My Meniscus Repair Surgery

April 12th, 2012, 11:30 a.m.

I’m heading over to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City soon to have the meniscus tears in my right knee repaired.  http://www.tout.com/m/o4m0xc --- It’s been months of pain, limited range of motion, swelling, better one day, hurting the next, not being able to run, jog, lunge, squat, kick-box, do yoga, and sometimes waking up during the night with pain. The last 3 months have been a complete lifestyle crimp, a cautious, slow-motioned existence, many days feeling like an old lady who has to be careful going up and down a simple step. Something I never worried about.  (Yeah, welcome to middle-age, I know.)

I learned that meniscus tears are quite common, especially in the sports world. They sometimes heal on their own and sometimes they don’t, as in my case. Jeremy Lin, the Knicks basketball player, recently had the same procedure and I serendipitously found his doctor, IN MY NETWORK, Dr. Answorth Allen. 

Dr. Allen

According to MedicalNet.com:   http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=14859

Meniscus injury: Injuries to the crescent-shaped cartilage pads between the two joints formed by the femur (the thigh bone) and the tibia (the shin bone). The meniscus acts as a smooth surface for the joint to move on. The two menisci are easily injured by the force of rotating the knee while bearing weight. A partial or total tear of a meniscus may occur when a person quickly twists or rotates the upper leg while the foot stays still (for example, when dribbling a basketball around an opponent or turning to hit a tennis ball). If the tear is tiny, the meniscus stays connected to the front and back of the knee;  ** if the tear is large, the meniscus may be left hanging by a thread of cartilage. The seriousness of a tear depends on its location and extent.

***That’s the type of tears I have, hence the surgery.

A few weeks ago I saw one of the first of a few different doctors for this injury. I point blank asked him, “What are my options?”  He point blank told me, “You can live with it and it will probably get worse, or you can have the surgery, fix it, and be better than ever.”  The thought of never being able to jog or do the physical activities that I love so much, and since my livelihood is fitness training, I knew I had to opt for the surgery. 

I’m feeling anxious, as this is the first real operation I’ve ever had, but eager to get back to my normal activities with a healthy knee. They predict 4-6 weeks for a full recovery, with exercises I’ll do on my own as well as physical therapy. I definitely get the impression that one must work hard to make this type of surgery a complete success.  That’s what I’m going to do, and aiming to document the journey.

2:45 p.m.

My items packed, crutches in hand, I head downstairs to the street and hail a cab. My driver was curious and asked me if I was going to pick someone up from the hospital.  “No, I’m going over for knee surgery.”  “You?” he asks.  “Yes, me.”  He then proceeded to wish me luck in Yiddish and made me laugh, which eased my anxiety. 

A total stranger expressing his concern was just what I needed right then!


My Cabbie!---- http://www.tout.com/m/q677zo

3:30 p.m.

I arrived on time and I must say HSS has their customer/patient care down to a friendly science. Check-in at the front desk, move on to the paperwork, where a nice, super funny young man went over everything with me.  I signed this, initialed that and then he asked me if I had a will. No, I embarrassingly admitted. (Mental note...make a will.)

“Would you like to sign a proxy appointing someone to make decisions for you if needed?”  

“You mean, if I die in surgery?” I asked.  He chuckled and said, well, we try not to put it that way, but yes.

I signed my husband as the first with power of attorney, then my mother as the second. There was also a section to donate your organs if something “goes wrong.”

I signed that, the nice gentleman my witness, and I made another mental note to change my driver’s license to donor status.

Waiting right behind me was Michael, the PT guy.  Paper work done, he took me to a special area and gave me a few quick lessons on how to use my crutches and some simple exercises I could start doing the day after surgery.  Very helpful information.

I then went to the waiting area, with a gorgeous view of the East River. At this point, no complaints except I’m still anxious and starving, as you can’t eat 8-12 hours prior to surgery. Before long another nice young gentlemen took me back to the “holding pen” where I had my own little room with a bed, TV and a warm blanket. Undress, change into scratchy huge gown, nurse comes in, blood pressure, clean the area to be operated on, urine sample (again) stats, hook up to IV, etc.  More questions, (they really make sure you are who you say you are and you know which body part is being operated on, tedious, but reassuring.)

4:20 p.m.

Now the real waiting began. I was expecting this waiting so I focused on staying calm. Judge Judy was on the tube, I love Judge Judy.  A few more visits from assisting doctors, more questions, etc.  Dr. Allen paid a quick visit, and I told him I wasn’t aware I had a “celebrity” doctor. He was very modest and mentioned he works on “all those guys.” He signed my knee, gave me a fist bump, and was on his way.

Then Dr. Harris, the anesthesiologist comes strolling in. He had a big smile and we chatted a while. By now it’s about 5:30 so we joked about going out for Margaritas and Nachos, then I mentioned I wouldn’t mind a Big Mac, either.  We decided on general anesthesia as opposed to a spinal block because I would have to stay several more hours in recovery before I’d get the feeling back in my legs and be able to stand up. I’m the type who would just as soon be asleep and wake up with it all over, anyway.

6:20 p.m.

After more waiting another gentleman comes in and whisks me away to the operating room, giving me no time to think. I was escorted through big red doors and down a long corridor, the temperature dropping quickly as we approached the operating room. I was told “don’t touch anything draped in blue” --which was just about everything in the room.  Seeing as I was clutching the back of my gown so my ass wasn’t exposed and holding the IV bag in the other hand I found this amusing.

There was a total party vibe going on, great jazz music blasting, everyone smiling and joking and buzzing around. I was simultaneously freaking out and ready to bust a move.

Showtime!!! It happened quickly, on the bed, head here, legs here, heart monitor pads slapped on. I'm staring at the up at the incredibly high ceiling, with all types of lights and tubes when Dr. Harris appears, hovering over me and says, “nighty-night." He injects something into my IV.  That’s all I remember until I woke up in recovery with excruciating, burning pain. I can’t recall that much pain in my life. Tears, hyperventilating pain. (Lucky most of us moms only remember the high points of giving birth.)

7:45 p.m.

In recovery, they shot some more juice into my IV, gave me a couple of pain pills, a few saltines and the best tasting ginger ale on earth. It took about 30 minutes for everything to kick in, and even though I was still experiencing a lot of pain, I didn’t quite mind it as much!  A bit more waiting to make sure I was ready to leave, the expert staff checking my vitals, making sure I was able to urinate, etc.

8:45 p.m.

By now my husband had arrived and they asked him to wait in the lobby for me to come down.  My items packed, I was loaded into a wheel chair by another sweet nurse and taken downstairs to my husband, who had a car waiting. It was a quick ride from the east side to our home on the west side. I was very happy to get upstairs and into my own bed. My kids were great, lots of sympathy and fetching me what I needed.  The burning wasn’t as bad, the meds were still kicking, and my husband ordered me a grilled chicken caesar salad from the diner, brought to me on a tray.  I spent a little time on FB and Twitter, receiving warm wishes and encouragement from friends. At times like this I think FB was invented for just for me.  Thank you to my friends near and far!

It was a rough night, quite a bit of pain and not much sleep. I’m a side sleeper and that was impossible. I finally dozed off around 3:30 and unfortunately my internal clock went off at 6:30 am.


4/13/12, early morning

But the sun is shining this morning, my family attentive and the pain has diminished a bit.  I’m grateful my organs weren’t needed and relieved this phase of the journey is over!


To be continued...

4/14/12 --- 9:15 pm

Ok...so yesterday was painful, but I made it outside twice with my cruthces, grateful for Michael, the PT guys instructions. He gave me a few pointers that made all the difference and I was able to get around a few blocks and up and down a few steps.  I laid low, trying to elevate my leg, rest, etc.  And then about 5:30 yesterday the guy with the "AirCast" showed up and I hooked that baby up and that seemed to help (It felt good, anyway.)

It's been a little over 48 hours so I took the bandage off and this is what's underneath:

It appears as though there are 3 incisions and it feels good to have the bandage off yet my knee cap feels like it's sort of painfully floating around. I just put a clean t-shirt over my knee for protection and have the "AirCast" on and I can really feel the pressure and the cooling better and it feels soooooo good.  Hoping the swelling will go down some more now.
This morning and this afternoon I started the PT exercises they gave me to do at home.
That's about it for now, hopefully going to get some sleep!

to be continued....

April 19th, 2012

It's one week today since surgery and it's been a bit rougher than I expected, but than again, our bodies are amazingly resilient.
Finally starting the PT tomorrow and I'm looking forward to getting the professional attention I need to recover properly and safely.

Pic of my knee today...getting some sunshine and fresh air in NYC.

Extreme Close-Up of Incision One Week After Surgery

I would say the hardest part is that the pain is greater than you are prepared for, not insanely so, but it's very real, and the loss of range of motion is frustrating. I just can't bend my knee but a little bit.  It has gotten better since surgery, of course, but still very limited.
One thing that was very important and has made a big difference is the attention and detail I received before surgery about how to walk with the crutches, etc.  Thumbs up (use good leg for stepping up) Thumbs down (use the bad leg for stepping down.)  Living in a city this has been crucial because there are many ups and downs every where I go!

to be continued....

5/15/12

A little over 4 weeks since the surgery. Still having pain but range of motion is much better. I've been taking my Physical Therapy very seriously, going twice a week, and I think that is super important. I do exercises to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knee, as well as to increase range of motion. Then the therapists "work" on me, my favorite part! Well, actually it can be very painful when they stretch and press and pull, but when they get in there and massage it's that pain that feels good. Some nights after a tough PT I really feel it, my knee swells and I have to ice it again. But overall it's coming along.
There's a part of me that's wondering if I'll ever be able to truly jog/run again or if this will be something I'll have to deal with the rest of my life. I'm hoping my diligence with the therapy, icing, etc. will pay off in the long run.
More to come soon---
Later...

8/11/12---

I haven't checked in regarding this procedure in so long---sorry for the delay but overall I've been doing well and for the most part glad I had the surgery.  I have a few days here and there (when I over do it) and feel some pain, but my range of motion is back to about 90 %!!!  Considering I couldn't sit down without pain/swelling before the surgery, that's saying a lot!  I'm back to "lightly" jogging--light on the feet, you never want to slam down running, anyway, and that's been so awesome!

If you're considering this surgery (and if you are I'm sure it's because you've gotten to a point where you need to improve your quality of life) let me know if you have any questions.
Definitely get a few opinions from different doctors and choose a time where you can take at least 2-6 weeks to do serious PT.

1/8/13

Knee is basically 100%! NO regrets and just hope I don't have to ever get the other knee operated on!
Stay healthy and listen to your body and don't IGNORE nagging pains---you never know what really might be going on.

5/18/13

Went for a run in Riverside Park yesterday morning. Felt so good, knee doing great and I was flying!
I was just thinking about where I was a year ago--still working hard at rehab, some pain, swelling, etc.
There are still days here and there where I feel a little "twinge"--just an awareness that my knee went through trauma. But I'll say it again...having the surgery was the best thing I could have done! Thanks, Dr. Allen--you rock and if I ever have knee issues again you'll be seeing me!


Best of luck to you!
Laura