Guess who's prolly gunna have surgery again :-(

[wolfpack_5150]

After the surgical finding noted I had torn both meniscus, the doc cleaned up the scar tissue and tried to re-attach 1 side twice....Both times in surgery it tore. So 1/3 of it was removed from that side.

The other side had a tear very close to where there is no blood supply meaning that re-attachment was a no go since the lack of blood flow meant it prolly would not take. So that side was cleaned of scar tissue.

I wasnt 100% sure which was which. Today I went for a checkup and said that Im still in pain after ADL's (activities of daily living, walking, showering, standing, to do the necissary routines in life minus working). She asked me which side bothered me the most. I said the outside portion of the knee. She kinda slumped down in disapointment I suppose. She said "I knew u were going to say that one, but needed you to confirm it". Apparently thats the side that went without being cutout or re-attached.

Now it looks like I/ we are stuck fighting work comp for another surgery and I get to do this all over again. Great, as of november my pay will be cut to 2/3 because it will be 1 year out of work.

To say I am depressed is an understatement. I have been in pain from this for a long time and frustrated that no-one believed me (past ortho and GP). Now I have an awesome doc and she feels like she may cripple me for life if she does this surgery. I told her "hey I already cant work, Im in pain, whats the difference?" " at least we stand a chance that it might work, right now I dont care because I am already disabled".

In another sad twist, apparently its normal to NOT be able to apply pressure (kneeling) to the joint after ortho surgery. I wasnt expecting that at all.

Anyone else have over half of their meniscus removed? I know I will be facing long term issues with it, but curious just how bad. I have to be able to wrestle criminally insane individuals to the floor or put em against a wall on a regular basis. I dont know if I will be able to go back, or for how long.



Ill attach a pic of the meniscus in a couple minutes with the problem area and the removed area.

[wolfpack_5150]

Sorry had to blow this up a little

[Burgman]

good luck man, praying for u

[oldtacomaguy]

Hang in there wolf (I was going to call you Brock, but then I noticed the "O-Lee" after it. Must be Irish! Keep your chin up, try to maintain some sense of humor. I'm not in the medical field but there must be other options for you. Good luck and keep on posting.

[tacomaman06]

good luck with all of it dude. hope they get you squared away for good.

[04coma]

good luck man prayers lifted

[Colton]

Good luck with the surgery Brock, I'll keep you in my prayers.

[chris4x4]

Wow, Brock!! Im sorry to hear this news.

[wolfpack_5150]

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone. its gunna suck


Dave: I go by Brock............the O. lee part is all BS but it sounded good.

Call me what u will just not late for dinner!

[DanGer]

goof luck dude! I hope everything gets fixed once and for all!

[Simon's Mom]

Oh no! Sorry to hear your update and am glad you are here talking about it. Sending some prayers your way that your knee gets the best damn doctors fixing it up so you can get back to your old self & pain free!! Hang in there

ps. that big pic of the knee is great Biggest joint in the body and can be the biggest PITA too.

[jandrews]

Originally Posted by wolfpack_5150

Anyone else have over half of their meniscus removed? I know I will be facing long term issues with it, but curious just how bad. I have to be able to wrestle criminally insane individuals to the floor or put em against a wall on a regular basis. I dont know if I will be able to go back, or for how long.

Mesniscal injuries are a big problem. They act as natural shock absorbers and friction-reducers within the knee joint, and having even a portion removed usually doesn't end well.

I hate to break this to you Wolf, but your days of doing highly physical jobs that put a lot of stress on the knee are probably over...

Also, you ARE looking at arthritis in that joint, and likely joint replacement, down the road.

There are very few good solutions to cartilage damage in the human body. Increased funding into stem cell research might help that.

[wolfpack_5150]

Originally Posted by jandrews

Mesniscal injuries are a big problem. They act as natural shock absorbers and friction-reducers within the knee joint, and having even a portion removed usually doesn't end well.

I hate to break this to you Wolf, but your days of doing highly physical jobs that put a lot of stress on the knee are probably over...

Also, you ARE looking at arthritis in that joint, and likely joint replacement, down the road.

There are very few good solutions to cartilage damage in the human body. Increased funding into stem cell research might help that.

yuck.........Im talking with an attorney next week. Looks like I might need it.
I really really enjoyed my job too

[chris4x4]

[jandrews]

Originally Posted by wolfpack_5150

yuck.........Im talking with an attorney next week. Looks like I might need it.
I really really enjoyed my job too

An attorney is never a bad idea in a worker's comp case. Usually because comp carriers are very difficult to deal with (for a multitude of reasons).

One thing I do want to note is that all the medical practitioners you have seen could have done everything absolutely right, and you would still be where you are now. Unfortunately, meniscus injuries usually result in a change in lifestyle or occupation.

This is due just to the properties of cartilage. It grows in your body up until mid to late puberty, and then what you have is what you get. The body will not produce more over the years...it only degenerates. It's also very difficult to repair cartilaginous injuries because, as you noted above, cartilage is very poorly vascularized. It doesn't heal well because there's very little blood to carry oxygen and nutrients to the damaged tissue.

Doctors have not yet come up with a synthetic method of replacing cartilage in the knee. Attempts to grow cartilage in the lab are hampered by the fact that, again, cartilage tissue does poorly at nutrient uptake. Xenografts of cartilage from other animals (pigs, for example, like some skin or ligament grafts) face potential complications from immune system rejection, which is far more dangerous to the patient than a painful knee.

Knee joint replacement usually has very good outcomes, but the issue there is age. Joint replacements usually only last 15 to 20 years before a revision is needed (i.e., the surgery has to be done again). Orthos are hesitant to perform knee replacements on patients before their 60s, because the odds of the patient needing 3 or more surgeries are significantly higher the younger the person is. Let us not forget that surgery is an invasive procedure with all the attendant risks (infection, nerve laceration, anesthesia, etc.)

The best middle ground solution is to remove as little meniscus as possible (the damaged portion), leave the rest, and hope for the best. Unfortunately, that often doesn't address the patient's problem.

I hate that you're in this situation, but hopefully having some of this background information will help you understand some of your MD's decision making processes.

[wolfpack_5150]

Thanks for the education.

I hold no ill will towards my current doctor, I know she did what she felt would have the greatest benefit for me. I intend on sticking with her since she has been the best doc I have had through this entire ordeal and one of the best docs I have ever had in general.

The attorney is because I know I will have future problems and as far as I know, we have 1 year from date of injury to seek legal action. I just dont trust that my employer will act on good faith later in life. I dont trust that I will have a job when/if I can go back either. Since Arnold has done nothing but rape state workers lately I feel I have no choice but to follow through with legal help.

I do hold a grudge towards the other doctors. One said I was just fine and released me to full work duty the day after injury, (I didnt go to work cuz I knew better). The 1st ortho was just a liar and never followed through with the surgery like he said he was going to.

Due to the incompetence of them, I was doing more damage to my knee by walking on it, and doing way too much physical therapy than I should have. Now I have worn away bone because of the length of time I spent without proper treatment.

[ImpulseRed008]

Brock,

So sorry to hear the bad news... Hope the doc's can do something to help you lead a normal life, but it sounds like you need to find a new career

Good luck with the lawyer and everything else

[moto932]

sorry to hear that wolfpack. best of luck with everything!

[wolfpack_5150]

Originally Posted by moto932

sorry to hear that wolfpack. best of luck with everything!

Thnx will do the best I can.

Originally Posted by ImpulseRed008

Brock,

So sorry to hear the bad news... Hope the doc's can do something to help you lead a normal life, but it sounds like you need to find a new career

Good luck with the lawyer and everything else

Thnx, (insert whiny voice, and pounding fists on the desk)I dont wanna do anything else, i dont wanna i dont wanna, .


I am thinking maybe RN school (insert male nurse joke here)

Or, long haul trucking so I can visit all my TW peeps.....But looks like trains may be the new long haulers. I guess I could do the freight train route? It is Union too.

I dunno, it sux.

[jandrews]

Originally Posted by wolfpack_5150

I do hold a grudge towards the other doctors. One said I was just fine and released me to full work duty the day after injury, (I didnt go to work cuz I knew better). The 1st ortho was just a liar and never followed through with the surgery like he said he was going to.

Due to the incompetence of them, I was doing more damage to my knee by walking on it, and doing way too much physical therapy than I should have. Now I have worn away bone because of the length of time I spent without proper treatment.

Unfortunately worker's comp carriers sometimes seek out doctors who are willing to investigate things "lightly" and diagnose "optimistically". It's much "better" for a comp company to treat someone for a "back strain" than a "multiple lumbar disc degeneration with complicating myelopathic symptoms and bilateral lower extremity weakness".

The insurance companies are primarily concerned with how little they can get away with paying.

This method certainly doesn't benefit the patient, and you'll never be able to prove it happened in court, but in health care dealing with worker's comp, it's the elephant in the room. Everyone knows its there, and no one wants to talk about it.

THAT is why health care in this country is broken, and it will NOT be fixed until HEALTH INSURANCE CARRIERS are either mandated to be non-profit or have non-profit competition.