Anyone have this? Went to the ortho today & this is what he's thinking as he said it was a pretty positive test. LOL. Thought my eyeballs would pop out of my head when he turned my knee a certain way. Anyhow, MRI is being scheduled. After results are confirmed, doc said we'll discuss the surgery. Anyone have this surgery before? If so, how long are you "out of commission" for? Reason I ask is I have an international trip coming up to Bulgaria that will be 2 weeks in length. I will obviously discuss w/ doc but getting opinions from folks who've actually been down this road before. How long & what were you in...brace, cast, etc.? Thanks in advance. Stephanie--mom to 7
I had the surgery a couple of years ago. I'll try to get the wife on to tell you about my recovery as I'm not sure she would agree with my version of the story.
My Dad had that problem. He had surgery to repair it but it didn't work. He was still in pain and didn't have much movement. He had knee replacement surgery in January and is doing great now. I hope you aren't in too much pain.
what orthopedic are you using.....my daughter is going through this right now...MRI this week to find out for sure....surgery is not for sure...with a slight tear -no sense in having surgery it will heal on its own in time This is what we were told & I like this DR alot
We learned that his orthopedic should have ordered the MRI and not his doctor at Clayton Medical for it to be covered by his insurance. We got stuck on the hook paying for the MRI! So check with your insurance to be sure who needs to send you for the MRI if necessary. Aside from that... it was laproscopic day surgery at Rex, they made 3 small incisions to work in. DH came home with a water-cooled brace on his leg and was instruced to keep his leg up (so he laid on the couch or in bed for a few days). He didn't have to get any special brace to wear in the weeks to follow, he went back to work on the 3rd day after surgery and he did take the water-cooled brace with him incase he felt like he needed to put it on. He had crutches he didn't use, he preferred to hop around the house. They also found some arthritis in his knee when they repaired the tear, they opted not to remove it at the time of the surgery because they said it just regenerates faster when scraped down.
It's a piece of cake. Not a bad surgery at all. I have one now but we are waiting to see how the cortisone is working.. Good Luck!
Ditto on all of this. Identical to my ole lady's surgery/recovery. She recovered well but she's still mean as all get out. Some thangs never change.
i have a torn acl and meniscus , im in a good bit of pain and been limping around since may waiting for docs and therapy and surgery , but now ive got alot of lower back pain and got some arthritis in my lower back. doc wont do surgery till he fixes my back , powers at be wont ok the work on my back , so 5 months later im sitting around getting worse waiting for someone to crap or get off the pot..ill let you know how the surgery is but it sounds like youll get yours before i get mine lol. good luck!
Glad to hear it doesn't sound so bad & that most likely I'll be back to normal in a few days. I'm not so much worried about the surgery as I am flying to Bulgaria and back w/ a bummed leg. Glad it doesn't sound too bad. Now, do you think the kids will "wait on me" while I lay on the couch for a few days? LOL. Thanks for all the input everyone. You made it not so scary. Thanks. Stephanie--mom to 7
Don't know about yours but I aint never seen my kids wait on nothin. Don't worry too much about the surgery and recovery part. It aint like it used to be when they used to open the knee up. Three lil holes and some good drugsfor a couple days and you'll be good to go. Side note: you may be able to save some money by searching for someone who has one of those water cooler knee thangs. They are a lil bit pricey but there's plenty of folks who have them left over.
If it's like mine, it was included in the price of the surgery and you have no option of not getting the thing.
incidentally as a side note. They had to do my MRI twice, as the first time about half way through the MRI I fell asleep and the panic buzzer fell out of my hand and hit the floor sounding the buzzer.
They put it on you as soon as they were done the surgery. It was on you when you came to the recovery room. I don't think I would want to use someone elses that didn't come from the sterile environment of the operating room, not with the fresh incisions. Too many chances for an infection.
Agree. Plus, our insurance coverage is awesome. It will pay for it. Surgeries are covered 100% if they are deemed medically necessary of course. So is the MRI. I thought we were done w/ surgeries as my son is still in a wheelchair from his massive orthopedic work done and my other son recovered w/ his implant surgery for his deafness. thanks again for all the advice and opinions. Love it! Helps make me not so nervous for sure. Stephanie--mom to 7
I'm an orthopedic tech and our office does several meniscal repairs each week. usually recovery is really quick but you need to watch that your flight isn't too soon after surgery because of blood clots from sitting too long. as far as a small tear fixing itself- that is something that I have never seen. An mri isn't really necessary to diagnose a cartilage tear the doctor can tell by his exam then when he gets in there with the scope he can see all the cartilage to repair wherever it's torn.
thanks for the heads up on the flight. That's the thing I'm most worried about...flying too soon after surgery. About how long would you think flying would be okay after surgery? Keep in mind, the total time w/ travel & flights is around 24 to 36 hours depending on connecting hub. I'm definitely asking the doc b/c it's the last thing I'd want to happen. Trust me, I've spent time in a Russian ambulance before. I don't want anyone EVER to complain about healthcare in this country until they ride in one of those ambulances. LOL. Thanks for any insight you can provide about travel after surgery. How long would you deem safe? Also, most are saying 3 days of resting and then most are back to work. has this been true of most of the patients you've seen? Stephanie--mom to 7
