Yesterday we made our way to Park City to meet with Dr. Tom Rosenberg (an orthopedic doc). He is great. He is probably nearing retirement and only works one day a week so we have been waiting for this appointment for a couple of months. Kenyon had already seen another doc in that practice but he is fairly new and unfamiliar with the problems.So here it is....the diagnosis is Avascular Necrosis which means: (AVN) A condition in which the poor blood supply to an area of bone leads to bone death.
Because of the crazy dosage and long term use of prednisone (a steroid), the blood flow was poor to his knees causing the bone to die. The doc says it is around 70% loss. That seems kind of crazy but it is pretty bad.
Originally we had been told that they could try some bone grafts or ultimately knee replacements. Not so. Dr. Rosenberg says no to that plan. With the amount of bone loss that he sees those solutions wouldn't even work.
The plan - making big improvements to Kenyon's diet - focusing on decreasing inflammation and bone health. And adding daily weight bearing exercise - walking - a couple of times a day and gradually building up as he gets strength. He is also supposed to do straight leg raises. Ice several times a day and wear compression sleeves. All of these things will help increase the blood flow to the knee and allow new bone to grow (we had been told that wasn't possible but the doc is saying otherwise).
In a couple of months, he may go in and scope the knee to get rid of the inflamed tissue and clean it out a bit. We'll see.
With time we should see gradual improvements. Like 3 years from now. So good news but once again quite the road ahead of us.
Oh - and did you know that he should NOT be taking ibuprofen or aleve. That isn't what the other doc said. Apparently those things cause bone loss.
We will start making some changes.
As for the walking - anyone have a treadmill sitting around that they never use and want to sell. Or any good recommendations on that kind of a purchase?
4 comments:
Crazy! The range in doctor opinions and recommendations is annoying. Who to trust? I think I heard that bones are grow back quicker in California. Maybe a move to sunny OC is just what the dr. ordered? We are excited to see you all soon. Take care of yourself Kenyon!
I am also surprised at how different the diagnosis can be.
It is great that that there is hope for the bone to grow back. Seems like some doctors are too quick to diagnose surgery sometimes. So it is good to know you have another option. You know I get all excited about how food can help our bodies :). I am interested to hear what kinds of foods.
I think he needs a new mountain bike
Talk to me about a treadmill. :-) I've seen you guys walking around the neighborhood though, which is so nice when it's not to HOT! That's frustrating, but good that there is SOMETHING you can do. Good luck with this new plan! I hope it'll help.
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