guam's osteotomy

[guam]

after searching for the past 4.5 years for an ortho who can figure out what's wrong with my knees, i've finally found one who doesn't tell me there's nothing that can be done and i can look forward to knee replacement in the future.  thank you kneegeeks for helping me to find Dr. Mark Sanders in gainesville, texas.  from the start, he answered my emails and gave me his phone number.

anyway, we originally schedule to have a few tests done and scoping the knee in hopes of finding something the other orthos haven't seen.  upon doing the tests and scope, he finds that i have varus knees and that the cartilage in my lateral compartment is pretty ugly.  apparently,  this has been causing my problems all these years, so he decides on an osteotomy after consulting with dr. teitge.

immediately after the news. i decide i'm gonna go back to guam and try to finish some work before i'm an invalid for a few weeks, and then make my way back to gainesville (24 hours of flight and transit time) on my own for the surgery.  after having read all the post op recovery reports from other orthos and advice on what to expect from other knee geeks, i'm kind of scared and anxious. 
i hear no weight bearing for 6 weeks and i should be satisfied with 90 degree flexion after the 2nd week.
i'm thinking i made a big mistake traveling on my own and enduring the flight back home, which i scheduled for this friday.  4 days after the surgery.

fast forward to yesterday, dec. 18, 2011.  after the surgery, the pain isn't that bad and i'm shown pictures of the plate in my leg.  my leg is heavily bandaged up and it's kind of hard to move, so i'm thinking 90 degrees flexion is still far away.  i'm told 2 days hospitalization, thinking i may need more. 

8am the next day, dr. sanders sees me and removes all the heavy bandages and starts bending my leg past 90 degrees and telling me to start stretching it past that point.  then he tells me i'm gonna be weight bearing.  i'm thinking this guy's crazy after everything i've read.  but sure enough, here i am laying in my hospital bed (not even 24 hours after surgery) doing stretches where my leg is going past 120 degrees. and i just came from a walk where the doc took my crutches from me.  i walked extremely slow and careful but i walked on my own with no help.  i'll still be using my crutches though.

holy crap!  everything i've read isn't the see all, be all.  based on what i've read, i'm at 1 month recovery.  he told me not to get too excited yet and that it will be a long recovery, but i'm so happy that i'm able to do what i can.  praying and crossing my fingers that i've finally found the cure after 4.5 years of stopping many sports i used to love.  i still have to do the other leg, but i'm optimistic i'll be able to do my old sports by the end of this year.  that's my timetable if the world doesn't end.

will keep you posted

[Dave258]

Congrats on finally finding and fixing the problem!  It took me three Doctors to finally find my real problem.  I am now 12 days post-op from my TTT, and doing well!
Good luck in your recovery!  I wish I was on as an aggressive recovery plan as Dr. Mark uses!

[WonkeyDonkey]

Hi guam

I am 5 1/2 week post HTO and if you can bend your leg over 120 degrees than its better than me. I can only manage 85 degrees on my own, with some pain! Two weeks ago I was only at 30 degrees. I am only just moving from two to one crutch and putting more weight through my operated leg. However I am really please with my op, as my knee feels no pain in the medial part anymore, only tightness and swelling from the op.

Keep positive and keep up with the physio. Glad you found the solution to your knee problems after years of problems and not being able to do all the things you want to do. I know the feeling!!

WD

[guam]

even though i'm happy with my results so far, i can't get too excited.  dr. mark reminded me that i have a long road to recovery.  he's just very aggressive with the exercises and i'm glad he is.   they changed my dressing today and it looks like i'm gonna have a cool scar. 
had a little bleeding this morning on my incision after my somewhat aggressive walk.  my spinal epidural kicked into my operated leg and now i can only do leg pumps since my leg is numb from my thigh to my knee, so movement is currently limited.
i can't wait til i can surf, snowboard, practice jiujitsu, and workout again.  and i can't wait til i can do these activities with my nephews and nieces.  it's gonna be a while but i think it helps to have goals to look forward to. 
it's been a really long road for me to get here.  i'm praying that i heal right and will leave it all in the hands of God and dr. mark. 
now, if only that damn mayan calendar is wrong regarding the end of the world being about the same time i should be fully recovered on both knees.

[Maryannegb]

Great news Guam - you are doing really well!

I am 3 weeks post op from a TTT LR and chondroplasty and you are doing better than me too! I can only bend to around 70 degrees and I'm still on crutches and in a straight leg splint!

Keep up the great progress and good on you for setting some goals! I look forward to following your post op journey! 

[guam]

getting released today.  they removed the spinal epidural a few hours ago so i have feeling in my leg again.  able to do all the exercises and slight weight bearing on my leg again.  don't wanna overdo it though.  pain meds and aspirin really doing a number on my stomach, but it's bearable

[guam]

day 3 after the op and i'm now in my hotel with no effects of the epidural anymore.  so now i can get a true feel of the post op.  it is sore.  lucky i can still get the knee to bend to about 120 degrees.  it is slightly more painful than yesterday, but it's bearable.  i think the worst thing right now is going across the parking lot every 3 hours to fill up my cryocuff with ice.  i don't know if i noted, but i came to texas for this operation by myself from guam.  doing things after the operation, while difficult, is doable.  it just took some planning.  what i didn't plan on was staying after christmas.  my 20 hours of flight and layovers is scheduled for tomorrow and the airline wants to charge me $700 to change it.  i may have to suck it up and just fly out tomorrow.  i have pain meds, nsaids, cryocuff, and blood thinners for the plane ride. 
i'm moving ok on my own with crutches.  cryocuff is a godsend.  so is cable tv and internet. 
for now, all i can do is my exercises and keep hoping for the best and plan for the worst.
wish me luck

[LisaDX]

You are one brave guy! Dealing with surgery while in our own homes is rough, but in a motel room!? I've lived in Guam and remember how long that flight was. Can the airline give you at least a bulkhead seat so you will have room to stretch out? In the meantime, can you ask hotel management to assist you in ice procurement? I think the walk to the ice machine isn't doing you any favors. What does Dr. Mark say about you flying so soon?

Will look forward to hearing more about your recovery. I hope for the very best for you.
Lisa

[guam]

Dr. Mark suggests I fly out on Monday, but airline wont budge on flight fee of $700, so im gonna take my flight back one leg at a time on scheduled time. They're gonna give me bulkhead seating the whole way, but I'll change flight at any leg and stay with friends if I don't feel comfortable at any point. Friends are on standby at each leg. Thankful for that. Getting the ice across the way has actually helped my flexibility. Im thankful im able to move around as well as I have. I think im more bothered how much the painpaid killers are ripping my stomach. No wonder I hate those things. Can't wait to get off them

[Maryannegb]

What are your flight 'legs' ?

In the scheme of things you are not far from me in Western Australia! Lol!

I hope your flights are ok - do stop if you get in too much pain 

[Dave258]

Good luck on your travel home!

[LisaDX]

Sounds like a good plan, especially with your opt out options. I always took a direct flight to Hawaii and the one more to Guam. Of course, that was from California. Which airline are you using? Will you have help getting through customs in Guam? I don't know what the regulations are any more, whether you will be allowed to have assistance. I hope everything works well for you and will be praying for a safe and pain free flight. Are you eating when you take your pain meds? I found that dried fruits and crackers were wonderful.   Blessings, knee friend.
Lisa

[drmark]

If your stomach is bothering you, you should try to get by without the melioxicam.  That is an NSAID and a potent cause of stomach issues.

[guam]

Merry Christmas all!  we're a day ahead of most, so excuse me for early wishings.  anyway, thanks for the concern everyone.  the legs i took (no pun intented) were dallas-lax-honolulu-guam (3 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours, and 4 hours total layover time).  i had wheelchair help the whole way.  from the ticket counter to the terminal to gate to plane.  and of course bulkhead seating the whole way.  i was most scared on the first flight.  i kept worrying about a blood clot.  every time i coughed or had to catch my breath, i would worry something was wrong.  ambien quickly took care of that feeling.  i slept on ever leg of my flight.  and yes, doc, i got rid of the meloxicam.  that must have been the one killing my stomach more than anything.  sorry to travel so soon, but the airline gave me no choice.  luckily, the flights were so empty, so i was able to really stretch my legs.
happy to be back home.  friends of mine had a huge christmas feast waiting once i got in.  prime rib, turkey, ham, reef fish, and whole lot of other goodies.  felt so good to eat real food after having survived on hospital food, beef jerky, and peanuts the past week. 
currently am off the pain meds for the past 36 hours, so of course i actually feel the metal plate in my leg.  still not as bad as i thought it would be.  once in a while i make a few steps without the crutches.  i'm able to go about 20 ft at most before i need the aid of them again, but i'm working on it.  lots of stetching.  will try to get on a stationary bike by the end of next week. 
anyway, good luck to all and happy holidays!

[LisaDX]

Congratulations! I agree, the food there is amazing! Tried to cook it here at home, but couldn't get the right ingredients! I wish you all the best.  Happy Christmas and happy healing! Hafa Adai!
Lisa