Old Knees -Fixed-Update

Old Knees -Fixed-Update

Tuesday Afternoon April 19 2011 (third post in this series).

I wanted to do a quick follow-up on my knee surgery. When I last posted, it was the day of the surgery. At that time I had almost no pain. I should have known that I was still loaded with the surgical pain killer {grin}. The second and third day were a bit harder in terms of pain However, I was able to avoid using the darn crutches for all but the first part of the second day - instead gingerly putting my weight on the leg.

The pain, all things considered, was not all that bad. I only took a 3 or 4 pain pills and found out that the side affects were worse than the pain. After that, Advil took care of most of it. After just a few days, I was able to do almost everything, including stairs.

Yesterday, I had the stitches removed, and the doctor reviewed what he had done. As best as I understand it, they had to repair tears in two ligaments, remove a bunch of junk and smooth out the bone in a couple of places. Sounds like he found a bit more damage than expected. All seems well now.

He cleared me to fly (they want you to wait for two weeks – possible blood clot issues). That is good since I leave for California tomorrow.

Changing subjects, we continue to be overwhelmed by the response to Kelly's situation. Thank you all for your kind responses!!!!

Old Knees -Fixed

Old Knees -Fixed

Wednesday Evening April 6 2011 (Second post in this series).

Today I had arthroscopic surgery on my right knee. As I write this, it has been about 7 hours since the surgery was completed. With the exception of “pain” of not having my morning coffee, the surgery was a non-event {grin}.

I had the surgery done at what was called a Surgery Center. I was not aware of this type of facility. They specialize in outpatient surgeries that do not require a full service hospital. They make a point of differentiation between the two by pointing out that a hospital surgical facility must be staffed and equipped for every type of surgery.

My procedure was done at the Lowry Surgery Center (http://www.lowrysurgery.com/t_lowry.htm). It happens to be in the same medical building as Dr. Gersoff's office.

As a patient, there is no noticeable difference as compared to a formal hospital facility. The staff was very professional and I was attended to by several nurses. The anesthesiologist interviewed me and was very thorough in describing his function in the procedure. Dr. Gersoff gave Pat and I a good description of the procedure before the surgery and then talked to her afterward to make sure she felt comfortable with results of the surgery and the details of the recovery process.

As noted in the first post, the surgery was done to repair a fairly significant longitudinal tear in one of the ligaments and remove a bunch of “junk”.

I have been amazed at the fact that there is not a great deal of pain. I waited for 6 hours after I took to first pain medication to see if the pain was being masked by the medication. I told Pat that I wonder if they even did a procedure {grin}. Hopefully the pain will continue to be minimal.

They indicated that I would need to use crutches for the first couple of days, but that I could bear weight on the leg to a level of acceptable pain. Well, I have basically put full weight on it a few times and did not experience a great deal of pain. I am now using one crutch – only because they suggested that I would need crutches.

So, in a few days, I should be able to dance a jig – well maybe not dance a jig, but I should have full use of the leg without experiencing a bunch of pain.

Many of you have asked about the status of Kelly's breast cancer journey. There is not much to report. She has an appointment with a plastic surgeon next week. That will be about the last piece of the puzzle that will allow their family to make a decision what the level of surgery will be. We will keep you posted.

That is all for now.

Old Knees

Old Knees

Saturday Morning March, 26 2011 (First post in this series).

Well, our “travelogue” blog has taken yet another detour – again for medical issues.

If you have been reading our blog recently, you have been following our daughter Kelly's journey with breast cancer. Right now, there is not much to report, as they are waiting for the BRCA test results and that will guide their decision. She will have surgery in late April. In the interim, I will update her journey as information becomes available.

Since we have canceled our travel for the foreseeable future, I thought I would have a knee issue looked at by a specialist.

First some background. Over the past several years, I have had periodic problems with my right knee. Most of the problems were the result of “dinging” my knee doing something stupid. The first event was a skiing accident when I was in college {dirt had just been invented at the time}.

I had talked to my general practice doctors several times and they laid it off to osteoarthritis and just getting old. There was a tone in their voice that would suggest that they thought I was a wuss. The symptoms have come and gone over the years, but each time they came back, they got worse.

On March 5^th, I went skiing with Damon and the girls and from the time I first got off the lift, I knew I had a problem. I could not control the right ski without huge pain. By the end of the day, my knee was a mess.

I thought the symptoms would go away, but they did not. Damon suggested a clinic where he had shoulder surgery and treatment for a significant back injury. Thursday (3/24/11) I saw Dr. Gersoff and had both X-rays and an MRI. The MRI revealed a fairly significant longitudinal tear in a ligament and a lot of “junk” (cartilage?) in the knee. 

As a result I am scheduled for arthroscopic surgery on April 6^th.

I am impressed with Dr. Gersoff's credentials. He has been involved as a team doctor for several amateur and professional teams (http://www.advancedortho.org/physicians_gersoff.html).

The surgery will be straight forward. It will not require general anesthesia.

I have mixed emotions about the surgery. I don't think anyone wants to have their body invaded, but the pain has become rather persistent and has increased in intensity and I will be glad to get the problem fixed.

Bottom line, I guess I am not as big a wuss as had been suggested {grin}.