Surgery!

Discussion in 'Injuries and Prevention' started by narcsarge, Dec 14, 2007.

  1. narcsarge

    narcsarge Masticated Whey

    Well I finally have an answer to why my left knee has been such a bother. A torn meniscus. Surgery is scheduled for January 15th and my Sports Orthopedic surgeon is one of the best in the county. The practice has ties to many of the local sports team and some of the Major League teams that have spring training here.

    Though it is a bit too soon to say with 100% certainty, the Dr. sees no reason why I won't able to get back to normal workouts after rehab. Same goes with my TKD training. Until then, I will be doing what I can for my lower body but upper body should not be affected. I will keep you all informed ...

    Narc
     
  2. wrydolphin

    wrydolphin Pirates... yaarrrr Supporter

    Good luck!

    I have seen patients rehabbing after this surgery, you should do just fine.
     
  3. narcsarge

    narcsarge Masticated Whey

    Thanks Wry! Coming from you, that carries a lot of weight!
     
  4. slipthejab

    slipthejab Hark, a vagrant! Supporter

    Right on Narc. Get that bad boy fixed and get back to it!
    I think fixing meniscus is a fairly minor operation these days. So you should be back on your feet in no time. Good luck and God speed! :)
     
  5. wrydolphin

    wrydolphin Pirates... yaarrrr Supporter

    When I was in rehab for my ACL there were little old ladies in for that surgery and they were running rings around me. It was down right humiliating. :D
     
  6. Hiroji

    Hiroji laugh often, love much

    All the best Narc!

    A fit old guy like you will be fine with the recovery!! :p

    like silp said, good luck & god speed bud! ;)
     
  7. Colucci

    Colucci My buddies call me Chris.

    Best of luck, Sarge. My gal and I will keep you in our thoughts and send our wishes for the surgeon to be having a great day on the 15th. :D

    Glad to hear to snagged a solid rehab doc. Look forward to hearing about your recovery.
     
  8. donb

    donb restless spirit

    Good luck to you!!! I've worked with a lot of meniscal tears following surgery and they usually bounce back if the person has been active/athletic prior to surgery. One tip tho', do some isometrics with your quads and hamstrings to keep your muscles toned prior to surgery so you don't have to make up for it afterwards.
     
  9. narcsarge

    narcsarge Masticated Whey

    Thank you all! Especially donb. That is a piece of advice I will make sure that I use. Since my sig-other had her knee scoped twice, I have most of the rehab stuff here already. Wobble board, therabands, and some ankle weights. The best thing is that I should be able to do squats again. Hopefully by mid February! I do appreciate all the well wishes for you all. I will be sure to let you all know how things go. Might start a thread after surgery that will follow my rehab. Thanks again everyone, it is deeply appreciated...

    Narc
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2007
  10. donb

    donb restless spirit

    For as long as there's no pictures/videos wearing patient gowns with parts exposed......(sorry, my bad)
     
  11. g-bells

    g-bells Don't look up!

    your a beast narc and i'm sure you'll be back in no time
     
  12. Lily

    Lily Valued Member

    All the best narc. Can you make sure you post pics of you in the hospital gown (you know the one with the big slit in it?) :p
     
  13. Ular Sawa

    Ular Sawa Valued Member

    Lousy news to have around your birthday. Take it easy and don't push yourself too hard in the recovery process. Healing isn't as quick and easy as it used to be. That would be the voice of experience.

    And don't necessarily feel compelled to post those hospital gown pictures.

    Best of luck. Cheers....
     
  14. narcsarge

    narcsarge Masticated Whey

    Gown pictures? Hmmmm...

    Only if the Misses takes them. I will take pics of the knee before and after surgery. It will be arthroscopic so no big incisions. Rehab is pretty straight forward:

    Increase ROM (range of motion)
    Strengthen entire leg
    Strengthen patellar tendon/quadracepts tie in.

    Unlike Wry's ACL surgery, this surgery will be just to clean the tear in the meniscus. Sort of like sanding down the thing and to get rid of any parts that tend to catch and rub on knee. This will also get rid of the fluid that has built up in certain areas. The way the Dr. described it was like the fluid is there because it is needed to help flush the joint when the meniscus tear gets caught and irritated.
     
  15. Taffyleigh

    Taffyleigh Valued Member

    All the best with that Narc, you will have to let me know how you get on as I injured my Left knee in January due to an accident at work, i am still having alot of problems with it and supposed to be going for an MRI scan, could be same problem as yours.
     
  16. narcsarge

    narcsarge Masticated Whey

    Surgery Completed!

    Here is how the surgery went. I went to the surgical clinic (outpatient) @ 11:00am Tuesday morning. Filled out more paper work and waited. I was then called back to the pre-op area where my temp and blood pressure were taken and I was asked to change into one of those wonderful surgical gowns. My left arm and hand were shaved for IV placement. My left hand was numbed up and the IV inserted. My wife sat with me for a bit and then I was walked into the surgical theater. I entered the room at around 1:00pm. I laid down on the table while my arms were strapped, execution style, out to my sides. I was given a little hose for Oxygen during the procedure and then it was lights out! I was out for about an hour.

    During the surgery the Dr. found a small tear in the ACL that was minor and did not need any correction. He cleaned up the torn meniscus and cleaned up the Plica (a piece of tissue that runs across the knee). If the Plica rubs against the femar, as in my case, it gets irritated and causes pain. He also found a small fracture to my knee cap. All in all, nothing major and I was out the door at 2:15pm. I spent the entire day rotating ice on and off my knee. No pain, no discomfort at all. I was walking with one crutch just to be safe. The Doctor had said I could put weight on my left leg as soon as I wanted.

    The next day, Wednesday, I awoke and just a bit stiff in my knee. Bending the knee sometimes made it sound like I was walking on a damp sponge! All squishy like! Sounded really strange. Took it easy around the house still not wanting to do too much. I tested my range of motion and found that my real issue is when I pulled my heel to my butt. Right behind the knee it was sore. Prior to the surgery the MRI revealed a small area of fluid would grow with inflammation due to trama. I decided to start with Motrin for swelling and the slight discomfort.

    Today, I woke up and have been less reliant on the crutch. I still have the pain issue behind the knee but no other pain. ROM is good and I unwrapped the knee. The two small scope holes looked good. No signs of infection and one was still bleeding a bit. Nothing but bandaids on my knee now. I had a bit of a fever right before bed last night (99.1F) but took some Motrin and this morning Temp is normal. Plan for today is to walk more without the crutch.
     
  17. wrydolphin

    wrydolphin Pirates... yaarrrr Supporter

    Sounds great!

    You'll be back to full scale in a matter of weeks. :)
     
  18. Johnno

    Johnno Valued Member

    All the best with the rehab Sarge. Hope you're 'fighting fit' again very soon! :)
     
  19. Cait

    Cait da Bionic is BACK!

    Geez, Sarge, yours went way easier than mine! Kudos to you! Hope it all continues well & you're back in top shape soon!
     
  20. CosmicFish

    CosmicFish Aleprechaunist

    Good stuff Narc! Hope you make a speedy recovery. :)
     

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