What To Expect From a Knee Arthroscopy

Surgery is nothing new to me. Going into this surgery, I felt a sense of ease that I would recover quickly. . To some extent, that was true although it wasn’t always exactly smooth sailing. I ended up getting a knee arthroscopy to remove the fat pad in my knee. They were also planning to do an exploratory search to ensure no other part of my knee was affected.

My fat pad was seen on the MRI as being inflamed. The surgeons went back and forth about how successful surgery would be. After failing out of physical therapy again, it was clear surgery was the only option. I can’t say that was an easy decision for me to make although necessary, surgery is never what I’d opt for. The surgeons assured me that this procedure would be quick and easy. I could weight bare as tolerated immediately following surgery. Within a couple weeks after surgery, I could start physical therapy.

Surgery day came and into the OR I went. My fat pad was hypertrophied meaning that it was significantly larger than it should’ve been. It was pinched on both flexion and extension. There was no way to avoid pinching it. Luckily, nothing else was amiss in my knee. Everything besides my fat pad was completely intact. It was clear to the surgeon that due to the size and swelling of my fat pad, it was the cause of my pain. This is great news!

Following surgery, I was able to start walking on day 2. I pushed a little too hard and set myself back a bit but overall. On day 4 I was back to walking and stronger after a day off of it. My limp stayed until about week 3. I was able to keep it iced and elevated for the majority of the first two weeks. A couple of long days at work left me bruised and swollen. The stairs are what hurt the worst. They even caused some numbness which led to an ER visit to rule out DVT.

Due to work and a missed appointment, I haven’t started physical therapy yet. I’m hoping to start it this week. I’ll also have my check in with the surgeon who will ultimately make the call on whether I’m approved to start. After reading over my paperwork, I realized I wasn’t supposed to get rid of my mobility aid until I could walk without a limp. That’s an unfortunate error on my part.

I’m hopeful about the results. I feel ready and excited to start training again. Unfortunately, because this issue plagues both of my knees, I’ll go back into surgery in January. After getting both knees fixed, I should finally be able to exercise the way that I’d like with respect for my chronic illnesses in mind. After talking with my specialist, surgeries will likely be an ongoing occurrence for me. My body just formed in a different way than most people and because of that more issues will likely arise. I’m okay with that, I’m grateful to have that knowledge in the back of my mind. That perspective will make it easier to cope with as problems occur.
I’m grateful my first knee went well. I’m hopeful my second will as well.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. I hope your day is filled with joy, positivity, and laughter. I hope you find peace, love, and happiness.