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Nervous about surgery

Posted , 2 users are following.

ash-cotton
ash-cotton

I'm having knee surgery on Wednesday. I was ran over by a car about 3 years ago and just now am having problems with it. I can barely walk without pain, heat, and swelling. My cartilage is either gone or all torn, so that's getting cleaned out. Then my dr will drill holes in my patella to cause bleeding, which in turn will grow scar tissue to replace the cartilage. Then, since my patella is unstable and completely off track, he Will make a hamstring graft to fix that. If I don't get the surgery, then I will be looking at a partial knee replacement in five years and a TKR in ten. I'm only 31. Has anyone else been through this or something similar? And if so, what can I expect and what will be helpful to know? It's the first time I've ever had a procedure like this, so I'm very nervous. Thanks in advance!

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • irish_linda
    irish_linda ash-cotton

    Posted

    no im afraid that i didnt  have your problem but after having two knees replaced and its no walk in the park ,so if you can get something now that might prevent you having a replacement then i would certainly go for it  here in ireland we dont do partial replacements (well i dont think they do) because its most likely that you would have to have a full sooner than later so if you ever have to go down that road id opt for full as its a hard surgery to have and you dont want to repeat it anytime soon believe me . you poor thing a car accident is an awfull thing and to have 3yrs of problems after it at such a young age .i do hope you have a very good surgeon and that he gives you back your young life .i wish you the very best next wednesday please let us know how you are after it in the next few weeks
    • ash-cotton
      ash-cotton irish_linda

      Posted

      Thank you so much. I had a family member who had knee replacement and I took her to physical therapy and watched her cry and beg them to stop. She says to this day she regrets getting it done (her dr told her she could have waited but she opted to get it over with) so I've seen first hand how painful it can be. I am just ready to get it over with, since the pain gets worse every day it seems.I only worked four hours last night and was about in tears by I got off work. Thankfully my spouse has a great career and will have six weeks paid medical leave to take if I need him. My dr said some people are back to normal in three weeks, some in six. However since he does both procedures several times a week, he hasn't had a patient who had them simultaneously so we're not sure how long recovery will be. I will also have physical therapy after a few days of my knee being immobilized.
    • irish_linda
      irish_linda ash-cotton

      Posted

      well id say that with most knee surgerys id say 3wks is very conservative, there is one thing ive found from knee surgery is that the recovery is sometimes slow so be prepared for that make sure you take meds after for pain as id say you will have some for awhile , dont give them up too quick and take all the help you can get .and try not be to impatient with recovery
    • ash-cotton
      ash-cotton irish_linda

      Posted

      Surgery was Wednesday. I'm doing ok, however my pain is a lot worse than I thought it would be. The patient who was slotted to have surgery before me cancelled, so everyone was in a rush to get me prepped for surgery. I didn't get a nerve block because when I asked for info about it (I had no idea I'd be having one ahead of time) so the nurse just said they would forgo the block. I woke up screaming! I wish I had it! Anyway, I'm doing better. I just have to set an alarm to take my med or I forget and end up in a lot more pain. (Even had to call the Dr on call last night.) I have five(!) incisions that I know of. Hopefully it's all up from here. I lost all strength in my quad, so I can't even lift my own leg. And I wake up every morning with searing spasms (both are perfectly normal according to my nurse). I'm just ready to rehab my knee and function somewhat normally.
    • irish_linda
      irish_linda ash-cotton

      Posted

      the start is not easy  !!! that for sure ,so try to stay positive , quads being week is very annoying just put your belt from your dressing gown around your foot and lift it  before long you will be doing it yourself without thinking about it just think every day you will improve !! think of it this way you have come through the op without a problem  all positive keep going and keep posting
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