Josephine
NURSE DIRECTOR EMERITA
I saw my knee surgeon today. Changed from the guy I was seeing before because this one has taken over as THE knee expert! Well, once we got past his telling me about the two additions to his family (his now has three little ones all under 5!) and how stressed out he was on account of it, we got down to the big issue - my knee!
He checked out the arthroscopy photos taken by the other surgeon and had me walk up and down and then crouch - which I found, much to my surprise, I could do reasonably well. He looked as surprised as I was!
The he pummeled and pulled at the knee in the accustomed fashion. I think the OS Hippocratic Oath must have a section added to find 'the spot' and then ask you in such a casual manner "Does that hurt" while you're clenching your fists to your mouth to stop emitting that howl of anguish! It's definitely a skill!
He was about to send me for an xray when I handed him the cd-rom with the films from Stanmore last August. He was content to look at those and went through all the pointers in them and in the photographs.
So the conclusion is that whilst I have exposed bone in some areas on the medial side, oddly they are not in the significant weight bearing areas! He said he would have been inclined to a uni except there is early evidence of disease in the lateral compartment which therefore rules it out. A TKR is the best option which I already knew,
When I mentioned about going to Stanmore to see if I was suitable for MIS, he told me it was all but phased out in the UK now owing to the unacceptably high rate of failures.
However, all things considered, he was of the opinion that functionally, all evidence to the contrary, my knee was in better shape than he (or I) had a right to expect and the best treatment at the moment it to leave well alone, that my episodes of pain were so infrequent and short lived an arthroscopic wash-out was not indicated either. I was told I could contact him for a further appointment whenever I felt the need.
I departed in good spirits but with a slight limp which a period of retail therapy soon sorted out! I'm greatly encouraged!
Whilst I was there I took the opportunity to ask him about knees that underwent an exacerbation of condition after an arthroscopy and he agreed it could happen but usually in cases where the surgeon had been over-enthusiastic and trimmed and snipped at the rough areas in an attempt to make them look more tidy.
He checked out the arthroscopy photos taken by the other surgeon and had me walk up and down and then crouch - which I found, much to my surprise, I could do reasonably well. He looked as surprised as I was!
The he pummeled and pulled at the knee in the accustomed fashion. I think the OS Hippocratic Oath must have a section added to find 'the spot' and then ask you in such a casual manner "Does that hurt" while you're clenching your fists to your mouth to stop emitting that howl of anguish! It's definitely a skill!
He was about to send me for an xray when I handed him the cd-rom with the films from Stanmore last August. He was content to look at those and went through all the pointers in them and in the photographs.
So the conclusion is that whilst I have exposed bone in some areas on the medial side, oddly they are not in the significant weight bearing areas! He said he would have been inclined to a uni except there is early evidence of disease in the lateral compartment which therefore rules it out. A TKR is the best option which I already knew,
When I mentioned about going to Stanmore to see if I was suitable for MIS, he told me it was all but phased out in the UK now owing to the unacceptably high rate of failures.
However, all things considered, he was of the opinion that functionally, all evidence to the contrary, my knee was in better shape than he (or I) had a right to expect and the best treatment at the moment it to leave well alone, that my episodes of pain were so infrequent and short lived an arthroscopic wash-out was not indicated either. I was told I could contact him for a further appointment whenever I felt the need.
I departed in good spirits but with a slight limp which a period of retail therapy soon sorted out! I'm greatly encouraged!
Whilst I was there I took the opportunity to ask him about knees that underwent an exacerbation of condition after an arthroscopy and he agreed it could happen but usually in cases where the surgeon had been over-enthusiastic and trimmed and snipped at the rough areas in an attempt to make them look more tidy.