Today I went to the polyclinic to take out the stitches. This is just before they were taken out. Pardon the blurry pic.

Today I went to the polyclinic to take out the stitches. This is just before they were taken out.

At five weeks, the swelling was going down and I could walk. However, my gait was very strange and everyone called me peg leg.

Several people have told me that there was a large bruise on the back of my knee. In the past three weeks it has slowly migrated down my leg. Today, I had Aaron take a picture of it, so that I could see what it was like. I was surprised by how circular it is.

so stoned...

i woke up sobbing because i was thinking of a beautiful todd rundgren song---"weakness"

Watch the surgery:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8EpT3uCVWU

I blew out my ACL while mountain biking on the North Shore (on Mt. Fromme... I won't name the trail!) I got twisted in my bike frame during a fall where my bike got wedged against the side of a trail. I ended up lying on my back with my bike on top of me. I didn't hear anything pop. It didn't present as a missing ACL right away. It would be late May before it was evident that "it just wasn't healing", mid-June when I saw the primary care Sports Med Dr. (who suspected the ACL was gone) and July 19 for the MRI... so begins the saga...

My flexion was measured at 110 today at PT - no improvement from last week, even though I do Heel Slides everyday. *sad* I'm supposed to reach 130 this week. I don't know how to achieve that extra 20 degree, man!

First image is my knee on the morning before I went into the operating room, then my knee the next day, and pre and post stitches out. Its been interesting watching the swelling go down and the muscles come back...

Here's a picture of the entire leg. I didn't remove the gauze to see the stitches; I didn't have replacement gauze and I didn't want the bandage rubbing against the sutures.

It's a little red because I just finished icing it.

Well, not anymore! I got my stiches removed on 5/20. I thought that it would hurt, but it was fast and I barely felt it.

I survived the surgery and the trip back upstairs. It hurt a lot more than I thought that it would when I first woke up, but they gave me some pain meds to make it better. Everything went well and the surgeon said that there was no damage other than the ACL (i.e., no meniscus tears or other ligament damage). The only snafu was that the camera stopped working during the surgery and they had to repair it before proceeding. All-in-all, it's not as bad as I thought that it would be (but maybe that's just the vicadin talking).

They put some yellow, smelly stuff all over my leg (maybe iodine), and I can't get it off.

Update: My parents said that the yellow stuff is bentadine and that it doesn't really wash off. It will fade in time. (Mom has worked in a hospital since 1961 or 1962 and Dad has had more surgeries than any of us care to count, so they probably know what they're talking about)

Updated Update: Eventually, I discovered that rubbing alcohol and a lot of elbow grease can get the stuff off. I suggest taking pain medications before trying this method on the knee itself.

ACL Reconstruction, 15 days post-op. Note the teeny-tiny incisions and what's left of the surgeon's writing (I think it was his signature) in ink above the knee.

The ace bandage and under padding were wrapped really tightly and it left an interesting (i.e., gross) pattern on my leg.

Fifteen days after ACL reconstruction surgery, first day back at work.

but the worst is yet to come

I think the doctor would be proud. My extension has come a long way in the last few days. The knee was flat on the table during my last physical therapy session

The little holes beside the knee are starting to blend in with the freckles, but the big scar is still noticeable. However, when I wear jeans, people are under the impression that I've sprained my ankle, so I guess I'm walking better.

Knee procedures by Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam

During my last measuring session, both my flexion and my extension measured as normal. Hurray! The knee rarely hurts these days and I am getting in lots of exercise. I can do resistance on the stationary bike, ride the real bike, and swim.

She's getting my leg good and ready for the work ahead... and checking on my progress. Now that it doesn't hurt so much when she does the bending, I like this part of the physio sessions! If the last 5-10 degrees of my range don't come eventually, she promised she'll get somebody to sit on my leg, so let's hope I get the last bit on my own!!

I've just been discharged from hospital following ACL recontruction surgery. I've got six months of physio ahead of me, and I'm determined to keep up with the program. In six months I should be able to hop - wohoo!

I'm not sure how my surgeon did it, but I barely bruised. I see a lot more bruising in the other Flickr pictures. I have skin that's so pale it looks transparent at times. I usually bruise when lightly poked, so I think kudos are in order for Dr. Nadel.

I'm hooked up good... FrankenKnee! This is similar to how I'm hooked up to the muscle stimulator, but this way I've got electrodes on all sides of my knee crossing the current, which alleviates a lot of pain and lets me really work on my range of motion (later I'll just ice it during this portion). I've got so much range now that I've graduated to just using my hands... before I had a belt.