Here's a follow-up to my knee surgery story, started in Knee surgery - part I
The pre-OP visit went smoothly, and I was all set for surgery on August 5th. I was told to report at 12:30pm for 2:00pm surgery, which isn't fun when you have to fast beforehand. The night before, I had a big bowl of cereal at 11:55pm.
Carole drove me to the Huntington Outpatient Surgery Center, across the parking lot from Dr. Ackerson's office, and we got there right on time. After some brief paperwork, they led me back into the prep room, where I disrobed and put on a standard hospital gown. I laid down on a prep-bed, where a great RN took my vitals and hooked up an IV line. (For most hospital IV's, they really want to use a vein on the back of your hand, but my veins there just aren't setup right. We know I have great veins inside my elbow, so we finally wound up there on my left arm.)
I had a short visit with the anesthesiologist - a great guy - and a brief, business-like stop by Dr. Panossian, who had his game face on. Sometimes you can just tell by looking at someone that they're good at what they do, and I got that feeling here.
They wheeled me into the OR, and had me scootch over onto the table. It took a few tries to get centered in both X and Y. The OR nurse secured my arms to some outriggers, and that's the last thing I remember…
I woke up around 3:25pm in the recovery room, with Carole by my side. It took an hour or so before I got all the way back. Carole said the surgeon had found a tear while he was working on the bursa, and fixed it with some stitches. She wasn't sure what was torn, but I figured I'd find out at my follow-up appointment.
At the end of surgery they had put on a knee immobilizer, so I had to use crutches to move into the changing room to get dressed. They wheeled me out to the car, and I skooted into the back seat, with my right leg up across the seat.
Carole drove me back home, and got me situated. I have an appointment in eight days to check on things, but until then I'm stuck at home, with my leg straight.
Carole, as always, took fantastic care of me. Thanks!
