anyone ever have or know someone whose had cartilage replacement surgery? happy it's finally getting done, but getting a little scared because i go under the knife in about a week.

That is the surgery my doc says I need! Are you getting a cartilage plug, the the graph or both? How many months does your doc say before you can ride again? Mine says if I do it will be a minimum of 13 months!!

oh yea... there is a guy named Arun who owns Ohana Board Shop in San Jose who posts here and I think he had this surgery. He is an awesome rider and it sounded to me like he was happy he did it. <BR> <BR>-Uj

he said about 10-12 months maybe sooner. i wanted to have it right after the summer but had delays. I'll have the plugs, i believe. doc said i maybe able to ride mid-summer, but nothing big for longer. the cartilage takes much much longer to adapt then rebuilding a muscle or tendon.

Wow, I was told i needed this surgery as well. It freaked me out about the 10-12 months of down time so i nixed it. The doctor put me on a BellaCure knee brace and it definitly helps me a ton, I can turn the dial up as i need more relief. It basically has a BOA system in it. I just couldn't stomach 10-12 months with no snowboarding, wakeboarding or softball. Did he say what caused it in your particular case? <BR> <BR>also i would check out www.bellacure.com, it really has made my pain almost managable, at least until i sack up and have the surgury. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by flattirenotube on October 29, 2008)

Patrick, those braces from Bella work good for wakn? <BR> <BR>-Uj

Uj, <BR> <BR>I think it works great for wake, I haven't had a problem with it yet. If my knee gets sore while riding I just crank it up a couple of turns. It takes about 12 hours or so to dry out, but it isn't difficult to put on wet or anything. I wear mine pretty much all day everyday as I am on my feet all day. You can take the hardware out of it and wash the sleeve in the washing machine, which I do after every time in the lake. It is comfortable and I definitely don't have any complaints, I can't wait to try it snowboarding.

Waiting for this to be approved after FDA trials in the US. They've been using in Europe for a couple of years now. <BR><a href="http://www.regenbio.com/poland/en-int/menaflex.php" target="_blank">http://www.regenbio.com/poland/en-int/menaflex.php</a>