Medial meniscus repair

[BeckyNC]

Hi Cat,

Thanks for the advice! I was never told what to do after the first 48 hours (ice or no ice) and at the time didn't think to ask. I got back from PT about an hour ago and the PT told me to ice the knee 3x/day, which I will do. The PT was really great. He said working the knee some will help get rid of some fluid. I can now bend it! He also made fun of the way I was walking and helped me improve on that. My homework is to work on walking normally. Ha, ha!

The PT said he actually tore his meniscus in 2000 while playing tennis with an orthopedic surgeon. The OS did his surgery two days later.

Oh, my PT told me he grew up with Boxers (had 5 over the course of his childhood), but just isn't a dog person. Wow. I thought that was interesting!

Becky

 

[craZ4HERKIE]

Becky....I was just wondering how you're coming along after your knee surgery? I know it's been a couple of weeks, and you're probably well on the road to recovery, but just wanted to check and see how you and Tae are handling everything!

 

[BeckyNC]

Jessica--thanks for asking. My recovery is going great! If you were to look at my knee, you wouldn't even know I had surgery (incisions are almost gone and swelling is about 98% gone). I have three more PT sessions and by late December should be 100% (according to the PT). I have been careful not to overdo it b/c that's when things become painful. I had one episode of pain about a week after the surgery. I got up and dressed for work, then went to see the doc to have my stitches removed. The doc asked how the shoes I had on were working for me. I assured him they were just fine. Well, I was in pain all day at work. It was awful. I had no idea it was the shoes until about 5 days later when I tried to wear them again. I put them on and the light bulb clicked on! Those shoes, which are normally quite comfy, are temporarily banished to the back of the closet!

I had dog walkers walk Tae for the first 6 days and she got short (I mean short) walks some days after day 6, but last Monday we returned to two walks/day. The evening walk is shorter than usual still, but she has been fine.

I should correct the original title of my post. I did not have a meniscus repair, but rather the surgeon removed the torn piece. Since only the outer rim of the meniscus has vascularization (blood flow), tears to other parts cannot heal on their own. My tear was on the inside. Removal of the torn piece of cartilage (meniscectomy) allows for a very fast recovery vs. meniscus repair, which requires about 6 weeks on crutches.

 

[craZ4HERKIE]

Becky...I am glad to hear your recovry is going so well. The only surgery I've ever had was to have my tonsils removed, so I really can't imagine. I think it's kind of funny that the Dr. asked you about your shoes, he must have really known by looking at them they were going to cause you some pain. I often wonder, hopefully I won't talk anything up, what I would do if I had to have some sort of surgery or had a broken leg or foot( I worry over everything)...what in the world would I do about Herkie! I don't have too many people who would be willing to walk him. Anyway...I am glad to hear that you're recovering well, and I know Tae is thrilled...even though she did have a walker...there's no substitute for Mommy!

 

[Lael]

Becky, I'm also glad to hear you are doing well! No sweat, eh?

 

[BeckyNC]

Thanks Cat. Yah, no problems at all.

Something kind of strange did occur this week, but it has to do with my PT, not my knee. I have been working with 2 PTs, who have been great. After every appointment, I have noticed improvement. On Monday, we established both PTs used to work for a friend of mine. Well, they were fired between Monday and yesterday!

The PT place calls the day before each appointment and leaves a reminder message. Yesterday's message said I'd be seeing someone new b/c PT #1 no longer worked for the company. Huh? He made no mention of that to me. Based on the message, I also wondered if PT #2 was still there. I showed up today and, sure enough, she was gone, too! I did not care for the guy today at all. He started off doing all this funky stuff to me, rather than following the neatly outlined regimen in my records. I got really frustrated and told him I really needed to spend my time strengthening my quad muscles, rather than all this other nutso stuff. OK, I didn't refer to his nutso stuff as such, but you get the idea. I was really quite upset b/c I really thought highly of the other PTs and this guy took me off on a tangent and I only had 3 sessions left.

It gets stranger! My phone rings at 7:30 and it's my friend who used to manage the two fired PTs. She was at a conference today and someone told her PTs #1 and 2 were fired. She called to see if I was OK with everything and she even asked if I'd seen PT #3 by name. She knows of him and said he's very unconventional. I told her I was able to bring him back to the routine, but she offered to find someone else for me, if necessary. I think this guy's going to be OK b/c I made myself very clear. Oh, and she also told me PT #1 had some interpersonal issues, though he's a great PT. She was not shocked that he was fired. Crazy! ...never a dull moment, huh?

 

[Lael]

Whoa, drama in the PT clinic! Interesting ... I've never worked with two PTs before, always had just one. I wonder why they BOTH were fired. Something seems fishy to me.

The point is that you are receiving the treatment you paid for (or that your insurance paid for which is why you are paying your insurance - so I guess you did pay for it).

Talk about tangents.

Anyway, back to the subject ... That is weird. Good for you for taking a hold of your treatment and telling PT#3 where you stand. appicon