upcoming knee surgery

[snuggles]

Hi all,I have the opportunity to have my very first arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in my right knee.
Any of you steely eyed missilemen(or women) have any words of wisdom for me????????
Thanks
Mark T

[sooner.boomer]

Good luck. My advice is to remember that you will get better and the pain will go away. Might not seem like it the first day, or the first week. Follow your Dr's treatment.

[Zeus-cat]

If you need physical therapy after the surgery do what the excercises they give you.

[Peartree]

If you need physical therapy after the surgery do what the excercises they give you.

+1

I've seen it too many times. If you cheat on the exercises, you will screw up your recovery.

[Maxitout]

I've been throught this 3 times, the right knee was done twice. What everybody else has said is true. If you live alone, stockpile about a week or so of food, 'cause you ain't going anywhere. The worst part is, you may feel pretty good a few days afterward, and you'll be tempted to do stuff you shouldn't do. I did that 1 time, was in pain for the next 3 days,
caue I overdid it. And, don't bne afraid to take the pain meds he gives you!

[cwbullet]

If you need physical therapy after the surgery do what the excercises they give you.

+3. Those who have a bad outcome usually do not fully perform the exercises or try to do too much too soon. Listen to PT and do the exercises.

[GDJ]

Listen to the doctor.
Do your physio.
If you are doing something that hurts, STOP IT!

[Yoehahn]

Keep moving it slowly and keep it flexible. if its stiff it will take a longer time to heal and then hurt more.

[fyrwrxz]

Normally, I 'd say take slow walks on the beach, progressing to the softer sand each week, but given your location, I guess that would be more of an exercise in survival! I can tell you for a fact its a lot better than what they used to do 30 years ago! Take your meds and be careful not to get too frisky. Best wishes for your timely recovery.

[cvause]

I work in the marketing and R&D function for an arthroscopic company and have seen many different surgeons and spend countless hours in operating rooms and scientific talks on meniscus injuries.

1. Is it a medial or lateral meniscus tear?
2. Has your surgeon discussed repair of the tissue vs. simple resection of the tissue?

These are two of the most important questions you can ask. I'm not sure how old you are but if you are younger than 40 (or even 50) I would make sure that I am seeing a surgeon who will attempt a repair and be very aggressive in repairing the tear.

There have been multiple studies published this year demonstrating the statistical link between meniscus resection and arthritis in patients like you. If a lateral meniscus is resected, you are almost certain to develop arthritis and knee a joint replacement later in life. Medial is less so, but I would want my knee to be repaired. Not all surgeons will take the time and effort to repair. It is estimated that only 20% of repairable tears are repaired. find a surgeon who believes in repair.

Also, not only do I work in this field, when I was 29, I had a lateral meniscus tear resected. I'm my in my 40s with constant pain and arthritis.

PM me if you want more detail.

[bobkrech]

This link might help those who are not familiar with the modern arthroscopic surgical procedures for treating torn cartilage.

Back in the dark ages when I was in college, I damaged my knee pushing a stuck car out of a snow drift in a snow storm. The driver was rocking the car, I was pushing and he missed a shift. The car came back as I was pushing and my knee buckled.

Campus security got me to the infirmary. The knee was swollen and wouldn't bend. The university couldn't get me to the hospital due to the snow, but a friend called a friend and got a a tow truck to take me to the the hospital for x-rays which didn't show anything (no MRIs in the 70s). A college doctor drained 450 ml of fluid from the knee, said it was torn muscles, and said stay off it for a week in the infirmary and see him in month. When I when back after a month, I saw another Dr. who was the orthopedic surgeon for the football team. He took a quick look, said it was torn cartilage, and offered operate the next day or over the next weekend. Whoa.

I asked a friend who played hockey and had 4 knee surgeries, and he advise me to throw the crutches away and try to walk. He said if you don't fall flat on your face in the middle of the road, don't get the surgery. Back then they simply cut you across the knee, removed the cartilage, and stitched you back up. You didn't recover fully for 6-9 months, and you were guaranteed to get arthritis in 20 years. I followed his advice and never got the surgery. 40 years later, that was the right decision for t that time. I took over a year to get back to normal, and I have occasion pain if I'm overtired, but I don't have arthritis because they didn't remove the cartilage.

Today with the minimally invasive scope surgery, the game has changed. Now they can actually repair the cartilage and make it as good as new, and recovery is much faster. Find someone who Will repair, not remove the cartilage, and follow their advide during recovery.

Bob

[ndzied1]

I tore my ACL ligament in 1986 downhill falling (this came right after downhill skiing when I believed I was superman ). If you want to walk again, this one has to be repaired.
I had open surgery that took about 5 hours and was immobilized for a few months. I'm pretty sure they get you moving in days now. My leg muscles had atrophied to the point that I needed electrode-stimulation to get them moving again. Because I was immobile for so long, scar tissue had taken over and I needed another surgery 9 months later (this one was done arthroscopicly) to roto-rooter out the scar tissue because even with the biggest burliest PT at the clinic bearing into me with all his weight (can you say scream!), they couldn't get my knee to bend beyond 90 degrees.

No arthritis yet but I have been warned that it is coming. No matter, I am very thankful that I have been able to walk these past 25 years and with a brace can even do sports.

[KeithK]

Hi Mark - I had my meniscus repaired the last week in December (just before holiday break so I got 10 days off). Dr. stated it was pretty bad, but luckily didn't complete tear through, so the outer perimeter is intact. It was a flap tear and had to be cut out. First night post surgery I was on crutches, first full day I was walking around the house, 'double stepping' up and down stairs. Never needed anything stronger than ibuprofen. 3rd day I was walking fine up/down - I was biking after 4 weeks and jogging after 10 weeks. Only 2 very small scars (less than 1/2") to show what had been done. Since the meniscus can't heal, I think it is probably the easiest "recovery". Get it over with, and move on; as it won't fix itself. In all honesty, I felt better day 2 than I did at any time in the 6 months prior. Good luck!

[snuggles]

Didn't have time to talk to Dr. Arrived at 0545, got dressed in my surgery stuff.
Anesthesiologist (I think that's how you spell it) came in , did his thing, got an IV in ........That's all folks........
Came home, relaxed. knee felt REALLY good!!! However, didn't sleep well, couldn't get comfortable.
Day 2 Nerve block wore off................(a Sam Kinison sound effect inserted here)
Ice packs and meds all day long.
Slept a little better last night.
This AM , knee feels MUCH better than yesterday.
started the exercises. See the Doc next week.
Thanks to ALL for the info. much appreciated.
Mark

[rdbones]

Do your exercises AS instructed -

Dont cheat on them and dont do more than you are told to unless you get the PI's approval ! ! !

Take it from experience!