A special injection

My surgeon explained to me that he had injected Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) into my knee during the operation.

It is extracted from your own blood and is a concentrated amount of the healing cells known as Platelets. The goal is to boost the healing process.

Shortly after I started seeing my physio in Spain, they suggested another PRP injection at around the three-month mark.

I thought about it, reached out for some opinions on Reddit, and decided to go for it. It comes at a cost but, for me, anything I can do to benefit the healing is worth it.

Today was the day, exactly 90 days from surgery.

A doctor and medical team came to the Physio to administer the treatment. They spoke English well and explained everything thoroughly.

First, they examined the knee with ultrasound. My physio’s main concern is the quad tendon, which was used as the graft harvest site. It has healed with some fibrosis (i.e. scar tissue) and they have been working on breaking that down.

The doctors decided to focus on this quad tendon area, and the physios first applied an electrical treatment with needles. I understand this is to encourage breaking down the quad tendon scar tissue before the PRP is injected.

There was a bit of pain and it felt strange, but the injection was fast and it took around 40 minutes in total. Afterwards, they warned me to watch out for possible infections but noted that they are extremely rare.

My concern is about the meniscus repairs in my knee. I know that this is crucial to the long-term health of the joint and that these repairs are not always successful. I asked about PRP being applied in this area and they assured me that some was injected into the main knee joint.

It will be hard to tell if this treatment makes any difference, but if it helps even in a small way, then it will be worth it.