The following is a patient experience submitted to us by Philip. Philip had patella tendonosis in both knees and decided to give PRP treatment a try. Continue reading for his answers on how effective it was.
What was your injury that was treated with prp?
- Patella tendonosis in both knees as a result of grade 1 tear in my Left PCL
Why did your physician decide to utilize prp for this injury?
- I believe it was to ease the knee pain I was experiencing
What medical facility did your physician perform this treatment?
- Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Bolster St, London, UK
Did your physician have you follow a specific protocol the night before your prp treatment on the knees?
- No ibuprofen or anti-inflammatory
Do you remember how much blood was drawn from you? After they drew the blood, how long did you have to wait before the platelet rich plasma was ready for use on your injury?
- 1 vile, don’t know the exact measure. had to wait maybe 10 mins in total
What did the physician do to prepare the injured knees for injection?
- Cleaned it with alcohol thoroughly, then put a operating cover with a hole exposed for the injection. Instructed me not to touch it at all. Informed me that everything being used was sterile and opened everything in front of me.
Did the physician use ultrasound as a guide to place the platelet rich plasma?
- Yes he used ultrasound to guide the injection
How did the PRP injection feel? Explain. And do you remember how long the prp treatment took? If you had pain, how long did the pain last? Any knee swelling?
- The injection was very painful. The beginning was ok then it escalated to like a nerve pain. The actual injection took approx 8-10 mins from start to finish and the the doctor massaged the area for about 5 mins, this was also quite painful but not for too long. It was a bit stiff following and i was hesitant to move it initially, after about 5 mins it was fine to move about. Pain did not last that long.
After treatment, did your physician wrap the treatment site? If not, what did he do post treatment?
- The doctor put a hypo allergenic big bandaid over it. I put a slight compression on it over night but not under instruction
What was your physicians post prp treatment protocol for you? Restrictions? Rest? Exercise? Stretching? Pain medication? Any specific directions you had to follow?
- I was given a pain diary, told to only be active as far as I was comfortable and only take paracetamol and codeine if necessary.
How much was the prp treatment?
- It was on healthcare. I will be have 2 more on right knee and 3 or so on my left knee which is the on with the PCL problem. The consultant/surgeon does not want to operate on my PCL which I am annoyed about as i am sure the whole situation could have been avoided if he did. The physios and physical therapists have advised me that surgery would have rectified this problem earlier.
If this kind of article interests you, feel free to read more PRP patient experiences here.
