Today I had the opportunity to Skype with my surgeon, Craig McAllister, MD. The first video is a 10 day post-op visit where you will see me remove my dressing and he will be reviewing with me the protocol moving forward: The second video is his answer to my question concerning what techniques, in the…
Post-op Days 7-10
Monday, October 16: This represented one full week after surgery. It was my daughter’s birthday so I got dressed in clothes that did not include sweat pants and went out to a steakhouse in New Jersey (about an hour drive. My wife drove, course. When I leave the house I take my crutches. As my…
Going Home
I am writing this post while on the plane back home. It is Saturday October 14. Thursday and Friday repeated the minimum pain I had on Wednesday. Don’t get me wrong here- in certain positions and with certain motions the knee can be very painful. For example I can bend the knee to 95° and…
The Important First Three Days
At least so far I feel I am actually progressing a bit smoother than the last time, which was actually quite good, although it really is too early to tell. Tuesday was postoperative day (POD) 1. That was the worst day. At about 3 PM the pain maxed out at about 6/10 and I took…
One More Time!
A View from the “Other Side” Today, 10/9/17, I had my right knee operated on. Last year it was the left knee. I actually had this planned, of course, for some time, but since the symptoms were so similar, as was my SwiftPath preop program with Dr. McAllister, I figured the preop part of this…
4 Months-From an OR Long Ago…
I am just over 4 months. It seems like I had the surgery ages ago. Here is a summary of my timeline of a few milestones: August 22, 2016: Surgery September 4, 2016: First day of physical therapy October 2, 2016: Returned to work 60% (Did not start operating- started the office hours) October 16,…
A View Down the Line
I am now at 4 weeks after the surgery. The journey of healing is really amazing. Its not a straight, linear experience. There are quite a few ups and downs- during the ups, everything feels great and during the downs even I, as a surgeon, was getting worried. The ups and down are either in…
Giving Care to The Patient
I don’t believe that anyone can go through this operation alone. You either need a mobile and dedicated caregiver 24 hours a day for a solid 2 weeks or you need to go to some type of rehab hospital. There is no discussion about this. In recent years, there have been discussions that joint replacements…
No Place Like Home
Today is Wednesday August 31. I traveled from Seattle two days ago (Monday). As you, the reader, know, I chose to have my knee done, as an outpatient, by a close friend and colleague in Seattle. Aside from the inherent trust I had in Dr. McAllister, I also am a firm believer in his enhanced…
Thinking about Pain
It is now Saturday, the 5th day after surgery. I am well past what conventionally has been the time period where most patients and surgeons feel is the most pain. I now have minor discomfort only. To discuss the pain and the specific ways my pain was managed by me and my surgeon I put…
The Joint Package
In his bestseller “Better,” the medical author Atul Gawande writes an essay titled “The Score.” In it he reviews the challenge obstetrics has had over the past century to decrease infant mortality. Based on individual innovation and other sources of contribution, over time there became a series of things done in the time before, during,…
Friday- The Real World
Woke up on this fourth day after surgery feeling remarkably well. Some generalized soreness but moved the knee to 103°. How do I know? There is an app for that (actually quite a few. Measuring a joint is done with a goniometer. I downloaded an app called Goniometer by Jinfra. Works very easy. I Here…
My Knee Your Knee 