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Background

In 2016 I had a right total knee replacement to treat my painful knee osteoarthritis. My recovery was troubled from the start as I continued to have pain, was unable to straighten my leg, and my kneecap (patella) was catching on the new joint. During this time my gait and posture became so bad that I developed a new, constant pain in the hip, groin and buttock area on the left side. I had a second corrective surgery on my right knee in January 2017 with a different orthopedic surgeon. He injected my left hip at the same time. The pain relief from the injection in my left hip was significant but short lived. However, my knee was much better. The surgeon ordered an MRI of my hip which revealed a labral tear. The hope was that surgery to repair the labrum in the hip would also remedy my horrendous lower back pain. In March 2017, I had a hip arthroscopy and repair of the torn labrum. The relief from the groin and hip pain was immediate, however the back pain continued and became worse. My hip surgeon referred me to a spine surgeon for consultation. A lumbar MRI confirmed degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis of the facet joints. I underwent facet joint injections and epidural steroid injections at L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels. I experienced no relief from my back pain. At this point, I was barely able to walk or stand. The spine surgeon offered a lumbar fusion as my next step, but I refused. My hip specialist suspected my issues were likely related to my SI joint. At this point, I decided to do my own research.

Because lying down was my only comfortable position, I had to take leave from work. I was unable to do housework. I could not stand in the kitchen to cook a meal. I was absolutely unable to bend over to do laundry. I had to give up working out at the gym. Mentally, I was not in a good place. I found a surgeon who specialized in minimally invasive surgical treatment of the sacroiliac joint at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital and scheduled a consultation. After asking me about the location of my pain, performing a medical history and physical examination and reviewing my MRI, he concluded my pain was likely coming from my SI joint, not from my lumbar spine. I was then scheduled for a diagnostic SI joint injection to confirm the pain was coming from my SI joint. The result of the injection was not conclusive. This prompted a referral to a rheumatologist for investigation into other possible causes of my pain including inflammatory conditions. The rheumatologist ran a series of tests that all came back negative. I was put on a strict physio program which included acupuncture and new medications. I was in complete and utter agony. After 5 more months, I decided I couldn’t do it any longer and returned to my surgeon. We decided to try another diagnostic SI joint injection, this time under CT guidance. Bingo! He hit the spot. My pain was temporarily gone. I floated out of the hospital and felt amazing for the first time in 2 years. We then discussed a surgical procedure to fuse my SI joint.

In May of 2018, I had a left SI joint fusion utilizing the iFuse Implant System. I knew very quickly that the surgery was successful. The horrendous pain in my low back was gone. After surgery, I was partial weight bearing for 6 weeks with crutches. My recovery was slow but steady. I am back to doing laundry, cooking and housework. I now work out at the gym 4-5 days a week. I am more than happy with this result.