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Second surgery to clear arthrofibrosis
Hii
About two and a half years ago, I underwent ACL reconstruction surgery and developed arthrofibrosis.
About a year and a half ago, I underwent an arthroscopic surgery to clean out the diffuse arthrofibrosis that was present in the knee.
The arthrofibrosis has returned again, and I was recommended to undergo another surgery for cleanup, and this time to take a medication called Losartan for six weeks following the surgery.
I would be happy to know:
Does an additional cleanup surgery pose too high a risk for another recurrence of the arthrofibrosis?

Hi Nabi,
Your question about surgery is a difficult one, and there is no easy answer. However, it's important to have scans to make sure that the ACL graft has been positioned correctly. It can be helpful to see a different surgeon who is not associated with the first, to get advice on the ACL graft positioning.
After the scans you might consider arthroscopic arthrofibrosis surgery. However, surgery stimulates the healing response again, and arthrofibrosis is a condition of over-healing. So, as you have experienced, the outcome might not be good, and might even be worse.
If the surgeon follows the methods that are outlined in the Surgical Checklist, especially not using a tourniquet and not using a mechanical shaver, that reduces the risk since there is less damage done, but we still can't predict the outcome. It seems that the Hoffa's fat pad is almost always inflamed and fibrotic, and cutting it is not advisable.
Losartan was shown to reduce arthrofibrosis for some people in some research, but other research has not found a positive response. An individual's reaction to it likely depends on the biological pathways that are dysregulated, which determines what will help.
If you can find a surgeon who is willing to consider the arthrofibrosis-aware surgical methods then you might decide the risk is worth it. We're happy to meet virtually with a surgeon if they want to discuss this, and we can also point you to a couple of experienced arthrofibrosis surgeons in Europe and the US.
Please feel free to ask more questions.
All the best,
Kayley