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Old 02-23-11, 04:09 PM
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Don in Austin
Don from Austin Texas
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 1,211

Bikes: Schwinn S25 "department store crap" FS MTB, home-made CF 26" hybrid, CF road bike with straight bar, various wierd frankenbikes

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Originally Posted by stringbreaker
Making a long story more boring. In 2007 I had some swelling and pain issues in my right knee. Went to see the Ortho doc, MRI done and she says its a slight tear in the meniscus, barely visible on the MRI. She says " I can go in there and clean it up" I say "if its not too bad can we wait to see if I can bike and hike this year without too much trouble" she agrees cause she isn't one to suggest surgery at the drop of a hat. I like her. Fast forward to last week. I'm gettin some pain and swelling in the same knee. Gotta go back and have her check it out again. I'm thinkin if she reccomends arthorscopy I'll have it done this time. How many of you folks have had this surgery and how was the recovery? I know everyone is different but I'd like to know some of the stories anyway. I'm wondering if on down the line a knee replacement is in my future. I've been walking around on concrete for 42 years and its taken a toll for sure. Man gettin old isn't for sissies is it?
Its very rare -- at least in my experience -- that you go to the doctor and get serious tangible value for your $$$. But I felt that way when I got arthroscopic surgery on my left knee about 8 years ago.
It got to the point where I sometimes struggled to walk across the room. Rode a century a few weeks ago. My repaired knee is stronger than my other. Recovery was a nuisance, but not really that bad at all. I got permission to ride a bike before I got permission to walk on it! I remember getting on and off the bike from crutches and carrying a cell phone for my wife to come get me if I had flat or a breakdown. The doc gave me a printout with all these different rehab exercises, but I told him: "I'm not really going to do all this @#^%$##$! Is it okay if I just ride my bike instead?" He agreed and it worked out great.

I had meniscus damage and "necrosis of the femur" from an injury when I was 14 and things were gradually getting worse and worse. The doc did some kind of drilling into the ends of the bone which stimulated some kind of faux cartilage to be exuded as well as cleaning up the meniscus and sewing up a tear.

Don in Austin
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