My surgery was scheduled for 10 am on Friday 3/16, therefore putting me at the hospital at 8 am. I checked into the front desk and was given my “designer” hospital bracelet and was told to sign some paperwork. Next I was taken to the surgery prep room where I got my IV and leg cleaned and prepared for the surgery. Of course once the nurse was done, my bladder decided it needed to be emptied again. So I'm betting that everyone has seen or at least has heard of people walking around with the gown untied in the back showing the world their bum….well that almost happened to me! First, you look like a hot mess when you get prepared for surgery. Your hair could rival your elementary lunch ladies with the super cute hair net they give you, then add your leg which is orange because they cleaned it with iodine making it look like a spray tan gone wrong. Added to this hot mess was me trying to carry my IV bag and then almost forgetting to hold my gown closed in the back! I remembered my gown was untied just as a cold draft hit my backside, thankfully I had not left my curtained off area so not no one saw!
Next the anesthesiologist came in to see what type of cocktail to give me; of course I said I wanted top shelf drugs, because I get very sick after surgery without them. If you have never had surgery, trust me just let them give you the full scope of anti-nausea drugs. My first surgery in 2002 they did not give me anything and I was vomiting for the first 10 hours I was home, plus trying to heal from the scope.
Then my surgeon came to talk to me and my family (Dr. Chris Arnold, Fayetteville AR) and described the ACI procedure. He also surprised me by saying he was not going to use my own tissue graft for the periosteal flap. Instead he would be using porcine graft instead. (Yay I’m part pig now! My vegan cousin will never look at me the same again.) That was news to me since prior to surgery he was going to use my own tissue. I will have to do more research and ask him questions about why he chose that route when I have my first post op appointment on Wednesday. The surgery itself was only 1.5 hours, which is much less than what I expected and my incision is only 4-5”. Click on the link to see a pic of my knee...not for the weak at heart, but it's not as bad as one would think. (Picture of my knee - S + 2days) I’ve read other ACI blogs and they average more on the 3-4 hours for surgery and 6-10” incisions. This might have something to do with not using my own tissue for the flap, another question for the doctor on Wednesday.
Another unexpected but pleasant event was I went home the day of surgery. An hour in the recovery room was all the hospital time I spent, which again is contrast to other blogs I’ve read where they write about 24-48 hours in the hospital to manage pain levels. I do know that I got a nerve block and therefore the first 24 hours after surgery were more or less pain free, but there is always a feeling of pressure around my knee. However, I could feel pinches of pain when I twisted my knee the wrong way which can spike the pain to a 9 really fast. Note to self, don’t twist the knee! Once the block wore off the pain increased, but so did my meds and so far I have been able to keep the pain between 3-5 on the pain scale. Except for a few hours my second night home, my pain increased to an 8-9 so my husband gave me another pill and then my brain went a bit crazy. I remember hearing someone moaning and I felt so bad for that person, then I realized I WAS MOANING! It was a weird out of body experience. I also felt like I had just walked into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory because my brain was high as a kite and I was seeing crazy colors. Bless my poor husband who got up with me every couple of hours to check on me and help me get to the bathroom. I’ve got more I would love to write about, but the next round of drugs have started to kick in so spelling, grammar and the ability to write coherently will start to decrease.
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