guam's osteotomy

[seerobinbike]

Hey Guam,

I began looking through your diary last night.  Wow.  You are a brave soul and I'm so happy to read that things, although tough, are progressing for you.  My OS suggested an osteotomy for me but after looking into it, I decided on the less invasive PKR.  Stay strong and keep up the good work.  We are all rooting for you.

Robin

[guam]

thanks for reading about my experience. a tkr was originally recommended for me, but after looking at my age (38) and expected activities that i'd like to still participate in, an osteotomy was suggested.  i was told it could add some life to my knee and allow me to do my activities before a tkr is needed.  i was also told it was more invasive and healing would take a bit longer.
it really was pretty scary to do this surgery with that kind of traveling by myself.  thankfully, i'm a seasoned traveler who's also happened to be on a surgeon's table 5 times in the past 4 years.  i guess that may not be such a good thing, but it was appropriate for what i was about to undergo.   i  prepared for the worst possible pain a knee surgery could give, packed as light as i could, and got some food and water prior to my surgery for the 2 day stay at the motel after my hospital stay,  although i didn't prepare for complications (thank God my surgery went as planned). 
overall, i'm happy with my decision and my progress so far.  and i'm happy that i was able to get back home in time for christmas.  gainesville was nice and quiet, but it wasn't exactly the place i wanted to be in after a big surgery in a motel by myself during the holidays

[kneepainhelp]

Hey... Keep up the good progress. I get inspired by looking at your dairy. After my 6 week checkup, I was asked to do full weight bearing. I am trying hard to learn how to walk on both legs. Any suggetions?

[guam]

so far, i haven't done anything real special.  i do the following 2x a day every day.  once when i wake up and right before i sleep. 5 sets.  takes about half an hour

1. cannonball.  hold for 20 seconds.  this is just lying on your back and bending your knee towards you
2. hell slides. 20 seconds.  bend back as far as possible and push down on my knee when straightened.
3. quad sets.  5 sets of 5 second hold. while i do this, i push my knee down to get it as straight as possible.
4. SLR. 20
5. put belt over my foot and pull back the leg to make it as straight as possible. hold for 20 seconds
6.. hamstring curl without weight.  20 reps.  lie on my stomach with knee over the beds edge and bend knee towards butt as far as possible

then 3 days a week i do half an hour of recumbent bike.  used to be an hour, but i use that extra half hour now to do the weight exercises shown below. 3 sets.  i didn't start weights til this past week though.

1. seated upright squat machine with operated leg only. 20lbs. 20 reps
2. seated hamstring curl.  10 lbs. 20 reps.  tried to go higher but i can't yet
3. seated abductor machine.  30 lbs.  can't just use 1 leg.  gotta use both because of how machine is built
4. seated adductor machine.  same as the one before this.
5. step ups.  6" step.  20 reps.  still not too confident doing lateral step ups though.

lastly, at night before i sleep, i put on the TED stocking and fill the cryocuff machine with ice and go to sleep that way.  i usually wake up 3-4 hours later when the ice is all melted, and i disconnect the cryocuff, but leave the TED stocking on until morning.

hope this helps.

[guam]

tomorrow will be 6 weeks since my surgery.  gotta schedule those xrays this week to see how bone has healed.  although my leg doesn't feel any different the last few days, i notice more muscles in my quads beginning to wake up.  when i do my SLR's, the operated leg is starting to look like the other leg.  not yet, but almost. 
i took the last 2 days off from the gym and just did my home exercises.  too much going on this past weekend.  on friday and saturday, I helped with a few parties and acted as if i didn't have an operation.  was moving cases of drinks, lifting tables and chairs around and just did lots of moving around.  leg was really swollen at the end of each day.  thank God for cryocuff and TED stocking.  leg was always back to normal the next day.  did absolutely nothing on sunday.  just watched netflix all day.  felt really good. my knee thanked me for that.

[guam]

at 6 weeks now

kind of a strange thing today.  i did a whole bunch of leg stretches and exercises today and i'm happy that my quads are waking up.  not once did i hit my them, but for some reason, after all the exercises and stretching, it feels like it's bruised all around my lower quad.  there's some red marks around the area,  and when i touch them, it actually feels like someone punched me and left a bruise.  kind of weird.  anyone ever experience that?  of course, while the feeling of bruising is nothing compared to what my pain was in the first 2 weeks, it does seem a bit odd.  i'll monitor it and hope it's nothing to worry about. 

[guam]

day 44

bruising felling has gone away.  so has pain in my incision.  it just feels a little numb around that area as the nerves continue to repair themselves i guess.  now, the only pain i have when weight bearing is on my knee itself.  but i'm able to walk around longer distances now.  i'm even able to walk around a mall (with a limp) without the aid of anything.  but i do make use of close parking thanks to a temporary disabled parking placard.

i also stopped using my TED hose and cryocuff the past 2 days as my knee swelling seems to subside on its own now after a good nights sleep.  it feels so good to be able to move around in my bed again. but i'll probably use the TED hose when i travel to the U.S. in mid february.  one leg of my flight is 11 hours.  i'm hoping to get upgraded to business class if space is available. 

my morning and evening stretches don't seem to be doing anything for me anymore, but i do them anyway.  i still can't get that last couple of degrees to straighten my knee out.  i'll bet my limp would get better once i can fully straighten that leg. 

[guam]

day 46

not much to report.  leg and knee still feel the same.  hardly any pain, but a lot of stiffness.  i bend my leg often to help me get rid of stiffness, but i'm pretty sure it will be there for a while.
the 12" scar is healing well, but it's beginning to turn pink.  i thought that it wouldn't happen, but it's in the beginning stages of turning that scar color pink. 

[seerobinbike]

Good going Guam.  Glad to hear that things are continuing to improve.  Yes, definately wear the TEDS during your plane trip!!  Have a good weekend.

[guam]

Damn!  just when i was beginning to feel much better, the hospital bills that the insurance didn't cover arrive in the mail.  i think this hurts more than the surgery.

[kneepainhelp]

Guam.. Thanks for the detailed explanation of the exercises. I started walking at home without the crutch from one week. I had just put some updates in my dairy today. Good to know that bruising feeling has gone away. I had the tendon / muscle pain too just above the kneecap for few weeks and it is improving now.

Are you coming to US for your six week followup and x-rays? Have a safe trip.

[guam]

ya.  i often see other people's experiences to see if they have similar pains for the same surgery.  i have some similar experiences to some and different than others, but there's small improvements every week.
as for my 6 week appointment, i just had my xrays done and i'm waiting to pick them up so i can send them to dr. mark for his opinion on it.   I will be in LA next week, but i won't be seeing any doctors.

[guam]

S*#t!  was hanging around with some friends while they were drinking after superbowl and one of them would not leave me alone after i repeatedly mentioned just how much pain and money i've spent on my surgery.  wouldn't you know, as he's joking around, he falls toward me, putting his weight and mine on my bad leg.  lateral side of my operated knee (that's the side they took the weight off and shifted it to medial side) has been having sharp pain all day today.  hoping it's more of a setback than an actual injury.
lesson i learned.  get away once people start drinking alcohol around me.

[guam]

day 51

i can finally get my knee fully straight with an assist.  I'm probably a week or 2 away from getting it straight on my own.

i got my results back form my 6 week xrays.  it says the bone has completely healed in perfect symmetry.  very happy about that.

I'm still feeling a little bit of lateral pain from when my friend fell on me while i was standing with weight on my operated leg.  I'm able to go full weight bearing,  but mine and his weight together was a little too much for my knee.  i'm hoping the pain is just a minor setback.  lucky for me, the swelling went down after an hour of cryocuff. 

i think i'm walking better by the week.  it's hard to tell.  the only way for me to view my progress is to look back on my posts to see where i was at as compared to where i'm at now.  and judging from them, i'm doing better today than last week.  i can even force myself to walk without a limp, but slowly.

i also just noticed yesterday that my knee has stopped giving way.  i'm not sure if it's just because its stiff or it's a sign of healing.  i hope it's the latter.

Woke up yesterday with a bit of a flu bug, so no gym for a few days while i recover, but i'll still do my home exercises, which i've been neglecting a little.  i used to do them twice a day.  for the last week though, i've only been doing them before i sleep.  i think while i'm stuck at home with this flu bug, i'll do them at least 3x a day

[guam]

day 54

still battling this flu.  it doesn't seem to be getting better, and i travel in 3 days.  better to be sick now than on vacation i guess.

anyway, since i've been home the past couple of days, i haven't been able to go to the gym so i've added leg extensions.  i'm hanging my leg over a basketball, which is sitting on a pillow.  when i first started, i could barely get my leg to extend all the way, even though i have full extension and full ROM when i do heel slides.  after 2 days doing shitloads of quad sets, slr's, and leg extensions, i can do a full leg extension now.

kneecap still hurts when i walk, but now my pain feels just like it does the first week after an arthroscopic surgery.  not so bad at all.  my leg just gets a bit stiff whenever i get up to walk.  it loosens up after a minute or so.  i'm really making a conscious effort to not limp, but it's hard. 

and since i already have a torn lateral meniscus on my other knee, i don't want to put any undue stress on it.  although it's torn and i feel some pain, it's not too bad. it never bothered me seriously since i've had 3 prp injections and a round of prolotherapy on it last year.  i also do all the same rehab exercises for both knees.  dr. mark told me the left knee is not so bad to the point i need the same surgery as the right knee, as long as i don't plan on running.

more good news is that my knee hasn't had any swelling (with the exception of my buddy falling on it a week ago) in about 2 weeks.