I am scheduled to undergo knee surgery on torn meniscus. The doctor has recommended that I should have a arthroscopy and try the OATS procedure to repair some damaged cartillage. Can you give me some more information on this procedure?

-- Jarrod T Murison (jtmurison@yahoo.com), December 11, 1999

Answers

We have a section on the Oats Procedure at the following URL.

http://www.aboutjoints.com/patientinfo/topics/oats/OATS.html

-- Debi Ross, Web Coordinator (dross2@jhmi.edu), December 20, 2002.

Hello Jarrod

I am not sure if you if you had the Oats procedure done or not yet? I just had mine on Jan 20th. Doing pretty well. Up to 90 degrees of flex in a week. I hope if you did have it all is well. Would like to talk more int the future if ok with you. Joe Dearborn Michigan 29 old male

-- Joe DePoole (jdepoole@mediaone.net), January 30, 2000.

HELLO JARROD,

I HAD THE MEDIAL MENISCUS TEAR REMOVED...AND I AM SET UP FOR ANOTHER SURGERY IN AUGUST....TO DO THE OATS PROCEDURE. AFTER THE MENISCUS REMOVEAL...I HAD THERAPY...AND THE RANGE OF MOTION WAS MUCH IMPROVED...BUT I WAS NEVER FREE OF PAIN.. I WILL NOW UNDERGO THE OATS TREATMENT...SEEMS TO ME ..YOUR DOCTOR IS GOING TO SAVE YOU A NEEDLESS STEP!...THE REMOVEAL OF THE TORN MANISCUS DID NOT DO THE TRICK FOR ME...SO I AM HOPING THAT THE OATS WILL GIVE MUCH NEEDED IMPROVEMENT! THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE MEDIAL MENISCUS RECOVERY IS LESS THEN OF THE OATS PROCEDURE!... I WISH YOU GOOD LUCK! ---CATHY ALLEN (ROSESANDBEACHES@AOL.COM)

-- CATHY ALLEN (ROSESANDBEACHES@AOL.COM), July 11, 2002.

Hi Jarrod, Did you have the procedure yet?I had OATS on July 7 - at week 4. I also had previous meniscus surgery that did not do the trick. I am hopeful that this will work..also need it on left knee. It is a bear of a recovery. Lot's of pain at 4 weeks and only 90 degrees motion. This scared me at first but I was assured that it is normal. It is a rough recovery. Much rougher than meniscus scraping and reahaping. I hope this works and lasts a long time. Terry Pool 48 yr old female.

-- Terry Pool (tpool@houston.rr.com), August 05, 2004.

Jarrod, Just wondering if you have had your OATS procedure yet. I had one on July 22, 2003. I am still having pain and swelling and have to use my cane alot of the time. I would welcome some input from anyone that has had this procedure. Janet Bratto 45year old female

-- Janet Bratton (chefjmb418@sbcglobal.net), September 14, 2004.

Janet I am at week 10. Sill walking with one crutch. I have 120 degrees movement. Pain and swelling every evening. It is a bear of a recovery.I hope the reports on results are correct. I think it is going to be a while before I have full use without evening swelling. I expect 3 more months of some degree of difficulty with it. I have started exercise bike with some tension. This is helping a lot. Want it to go faster!

-- Terry Pool (tpool@houston.rr.com), September 18, 2004.

hi there all....ive jsut had an oats pro. done on my left knee...it seems that i am one of only a handfull in england to have had this done. my was done because an impact fall left my with an ulcer eating at my leg .. the bone and cartiledge used was transplanted from one side of my knee to the other.....its now been 6 weeks since my op and i am progressing well...ive very nearly got full movement back and am completely weight bearing on it..the only proble that i have had is that my knee gives way now and then.. hoping that this should settle done.....

-- Carol Watson (little.pyggies@tiscali.co.uk), September 24, 2004.

Greetings. I've been reading the postings and am surprised to find that the OATS procedure is being done on everyone's knee. I've been in line for a year now to receive a graft and have the procedure done to my ankle. Anyone else heard of it being done there, my Dr's seem to believe it's pretty rare, just thought I'd ask. Thanks. SP

-- Shannon R Phillips (sphill0320@juno.com), October 14, 2004.

I am hoping to have an OATS prodcedure done on my ankle which has Osteochondritis dissecans, resulting from a break 6 years ago. The scope surgery did not fix the ankle and after a CT scan this past spring it was discovered I have an osteochondrol lesion and an area of necrotic bone under the talar dome of my foot. I was referred to a University ankle specialist who put me in a brace all summer and now recommends the OATS procedure. My insurance company denied the request to pay what Medicare doesn't so I'm still in lots of pain and have changed insurance companies but it doesn't take effect until 1/1/05. Has anyone had the OATS done on an ankle? I am an active 68 year old female but have been sidelined for the past 14 months due to the pain.

-- Dianne McCaughey (badgerdi2@aol.com), October 28, 2004.

I had the OTAS procedure done on my right knee from an injury caused in my college basketball game. It has been a long struggle to regain everything i had lost post surjury. My cartilage was taken from a cadaver and i had to wait 5 months to find the right match. It was a very freakish accident and the piece was too large to be taken from somewhere in my body.

-- mitch helman (mhelman34@yahoo.com), November 17, 2004.

I am planning on having the OATS procedure done January 4th, and am wondering how many of you have had the surgery done arthroscopic vs open. Also, listening to the degree of pain and rehab, how bad were your symptoms preop to decide to go through with this? I am a 45 year old female, also wondering how soon most of you returned to work if you were doing primarily office work?

-- Jane Gibson (jegibson1@juno.com), December 05, 2004.

I had this procedue done on 12/2/04 and I am recovering nicely. I have 90 degrees flex and non weight bearing for six weeks. I was in a real bad car accident that left me with injuries to my right knee and left ankle. I recommend the procedure. The first few days are painful but it gets better much quicker. I feel like I can walk on it and it has only been 16 days. I recommend it. Please let me know if you have anymore questions.

-- Heather Drawdy (hdrawdy52@yahoo.com), December 19, 2004.

I am in line to have this procedure. This will be my 3rd different procedure in 3 years.I am at the end of my rope. I want to know how active did anyone return to after the procedure.How long was the cut on the knee following the procedure.Will I be able to play softball and other actives after this procedure.

-- C. Pepper (cccc2627@yahoo.com), December 21, 2004.

The surgery is still relatively new. I had mine at the end of July and am just to the point where I am only getting a little swelling with weight bearing. I still need to use either a crutch or cane to walk but I am biking and water running. My Films look good, I guess I am just a slow healer. I had a meniscal transplant done as well so I think this might contribute to lengthy rehab. I only have 120 degrees flexion-not sure yet what my doc is going to do about that. All I have to say is to not give up-ever. This is my 4th surgery in 3 years, if your doc thinks you need it then I say go for it, but it is painful and you need to be diligent with the rehab. My doc said I will be able to do everything again once everything is healed. Good luck. December 26,2004

-- Jennifer Smith (jsmith9225@aol.com), December 26, 2004.

I had an OATS procedure three years ago. I had an ankle fracture with damaged cartilage, ligaments, and muscle. I had two defects, one 10mm the other 9mm in my right ankle which were repaired with two transplants from my right knee. I originally broke my akle while rock climbing. I was off of my leg on crutches for 4 months. After rehab I returned to climbing, hiking, etc. Last June I finished a 24 mile rim to rim hike in the grandcanyon. I do still have pain everyonce in a while but not nearly the pain I had before the procedure. I just thought I would contribute my experience; the procedure did work and I'm happy with it. Chad Chaney

-- Chad Chaney (cchaney@atsu.edu), January 19, 2005.

I have been reading with interest everyone's comments regarding the OATS procedure. This is one option my doctor has given me to treat Osteochondrits Desecans in my ankle. It seems most of you have had the procedure done to your knee, but I know most often problems especially this one are more common in the knee. Two years ago I had a removal of osteochodridal lesion and microfracture procedure only for it to return in a different area of the same ankle. I could also try this procedure again. I am in the process of exploring all my options. It almost sounds like the majority of you have experienced a lot of post op pain, with a long recovery, was it worth it? Another thing, it seems most of you that had the procedure done in the ankle are also women. I did not have a previous injury but I ran prior to my first procedure. I welcome any comments. Thanks!

-- Rita Anderson (anddrmd@wctc.net), January 21, 2005.

I have had 2 ankle surgeries already and it has been recommended that I have the OATS procedure done on an 11x15mm osteochondral defect in my right ankle. I'm pretty skeptical about all this stuff now. Before all this I was a serious runner and soccer player. I'm only 25, but have had to give up all that even though the last Dr said I would be fine.

I would like to hear from other people who have had OATS done on ankles. What was your recovery like? What did you do for rehab? Is autograft(knee plug) or allograft (cadaver) better?

I am hopeful but not optimistic, maybe someone can brighten my outlook?

-- Tim MacIntyre (tmacinty@mines.edu), February 10, 2005.