Not long to go now. Tuesday is the day.
Partial Knee Replacement. The medical term is apparently Unicompartmental Knee Replacement (Medial).
I’ve been suffering gradually worsening pain in my right knee since about October last year. Initially thought to be muscle or tendon related, a couple of physio sessions soon disproved that theory and backed up with X-rays was diagnosed as osteoarthritis.
Antiinflammatories didn’t offer any relief, nor did a cortisone injection so we eventually got to the point of a referral to a surgeon.
He quickly pointed out that the anterior section was fine (like new) and arranged an MRI to make sure under the knee cap was also OK. It was.
Hence the option to only replace the medial part.
This guy specialises in NOT cutting any muscles or tendons etc. Operating robotically they just push these aside (stretching them a bit). But obviously a much less invasive procedure. Works on hips too apparently.
What came next is eye opening as to the precautions and preparations taken pre surgery these days. At least in private health. Don’t know about how the plebs fare.
Hospital registration is a multi page on line document. Like about 10 pages IIRC.
Another MRI and a range of X-rays aimed at producing parts designed specifically for your leg.
Visit to a general health surgeon to assess your ability to survive the operation. That was $500 thanks very much. Just over half back from Medicare.
Visit to the hospital to go through the requirements for check in on the day. (Free).
Special nasal cream to apply for a week beforehand to offset the risk of some often observed but not fully understood source of infection through the nose. (Don’t tell Trump).
And special liquid soap to use in the shower for the last three showers before the op.
Meeting with a physio who’ll monitor my progress through rehabilitation after the op. Which includes him providing an iPad for zoom visits. Pre op physiotherapy exercises to make sure your lower body and leg muscles are all as fit as possible. (He’s costing nothing thanks to some strange connection with the health funds as an accepted replacement for in hospital care). That covers 6 weeks after the op plus follow ups periodically for a year.
Last minute blood tests (blood type, liver and kidney function etc) Done no more than 3 days before the op. Done today.
Yesterday with a few others due for replacements this week I attended “Joint School” to see a PowerPoint presentation on the whole thing, plus using crutches.
Couple of interesting things came out of that. One was that there is now a procedure for using your own blood (lost during the op) to replace if a transfusion is needed. Seems to be some real time process to collect and cleanse your blood during the op. Unlikely to be necessary as you only lose a couple of hundred mls during the op given everything goes according to plan. This only came up as a result of multiple questions from this woman slated for a hip replacement. You know the type at uni who’ll ask at least twice in every session, “Will this be in the exam?”. Middle European accent, only late 30’s and more concerned whether the scar would interfere with her bikini line.
The other thing which came out is that my surgeon is on the spectrum. Hence he’s fanatically precise about the whole thing. The knee procedure (full) and hip replacements are now taking just over an hour from go to whoa.
Should be only one or most likely 2 nights in hospital. I have full hospital cover but not Extras so I’ll be out of pocket for the surgeon (less Medicare refund). So, about $4,000. There’s about $8000+ in hospital fees which will only cost me $250 excess. All in all, way less than my prostate op a few years ago.
So home in plenty of time to veg out on GF day and the following Bathurst weekend.
Hope to be back in the water within three months but could be as little as two.
Baba, you probably could have waited til 
