Pre Op

My goal is to post daily or as often as I can after I have the surgery...... so here it goes.

Yesturday we were at Geisinger where we attended a total joint class at the hip and knee center.  

My previous and 9th surgery on my left knee was a patella femoral arthroplasty which is also called a resurfacing where the arthritis is removed and an artificial surface is cemented to the bone.  Since February of this year I have been having problems....episodes of pain and swelling that are increasing in frequency as well as duration.  When walking down stairs or down a hill I can feel the knee cap clanging against a bone.  There's definately no pain in the joint at all when I experience this but it is definately unsettling.

I chose Dr Maish because he was the only one in the area who does the procedure I had last.  I was told that my last procedure could be revised.  I might have been mistaken as I took it to mean that it could be revised with the same procedure and not to a total knee replacement.  Either it can't or it isn't suggested in my case.

So yesturday Shelly and I spent just about all dat at Geisinger Hospital which is only about 13 miles away so it wasn't as bad as it sounds.  We had a total joint class at 9am, a pre op physical at 12:30 then an anesthesia appt at 1:30.  The purpose of the class is to prepare us of what to expect in both pre and post surgery to include aftercare programs.  There are certain foods and medicines you have to stop taking in the one week prior to surgery and I will be on coumadin for 6 week after surgery.

So, after everything was said and done I am all set for surgery on Jan 3rd.  I am not looking forward to it as the last surgery was suppose to put this off for way longer than it has....2 years definately not long enough.