Double knee arthroscopy at the same time

[Zakspeed]

Hi new to this forum ,hope somebody may be able to help .
I had a double arthroscopy 3days ago , they removed 70% meniscus from my left knee and 60% from my right knee . Could anyone please give me an idea how long the recovery could be due to not having a good leg to stand on , could not find any answers online and the answer from the surgeon was vague .  I am 46 and have a very physical job , underground mining ,bad ground conditions , walking long distances carrying weight , climbing ladders and platforms  could anybody give me an idea how these injuries will affect me from here on ? Thank you in advance for any advise or help received

[LAS]

Hi Zakspeed:  I recently responded to a post by Heretolisten who also had a similar situation.   My bother-in-law had both knees scoped and had  meniscus removed from both knees at the same time.
He also worked in construction.  It really took a good 3 months before he could do masonry work.  About 4 weeks after the surgery he was able to do some labor work but not all day.  He could get around it because it was his company.   He can't sit still so 4 weeks was all he gave it without doing anything at work that was physical.    As I recall he didn't do any damage to his knees by returning to labor work at 4 weeks.  He had terrible osteoarthritis and now has two total knee replacements and is doing  better than he ever has.   He is still a mason contractor and works at it everyday.   I hope this helps you and I hopefully you will be back to work before you know it.   LAS

[Zakspeed]

Thanks again LAS, something to look forward to :-) . How long did it take for the rehab with the  knee replacement ?

[LAS]

It was a slow recovery.  He didn't do any physical labor work for 1 year.    It's seasonal work too so he had the surgery in November and went back to work in the spring of May the following year.  he had physical therapy for 4 months.  Remember he was able to delegate responsibility when he did return to his work.  Not everybody had that advantage.   I know his doctors told him not to do any masonry work or anything that required being on his knees for 6 months.   After 6 months I remember he was loading a truck, standing and walking a lot and his knees began to bother him so he stopped for a while. I  could be corrected on this but I don't think your suppose to do construction  work that requires being on your knees at all once you have knee replacements.  He still does it and so far so good. 

Hope your feeling better soon.   LAS

[heretolisten]

Hi Zakspeed,
I had the same surgery on Monday. 4th time on my right knee and 2nd time on the left. I didn't manage to talk to the surgeon after the op as he was in theatre when I was discharged. I was only in the hospital 5 hours in total as I came round from the anaesthetic really well. At the consultation, the surgeon said that he had high hopes for my left knee but it would be touch and go for the right so how successful this is going to be long term will be a matter of time.

As far as recovery is concerned, I am amazed how good my knees feel. I am actually walking without the crutches today and although I'm a little unsteady my knees feel pretty good. The swelling is more on the right knee than the left but I am keeping this in check by doing the exercises and keeping my knees well iced. I am 63 by the way with a desk job. It may take a little longer for you to return to your job which sounds really physical but I wish you the best of luck. The best advice I can give you from personal experience from the other surgeries is to keep up with the exercises however painful it gets.