The Geer Family
 
Ed had his knee surgery yesterday and it went exactly as expected.  The meniscus had "flipped" itself back into place and that's why Ed was able to move it and begin walking on it last week.  However, during surgery Dr. Chandler was able to recreate the injury (the flipping & locking) very easily signifying that if Ed hadn't had surgery his knee could have locked up on him again at any moment.  So they removed the entire posterior meniscus (behind the knee).  The surgery took about an hour and 10 minutes and then he spent about an hour in recovery before I go to see him.

I spoke with Dr. Chandler following the surgery and he said it was very routine and there were no surprises once they were inside the knee.  I asked him how removing the entire posterior meniscus would affect his ability to play sports and he said it shouldn't at all.  Basically the meniscus absorbs shock to the knee so over time, Ed may be more likely to develop arthritis behind his knee later in life.  They expect him to be able to return to work next Monday and a full recovery in 3-4 weeks.

Ed has taken it all very well for it being his first surgery.  He has been in good spirits and has not needed any pain meds.  He has been doing great with Ibuprofren.  He has a knee brace that holds ice packs so I have been making sure that he keeps his leg elevated and continues to straighten & flex his legs often to avoid blood clots.  I change his ice packs every couple of hours.  He can remove his knee dressings tomorrow and shower so we will see what the puncture sites look like.



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