My grandson has a disease called osteochondritis dissecans in his knee. The doctor wants to keep him from playing sports and other physical activities to see if it will heal on its own. But I’ve read that this can take months, even a year, and that surgery is possible. Why keep my grandson from being active if surgery is an option?

Osteochondritis dissecans is a condition that affects the bone. For some unknown reason, the blood supply to a part of the bone is cut off and if the patient is symptomatic (having pain, decreased ability to move the joint, for example), treatment needs to be initiated to prevent further damage.

The most common approach to osteochondritis dissecans of the knee is conservative, taking a wait and see approach, while keeping the knee from being too active. The doctors do follow-up x-rays to see if there is any healing and may adjust the conservative treatment. However, if there is no progress, surgery may be done to help the healing process.

In your grandson’s case, it sounds like the doctor prefers the conservative approach. However, there is no reason why his parents or guardian can’t discuss the issue with the doctor and see what the plan is.