Ever have a knee scoped??

[Running Mommy]

The hubby had an mri on his knee today, and it seems he has a torn meniscus, so will need to have it scoped.
Anyone ever have this done? The doctor said recovery is about 3 months. But the dough head didn't ask how long he'll be off the bike. We are hoping he can pick up biking and swimming soon after the procedure, and bring running back into the fold in January. As of now he's in for Ironman Arizona in April 08, but we don't know how realistic that is.
UGH, poor guy. I knew something was going on because he NEVER complains, and he has been whining like a baby lately... sigh...

Anyone out there have some sage advice for us?

[Wahine]

RM - if someone held a gun to my head and said "You have to submit yourself to a surgical procedure but you get to choose which one..." I would choose to have my knee scoped with a partial menisectomy.

They have this surgery down pretty good now. Recovery really depends on the amount of cartilage damage. If it's a small simple tear that they can go it and just clip off the extra little flap recovery is about 3 weeks. If it's a large bucket handle tear that will require some stitching, recovery is more like 3 months. One thing's for sure, if he doesn't get it now he won't be doing Ironman and he'll need to get it done sooner or later. So he has to suck it up and do it. Once they've done the surgery they should be able to give him a better idea of what to expect for recovery. He will be able to spin fairly soon after the procedure, it's one of the first exercises that I give my patients as soon as they get enough range of motion back.

[Zen]

I got scoped in '93 and my story is not pretty. I didn't have PT, I just tried the home program Dr. Wu gave me. I didn't have much assistance from the old man (in your case Dough Head) and scar tissue formed. It took a big guy and manual manipulation to break this scar tissue. It was quite painful and as I later found out, usually done under anesthesia

Don't freak out - my experience was an anomaly.
The moral of the story though, is get pt right away!!!

[Running Mommy]

Ohh Zen.. YIPES!
Yeah I told him that he HAD to let it heal up properly. I don't want him to mess it up anymore than it already is...

Dr. Wahine... THANKS! I should have just pm'd you! I knew you would know!!
He says the doc said it was a pretty good sized tear, so my guess is he'll be off of it for awhile. But it will be good if he can at least spin at some point. Tho he is a hardcore mtn biker, so he's going to HATE parking the ol Intense, but I imagine mtn biking will be off limits for awhile...

[HappyAnika]

I've had this done, twice in fact. First was at the same time as my ACL reconstruction. Let's just say that I'm honestly thinking childbirth will be less painful than that was, I'll let you know for sure in 4.5 months. One year later the meniscus tore again and I had to have it scoped a second time. I honestly don't know how big the tear was, I just know it hurt a lot before the surgery. This time was outpatient and I remember waking up the next day at home thinking "Did I really just have knee surgery? It certainly doesn't feel like it." I could walk just fine without the crutches around my home. I think a day or two later it did hurt more, but nothing worse than what it felt like pre-surgery. I was back in PT pretty quick and riding the stationary bike was my favorite, it loosened everything up and made it feel good. I didn't ride then, so I can't tell you how long until I was riding . . . but I know I was hiking (steep, very rocky terrain) and golfing inside of 3 months. Everyone (doc, PT . . .) recommended swimming, but I didn't swim then either.

My best advice is ICE, ICE, ICE! I didn't do this enough after the first surgery and the swelling took months to disappear completely. After the second round I iced much more frequently and it helped reduce the swelling quickly (obviously it was a much less invasive surgery, but still). Also elevate, which I know can be tough at work. But when I'd get home I'd lay on either the couch or my bed, or the floor for that matter, on my back with my feet up on the wall to really get that knee above my heart. Get one or two of those ace bandage ice packs designed for knees, they make the process much easier and more effective.

I loved my PT. I know some people hate it, but I don't see why. Based on what Zen said, make sure he gets into PT. I can't imagine trying to do that recovery at home. Good luck with it!

[tygab]

I have had two ACL reconstructions (same knee) 2 years apart. I learned more about knees than I cared to in the process. My last one was in 01, and it's been solid since. Anyway, you've gotten good info here. The meniscus repair is not that big a deal usually.

My comments:
-Get PT, and most likely the PT exercises will have him on a stationary bike pretty quickly to get back full ROM. [Looks like Wahine said this too]
-check out getting a Polar cub. It is a knee wrap that attaches to a thermos like bottle of cold icy water. All I can say is it is incredibly pain relieving.
-Stay ahead of any pain curve with the meds prescribed.
-If he's got to be off his feet for any length of time, try to do some gentle ROM stretches of the leg, using towels, flex bands, or just by straightening it.
In other words, try not to let it stiffen for too long a period at any time.

Feel free to PM me if you want more info.

Good luck. I have a feeling he'll be back to activity in good time.

[uk elephant]

Not sure if it is relevant, but I have had my knee scoped without any actual surgery happening in the process. They just wanted to go in an look. I had an epidural, rather than general anasthetic and could watch on the tv-screen while the doctor showed me the inside of my knee. I thought it was pretty cool! but then I am a biologists.....Basically, they were going in with the scope to diagnose the problem. Turns out I had torn my acl. I was out of the hospital the following day, and off the crutches in a few days. I did get some PT to get mobility back in my knee and rebuild the muscles in that leg. And I was back doing figure skating just a month or two later. I never did get around to getting the reconstructive surgery and I've not been too bothered with that knee, but then I'm not training for IM either so I don't know how much it would be affected.

[Duck on Wheels]

Not sure if it is relevant, but I have had my knee scoped without any actual surgery happening in the process. They just wanted to go in an look. I had an epidural, rather than general anasthetic and could watch on the tv-screen while the doctor showed me the inside of my knee. I thought it was pretty cool! but then I am a biologists.....Basically, they were going in with the scope to diagnose the problem. Turns out I had torn my acl. I was out of the hospital the following day, and off the crutches in a few days. I did get some PT to get mobility back in my knee and rebuild the muscles in that leg. And I was back doing figure skating just a month or two later. I never did get around to getting the reconstructive surgery and I've not been too bothered with that knee, but then I'm not training for IM either so I don't know how much it would be affected.

Not only back on skates, but that was your landing leg (think speed + impact + torque) and a month after getting back on skates you landed an axel and a double salkow in competition and won your category -- only time you ever landed both of those in the same session. That was, what 12 years ago? In TE context, you could mention that you completed the ALC6 last summer, every last mile of it and lots of training in advance, though not at competition speed. But it does show that one can ride a bike without an acl in one knee, long as you've taken the time and effort to build up the surrounding muscles.

[JmcG]

I had my knee scoped a few years ago. The surgery went really well, and I started on PT right away - going twice a week for the first month or so. One of the first things the therapist had me do was to get on the stationary bike, pedaling backwards at first until I had the strength to push forwards.

I had a setback, though not in my knee, but in my quad muscle. It "fell asleep" and we had to use electric stimulant on it to remind it that it needed to wake up (which was much much more painful than the surgery ever could have been!). In that time, because my muscle wasn't working, I developed tendonitis right below my kneecap b/c the kneecap was rubbing that tendon b/c my quad wasn't pulling it up. So therefore, I was in PT much longer than I should have been! But, I was back running by December, even with the quad issues, and did a half IM that next May.

So my advice would be to get the surgery done soon! And, find a PT that understands where he wants to be by January - one that works with athletes and can get him to that point. I think he can do it, especially if he's done an IM before (has he?) - or at least has a good training base before the surgery.

Good luck to him!

[sundial]

I belong to the Gimpy Knee Club and had my knee scoped 5 times. I had surgery on Tuesday and by Wednesday I was in PT. My scopes are primarily for "spring cleaning" to trim flaps, scrape arthritis, and smooth the bone spurs. I was on a bike the first week of the surgery. Depending on the outcome of the scope, your hubby could be back in the saddle sooner than later.