I am only 24 years old and have been diagnosed with avascular necrosis what can I expect?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : About Joints : One Thread

My name is Kristy and three weeks ago I was diagnosed with Avascular necrosis. I am only 24 and have two children. My doctor says that the diesase has been there for quite some time and has been "looked over" by my PCP. I am very scared. I have a lot of pain in my left knee and it is swollen. I have never even heard of this condition before and we can not find out what caused it. The only cause that we think it might have came from is that 2 1/2 yrs ago I had a cerbral hemorage at the base of my brain. It was also spontanieous and unexplained. I was treated in the hospital for 15 days with an extensive amount of steroids to reduce the swelling in my brain. Other than that we can not come up with any known cause. Now my doctor wants to do surgery on the knee. He says that I have dead bone in my knee and that he needs to drill two holes in it and drain the dead blood to relieve pressure. Then he will do bond grafts to attach to the dead bone and "see if it will attach and regrow". Like I said I am only 24 and I would love to hear some opinions on what to do. Please help. If anyone has any other suggestions for me or contact numbers please let me know. I have a 7month old and an 8 year old who are depending on their mother. I also want to know if this disease is something that will spread to other parts of my body. My doctor, whom is very nice, has not been very informative.

Sincerely, Scared in GA Kristy

-- Kristy McCoy (sunshn797@yahoo.com), April 02, 2004

Answers

I had avn in both hips and had them both replaced in November. I am 32 yrs. old. Mine was from being over dosed with prednisone for a sinus infection . I am now doing fine . I went to a great doctor in N.Y.C. at Hospital for Special Surgery. It should not spread , but it could also be in some other joints (shoulders , knees , hips) I am no doctor , but I will tell you what I know if you have anymore questions. You will be fine if you need surgery. One more thing Hospital for Special Surgery is one of the best if not the best for joint replacements . have a great day.

-- c.schwinn (pc.schwinn@verizon.net), April 07, 2004.

Kristi, I'm 36 and have avn of both hips. I had core decompression done in Dec. '03. I would just recommend you make sure you see someone who really specializes in this disease and its treatment. I see Dr. Michael Mont in Baltimore. His office number is (410)601-8500. He does specialize in AVN. You can access some more information about him through www.aboutavn.com

-- T. Dorsey (thedorseys5@comcast.net), April 08, 2004.

Hi! Kristy! I am sorry to hear that you have AVN. I had a hip replacement at 36 and had a knee replacement in January. Have you considered a vascular decompression? If your avn has progressed, you may have no other choice but to have a replacement. I have a newborn...and we hired someone to come into the home to help with the lifting...Just know that it is short term and that within 6-12 months you will be recovered. Sarah

-- Sarah (reindeer12@aol.com), April 19, 2004.

Hi Kristy, I’m also 24 and have been diagnosed with AVN. Both of my hips have been effected and this is down to steroids used to treat my colitis. My condition was overlooked for 9 months and has got to the point where I need a hip resurfacing done. I’m prying that their must be something else which can be done that dose not require implants. Unfortunately surgery is the only way out the AVN and from what I’ve been told core decompression is not very successful with people who have steroid induced AVN. Although this might be different when it is your knees that are effected. I’m from the U.K some so another part of my problem is the speedy response time of our health system. Anyway I hope you get through this ok. I know what you must be going through It can’t be easy having AVN at any age. All the best!

Oh, and if you come across a miracle pill that can regrow bone please could you let me know.

-- Michael Adomako (michael@jopl.freeserve.co.uk), July 10, 2004.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ