I've had some fluid on my right knee for the last few months. There's no pain, no redness, but it's really puffy. My supportive family tells me it feels like a silicon implant just under the skin...
I wasn't certain what kind of doctor I should go to about it. Luckily, Justin had an appointment with Dr. Ackerson, the orthopedist, and he asked him about my knee. Dr. Ackerson said he was the guy for the job, and the sooner the better. My first visit was last Wednesday. Everyone else in my family have been regulars with Dr. Ackerson, but this was my first visit to him as a patient.
He looked it over, then told me a scary story about a former colleague of his who had drained the fluid from a patient's elbow, which somehow introduced an infection, which led to surgery, which led to the guy having a fatal heart attack on the table. He recommended a compression bandage and some daily anti-inflammatories, for seven days.
I went back this morning for the follow-up. I haven't noticed any big changes, but Dr. Ackerson said it felt more fluid than it had been. He felt a little guilty about it, but he suggested I keep on with the ace bandage and the anti-inflammatories for another two weeks. He said even if it doesn't go down much, the compression was loosening the fluid up, which will make it easier to extract. He warned me that he'll probably need to make a small incision to get all the fluid out - a needle alone won't do the trick.
I can walk, and ride a bike, but no running for the duration, and I'm supposed to avoid kneeling down on the knee — so no sprinkler work for a while. I was hoping to get it over with today, but he's the doc.
