Surgery Time...

Next Wednesday, July 21st, is my scheduled surgery for the knee. Let's hope it's the last one for a while...

I met with Dr. Ramsey this morning to go over the MRI and my options. Basically, he said, "We're at the point where we need to go in and scope your knee if you're going to see any kind of improvement."

The results of the MRI were sketchy. The drill bit really caused a lot of problems, both for him and the radiologist.

Here's the good news: Both my ACL and PCL are intact. This means I don't have any tears in my ligaments.

The bad news: I have a torn meniscus (we knew that) and a cyst. He didn't seem to think this was surprising... so neither do I.

But, the rest of the results start with a phrase, "Metallic susceptibility artifact obscures..." Translation: "Drill bit prevented a good MRI of the entire knee."

Dr. Ramsey then walked me through what he believes is going on. He said with the "force" of the impact, it took tremendous energy to break that kneecap. He said it's his belief that the meniscus tore at that moment because that is a normal occurrence if the patella breaks.

He asked me again, "So did your previous surgeon scope the knee?" I said I have no idea... and told him I never heard the term "scope" or "meniscus" after my surgery (as dimly lit as my pilot light was after being under) or in subsequent office visits... including the surgery to remove the hardware.

So here's the deal...

This week I need to follow up with my regular doctor to see if the new meds she put me on brought down my blood pressure. If it hasn't come down, then I need to reschedule the surgery. (notice that I'm trying to get this over with as fast as possible)

On Monday I go in for my pre-op work. Hopefully that won't be as long as before. This time it's done in his office... if you remember my last 2 took half a day of me walking around the hospital. I know my surgery is Wednesday, but I don't have the time yet. Probably in the morning.

Wednesday's surgery will last about an hour, but I'll be there for about 3 hours. He's going to make about 5 incisions to work around the knee... arthroscopic. He's going to fill the knee with fluid so it swells up and allows him to work. That fluid will stay in my knee for about 24 hours, which will alleviate the pain when I come out. But, after 24 hours, I'm really going to be feeling the pain.

When he goes in, he's going "scope" the knee. Part of this will be to use a camera to check out everything (and take pictures for me to keep). He's going to repair the meniscus, remove any scar tissue, and "shave" down any bumpiness. He'll also check the other meniscus and remove any "loose bodies." I assume that means cysts or bone fragments. We'll see. Probably something I should have asked...

Personal Note: I hope the pics show the trauma of the break. I really want to see what my bone looks like and what I'm feeling through the skin.

After the surgery, I should be in pain for the next 2-3 days. I'll be on crutches for 5 days, and he really doesn't want me returning to work for two weeks. I can work from home, so that should be fine.

The big concern after this surgery is blood clots, so I'll have some exercises I have to do to move both my feet so that doesn't happen.

Nine days after surgery, I'll go in and see him and should start physical therapy right after that. PT will last about 4 weeks, 3 times a week.

He also reaffirmed that from what he saw on the MRI and the X-Rays, I should never run again. Or, more specifically, "I can't run." Even after hearing that multiple times, it's still not the greatest of comments.

Which means my next hobby will most likely be "biker." I know certain people reading this will say "swim," but I don't really enjoy that. I do like biking, so that is probably my next best sport.

Going back to the scheduled date: I chose this because I want to get this part of my life on the fast lane and reduce the daily pain at least somewhat. My nephews are coming to visit my parents next week, so I know it's going to be a scheduling nightmare for my mom. I'm sure Joel will help out.

Anyway, that's all I know...