driving after meniscus root repair

When I returned home around 1pm that day, I sat in my living room for a bit, emailing and texting people to let them know I was alive and well. Everyone I was in contact with, from support staff to Dr. Burnham, was kind, friendly, competent, and generous with time and information. I asked when I could start driving, and he said when I was off my pain medication. There goes my knee again.. He spent a great amount of time explaining everything to me in a way that I understood everything. Fortunately, this is usually done arthroscopically and with good results. Most of these types of injuries, that are symptomatic, require surgery. 515 Ray C. Hunt Drive, Suite 1100, Charlottesville, VA 22903 Phone: 434-243-7778 Fax: 434-243-5075 Meniscal Root Repair Post-operative Rehabilitation Protocol. while avoiding unnecessary surgery, injections, and medications. If the surgery is on the right leg i change to I was cleared to drive at my followup appointment 2 weeks after surgery, which was exactly what my surgeon had told me to expect. As a result, two weeks after surgery I was able to start driving my car, which is a manual. We will determine during your consultation whether general or regional anesthesia would be appropriate - either way, no pain will be experienced during the procedure itself. Sometimes the meniscus damage occurs more gradually as part of degeneration. The surgery performed was a knee partial meniscectomy, a common surgical procedure used to repair a torn meniscus. Most patients will also have some numbness around the surgical incision, but this is not a true complication and is anticipated with any type of surgical incision. Can you tear your meniscus again after a surgery and if you do how can you tell? I would have relied strictly on physical therapy. I have looked many times for answers on my tibial tubercle osteotomy and never found any as detailed as i needed. It can be very difficult to interpret an MRI after a meniscus root repair. Appreciate the attention and time spent during office visits. He diagnosed the problem quickly and accurately. For potential or actual medical emergencies, immediately call 911 or your local emergency service. Medial meniscus root repair midterm results suggest excellent outcomes in a well-aligned knee with minimal degenerative change. I have no issues taking the stairs, just a little knee discomfort here and there. So you need to just have that expectation right now if youre going to go get a surgery, or if youve already had one, if its been more than six months, or youre in that you know, past six months, six to 12 months range or longer since your meniscus surgery, then its okay as long as you dont have another tear or some other massive injury to it, you can probably get that swelling under control, regain your motion back as long as it hasnt been too long. If scar tissue is present, Dr. Nwachukwu will clean up the area so the knee is allowed to move through its entire range of motion. It can also occur while bending the knee deeply. My MRI showed an extensive radial tear adjacent to the medial meniscus root insertion, as well as evidence of high-grade chondral loss involving the central trochlea. If one does a meniscus root repair in that extruded position, the chance of a meniscus root repair working over the long term is very minimal. I plan to squat 135 pounds for three sets of five on this day and am scheduled to deadlift 200 pounds on August 23. His step by step explanation of surgery expectations before and after the procedure was specific, thorough, and answered all of my questions. . In some instances, the meniscus posterior horn may need to be released from scar tissue to allow it to be repositioned. You may need surgery to restore full knee function. Get prescriptions or refills through a video chat, if the doctor feels the prescriptions are medically appropriate. I have see all three orthopedic doctors at the Grove and Jerrica is the one I see the most and the latest she's absolutely wonderful. If it is the right knee, the average time until the patient is able to drive is 6-9 weeks. This mechanism of injury and the description of a pop is the classic description of one who has a meniscus root tear occur. His surgery and recovery has been perfect! Contact Dr. Nwachukwus team today! So lets get to it. I could not bear weight on my right side though I tried repeatedly, but finally I went and got an MRI and one of the orthopedic surgeons that I worked with was shocked when he saw the MRI result. Right Knee Surgery After Auto Bicycle Accident, Medical Second Opinion Service MRI/X-ray Review. I did a few jungle gym rows, and finished with planks. And unless you have been following my Instagram page and know about my rehab, you would never even know that I had knee surgery. What most people just dont get from their medical professionals is that the meniscus is a type of cartilage. When the meniscus root becomes detached, the meniscus can extrude out of the joint and lead to effectively having no functional meniscus. What made my recovery so fast? In terms of when, one should plan to perform a meniscus root repair as soon as it is diagnosed as long as ones articular cartilage is still fairly intact. It involves removal of some or all of a meniscus from the tibio-femoral joint of the knee using arthroscopic (keyhole) surgery. Dr. Burnham made sure I knew what was happening and what could happen. Arner, J.W., Herbst, E.. Meniscal Root Repair Article. While you're recovering from your meniscus surgery, you can expect to feel pain while you heal. They are also important to the stability and function of the knee, keeping the meniscus in place. For these, please consult a doctor (virtually or in person). If one does have quite a bit of arthritis of the same compartment, which we would call Kellgren-Lawrence grades 3 or 4, in most circumstances, other than possibly in very young patients, a root repair would generally not be indicated. If so, you may be at risk of tearing the root of your meniscus. The menisci in the knee are two c-shaped pieces of fibrocartilage that act as shock absorbers. Stated to me , in detail, what to expect and how long my recovery will take. Patients who have an ACL tear have a 10% chance of having a lateral meniscus root tear. This is one of the first video demonstrations of this. A friend of mine picked me up, and took me to the gym, where I coached my clients, sometimes sitting, sometimes standing. Sutures are passed through the meniscus, and then pulled down into a bone tunnel located at the same site as the root attachment before it tore. But theres still healing to be done and that 20% is really critical. I was referred to Dr. Burnham from my spine doc, Chambliss Harrod, MD and he turned out to be a way cool guy. Everyone made us feel comfortable, and they were all polite and professional. They walked me through the process from beginning to end. Then, in January of 2018, while warming up in class one morning, a sharp, nauseating pain shot through my left knee, which made me start limping. Once my doctor started the procedure, it was obvious that this would not be a simple surgery. HSS Sports Medicine Institute West Side Therefore, it is strongly recommended to proceed with a meniscus root repair whenever possible, with patients up to the age of 70 being reported as having excellent return of function. Historically, these root tears are often treated with benign neglect and either ignored or trimmed out. Call your doctor or 911 if you think you may have a medical emergency. Most root tears involve either a direct tear of the meniscus off bone or a split of the meniscus within 1 cm of the root attachment. Further study into meniscus root tears and radial root tears is ongoing by our research laboratory to try to improve the treatment of these complex problems. <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/Annots[ 12 0 R] /MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> In some instances, the meniscus posterior horn may need to be released from scar tissue to allow it to be repositioned. You'll begin a graduated rehabilitation protocol. Bottom line, it was pretty clear from the MRI that if I wanted to be out of pain, surgery was my only option. Many patients do not have significant joint line pain like a typical meniscus tear, so having a patient stand up and squat down is often performed during the clinical exam to validate that the patient may have a meniscus root tear. Also, I had to make numerous visits to the Ochsner Clinic due to my injury and Dr. Burnham's team and the staff at Ochsner were always very professional and courteous. The High Tech Shirt Problem in the Squat Rusty Holcomb, Observations on Training by an Old Guy Phil Ringman. The meniscal roots are critical in maintaining the normal shock absorbing function of the meniscus. Meniscus root tears are a particularly troublesome type of meniscus tear, because a failure to treat them can often result in the rapid development of osteoarthritis. Amazing doctor, amazing family mantreats patients with the highest level of care, compassion, and quality! Dr. Burnham performed my hip pin surgery and it all went extremely well. Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone. He has a great rapport with teenagers. The meniscus root is where the meniscus attaches to bone. Many surgeons will tie the meniscus root repair with the knee bent, so that one can start motion right after surgery and not have to worry about the meniscus root repair being stretched out. The study, " Patients Who Undergo Rotator Cuff Repair Can Safely Return to Driving at 2 Weeks Postoperatively ," was published online on July 21, 2022 in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. Highly recommended! If the patient is not comfortable walking without an aid, then they are usually provided with axillary crutches. During the procedure, Dr. Vidal will isolate the root, pull it against the tibia and place sutures in the meniscal attachment. Two important criteria exist to begin driving after meniscus surgery. %PDF-1.5 And slowly, I started bending the knee more, and eventually took the box away from my bench. Please try again. The most important aspect to assess when one is looking at a root repair is to ensure that ones cartilage surfaces are still fairly normal. I was told it would be about 6 weeks, but my instructions are to wear a brace at full extension for the duration of this time. When the meniscus root is repaired there will be a prolonged period of restricted weight bearing and range of motion to protect the I limped from the wedding venue to the car, and then from the car to my house. The roots of the meniscus are responsible for transmitting weight evenly across the surface of the tibia. They are connected to your tibia by meniscal roots. 1) You must be off narcotic medications for a .