bnelson

Does anyone have fluid on their knee? not painful but strange really swells up ortho9 want to do surgery to remove bursa sac but if it does not hurt not sure i should get it done.

Schwinneffect

I've had some fluid on the knee for months. The condition has improved a lot since an accident in June. For the first two months my knee was nearly twice the normal size. The fluid is barely noticeable now.
I'.m going to have my knee checked again since there are procedures for cartilage restoration, but they don't work if the damage is too bad.

Kabuki12

I have had a third knee for about 5 years. I had it drained several times and it just comes back. I had an MRI done and it did not show anything so I went to an ortho-pod and was told the same thing as you , that he could remove the bursa. Then he told me that it could grow back again. He said sometimes the slightest irritation can cause this as a small part of the meniscus being pushed out. My knee actually looked ok and for my age the padding in my knee was very good. The surgery would probably reveal the cause, but in the likelihood of an infection I would be down for 12 weeks. He also told me that infection in knee surgery is way more common than other types of surgery. I think I will wait until I retire. The knee does not bother me at all. , I did almost 40 miles yesterday with some steep uphills and no problem. The worst part of this is the ugly “third knee” look and people asking if it is cancer or something! Joe

cb400bill

Thread moved to 50+ Pills and Ills forum.

Schwinneffect

The knee is so complicated and many things can inflame the bursa. For those of us just barely over fifty it may be wise to be careful in choosing a doctor. A number of procedures are available to attempt to repair damaged cartilage or meniscus, but these are usually only performed on younger patients. NeoCart Clinical Trial - Autologous Engineered Neocartilage
Blood flow to much of the knee cartilage is poor, so it does not heal well and osteo arthritis develops. Standard procedure for older patients seems to be treating the symptoms as much as possible until the problem gets so bad that a knee replacement is required. This is probably best for a typical over fifty and overweight patients, but what about a 52 year old extremely fit cyclist with very minor cartilage damage? It seems a shame to condemn such a patient to an eventual total knee replacement. A lot of other things can cause bursitis other than meniscus and cartilage damage so ymmv as always.