kolovson@hplabs.UUCP (03/13/85)
I'm considering having arthoscopic knee surgery. Has anyone had this done, and if so, what were the results? I've talked to some people who've had it done, and I find that the results were varied. Some were better than before the operation, while others were not. Obviously, the results are dependent on the person's condition prior to the operation as well as on the skill that the doctor has who performs the surgery. Any comments? Thanks in advance, Curt Kolovson (hplabs!kolovson)
jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (03/15/85)
> I'm considering having arthoscopic knee surgery. Has anyone had this done, > and if so, what were the results? I've talked to some people who've had > it done, and I find that the results were varied. Some were better than > before the operation, while others were not. Obviously, the results are > dependent on the person's condition prior to the operation as well as on > the skill that the doctor has who performs the surgery. Any comments? > Thanks in advance, > > Curt Kolovson (hplabs!kolovson) I had arthroscopy done on my right knee about 3 years ago. I've always had problems with my joints, and so when my knee started hurting more than usual, I shrugged it off. However, after a while, it got so painful I could hardly walk so I decided to go to a doctor before I had to be carried in. He x-rayed, poked, prodded and yanked (the examination was VERY painful) and told me I was going into the hospital in two weeks. I went in on a Sunday, was operated on (for less than an hour) on Monday and walked (limped) out on Tuesday morning. I went back to work the following Monday. Now, what did this do to/for me ? They expected to find chunks of torn cartilage floating around and did not - it seems my joint just naturally separated so far that the cartilage was floating around freely and getting pinched under the kneecap. So they did nothing at all ! I had 3 stitches - one hole for the fiber optics thingie, and two for the doctors instruments. They insisted on knocking me out, when what I really wanted was to watch my knee on TV. The upshot of all this was the the combination of the rest I had to give the leg, and the exercise regimen I was given, did work to fix the problem. The surgery itself was not at all difficult and was quickly recovered from. Blue Cross/Blue Shield payed for everything but the phone in my hospital room. -- jcpatilla "'Get stuffed !', the Harlequin replied ..."