Anyone have a knee surgery story?

[onions!]

Okey doke,here's where I'm coming from.

Sometime in mid-March I tore the meniscus in my right knee.I ignored it for a few days thinking that,like similar pains in the past,it would go away on its own.After three or four days I felt*Holy Cow! Did I feel it!*some relief.I was sitting @ my desk & trying to curl up my toes to straighten the calf.I'd felt intense pressure behind the knee from the begining*.All of a sudden I felt a POP!Followed by a very rapid deflating feeling.I described it to the Doc eventually as feeling like I had been whacked w/a hockey stick behind my kneee & then the stick was dragged down the back of my calf.After I recovered from the pain/suprise I immidiatelly felt better.I mean great!I walked w/o a limp the rest of the day.Lasted overnight.

I became "gimp" or "Festus" @ work soon after.:)Still in denial I let it go for another few weeks.Finally,after feeling another "pop"I couldn't straighten my right leg after having bent it ninety degrees(sitting down).There was no pain in trying to straighten it-just that I couldn't.I had to pump my leg (ie.swing it back & forth)a few times every time I stood up so that I could straighten my leg to walk.Very wierd.Turned out that a flap of the meniscus was curling up & into the joint space when I sat down.The "pumping"flipped it back out.

Fast forward to the end of April.I saw my Doc.was referred to the knee guy,had x-rays,scheduled a MRI(my first!),had an ocular x-ray done("Have you ever worked w/metal?Grinding?Exhaust work?""Yes"We need an x-ray of your head to make sure that there is no metal present in your eyes that could be disturbed by the MRI machine.""O.K."{YIKES!}had the MRI,saw the knee guy again,scheduled the surgery,& waited for three weeks until THE DAY.

May 23rd was a funny day for me.My scheduled morning surgery was pushed back to after three P.M.More time to worry.Anyways,a friendly nurse gives me a johnny,some nifty hospital socks,& a marker to,well,mark the problem knee.As she's walking away she,literally over her shoulder,asks if I'd ever been told that I had sleep apnea?*snicker*Yes,I replied,I have a CPAP @ home.After asking why I didn't bring it(know one told me... )[apparently I'd be kept 1-2 hours if I hadn't had the apnea post surgery & overnight if I did,Gotta get all the sleepy drug out of your system.& they wanted me to have my own machine there in post op.] I found myself quickly surrounded by SEVEN nurses,the Anesthesiologist & her crew.That's nine wimmen all talking to & over my sad carcass just minutes before surgery.[One girl kept poking me-I have no idea why.]I was given the option to either have an epidural,postpone the surgery until another day,or plan on staying the night.I had the epidural.**

I was wheeled into the room,said hello to the blue masks,wondered fleetingly if I'd be a star in one of the Dr's wierd home videos,& dropped off.

I woke up a half hour later to see what looked like some wierd nature program about anemones on the CCV.I was able to watch the last half hour of my surgery as the Doc trimmed & vacummed up my knee guts.It was pretty kool to watch.I have some stills around here someplace.

Three months later I still limp.The pain is mostly gone but sometimes it feels like I have marbles in the joint.That's the only way I can describe the feeling.It's like I start to put my weight down only to have the femur slide accross the top of the tibia(fibula?).Twice I've actually had it go out & fail me.Thakfully I've been near either a fence or shelving when it's happened.I'm still doing the therapist recommended exercises.They help a bit.

Rapid barometric pressure changes are murder now too.I'd felt that hard ache in my knees,shins,& ankles for years.Now it's like the right knee wants to get noticed.

It's kinda wierd to have to concentrate on putting one foot after the other.As I've always been (luckily) healthy,it's new to me.

Oh yeah,the Doc wasn't able to get the cyst during the surgery.It's been on & off w/a vengance since a golf outing in early August.

Anyone else want to share?
*straighten your leg.Tighten your calf,quadriceps,& hamstring all @ the same time.Now squeeze harder.That's what it feels like-but all the time.
**before having the epidural I recomend peeing.As sensation returned I felt a slight chill in my nether regions.*sigh*

[BobR]

I had my knee done a few months ago. I had a medial meniscus tear. I also did the epidural, more about that later.

My doc did a two hole approach. He punched the holes through the skin at the joint. Very little muscle to go through.

I wanted the epidural so I could watch on the monitor. Of course they gave me a whiff of Versed before going to the OR so I don't remember much of getting there. I remember the epidural, which went quite well. Soon I was numb from the waist down. I remember having my leg painted with betadine, and even some of the procedure. There was a metal rod on the table right above my knee. I remember him using it to flex the joint by pulling my lower leg, giving him more room to work in. Then my back started to hurt, so I got some more versed and that was it. I remember nothing else till after it was over.

Once out of the OR I spent most of the time talking with the nurses who were curious about my job on the rez (ER nurse). I got food, drink and my wife came back to stay with me. It took forever for the epidural to wear off. I wasn't sure the boys were ever going to wake up. After what seemed forever (actually about 2.5 hours) I had had enough and told them I wanted to go. So they said go pee and u can go. I was wheeled to the bathroom, went pee (even though there was no feeling down there), got dressed, and was wheeled out to the car. 10 minutes later I was eating lunch down the street.

Since then I have had zero pain, am able to climb stairs pain free, and most importantly, can walk without pain after driving an hour or so.

After being non-weight bearing for 24 hours I tossed the crutches and started gentle range of motion exrercises, and was riding a stationary bicycle less than 48 hours later.

My only regret is I didn't do it all sooner. But then, I may not have had a doc that did the 2 hole approach, which has much less recovery time than the 3 hole approach.

bob

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

An entire thread.  Here:
http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/viewtopic.php?id=844

[Car Knocker]

Plateau fracture of the tibia (vertical fracture through the end of the bone). Three lagscrews holding it together.  A little too much bone ground off in the joint, making it unstable - I do this cute little dip on occasion when walking.  Don't recall too much about the surgery since the broken knee was minor compared to the other injuries.