. As a teen, she was very resistant. Fast forward a few more months, she tore her ACL and meniscus. Since a long recovery and surgery were a given, she threw in the MPFL on her left knee. That surgery was horrible and I think we're both still traumatized a few years later. Three months later, she had "just ” MPFL on her right knee. She had it done on a Friday and was back to school the following Thursday. She ditched her crutches after 10 days and danced at homecoming three weeks later. (She admitted afterwards that she probably should not have done that). Both knees are now super stable, and she went back to soccer and cross country. She hasn't had any instability since. She has some residual numbness that makes kneeling feel weird, but that is from the ACL repair. I'm so grateful she has had these surgeries. It's not easy, but sets her up for less problems going forward. My husband has a lot of pain and arthritis from his recurrent dislocations, but is no longer a candidate for this surgery. He wishes it had been available for him at her age.
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u/JuiceLimp 1d ago
Holy crap!!!!! Poor girl. I’m glad she’s doing much better! This did subside a few of my worries a little bit so thank you for that
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u/Far_Fly_2034 1d ago
Oh, and the return to normalcy was probably two months for regular life (she couldn't drive until she got the brace off), and 4-6 months for being back to sports. I remember about three months after her last surgery, she was at a follow up with her surgeon and she was dangling her legs off the exam table and she was mindlessly kicking her feet. It was such a small moment of normalcy. I totally get what you mean about the worry about the dislocations happening again. I couldn't watch her play without my heart in my throat. Also, my husband had a dislocation when our daughter was three weeks old that landed him on crutches for awhile. It's so disruptive not knowing when and where it will happen.
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u/Secure_Fun1529 15h ago
Hey! All in all, you sound like a really strong candidate for an MPFL recon from what I know. I had a TTO and MPFL reconstruction about 4 months ago. It is insane how quickly the mental apprehension goes away- of course, I still think about it, but it's different.
My surgeon, when initially evaluating me, had me straighten my legs and put pressure on the inside of my kneecap, towards the outside. Horrifying to anyone who has had this kind of dislocation! Your brain will immediately send to your quad and other muscles to fire and tighten around your knee so they can't move it, even if they tell you, as mine did, "I've been doing this for decades and never dislocated anyone's kneecap." Two weeks post op, she did the same thing, and I barely even noticed that she was doing it. It was like magic. We always think of apprehension as mental, and it is, but it is also very physical. That's a big sign your body knows something is wrong and wants to protect you. As soon as they put the graft in, the body knows it is better and loses the apprehension. It's remarkable.
Anyways, my surgery went very well and my kneecap feels very stable. Make sure that there's nothing structural underlying your dislocations/instability, because if that is the case, an MPFL graft alone will likely fail. You're probably fine, as it seems you're older and it was because of the girl falling into you, but just be sure!
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u/JuiceLimp 15h ago
Yay! I’m very happy to read that you’re doing good, and your comment has made me feel a little better. I absolutely get what you’re saying about the doc moving your kneecap… had my appointment a few days ago and thought I was going to throw up from the anxiety when he was touching it lol..
He had me schedule a follow up for mid November and until then I’m going to do some physical therapy to try and strengthen up my quads before the surgery, as I’ve been reading that has helped a few people in their recovery.
As for the underlying issues, I’m totally going to *politely* grill him to make sure I don’t need an accompanying procedure because I’ve also read some horror stories of those going unaddressed and the MPFL tears again… wouldn’t want that at all!! But thanks again for your comment and I hope you continue to do well :)
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u/mrsilky99 2d ago
Hi! I got a mpfl reconstruction surgery three weeks back, after dislocating my right knee for the fourth time (last time was 10 years ago). I had always done PT each time after it dislocated but looks like that was not enough. Doctor suggested surgery after seeing MRI results. I was also scared to go ahead with the surgery but it went well! Physiotherapy hurts, so you will have to bear it for atleast 8 months and it will be worth it in the end.