Bend that knee

One guy's ongoing discussion with his left knee

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Burns thoughts

So saw Dr. Burns today. Running a little behind, but a great guy. Really enjoy all his folks. Here are some of the Q&A thoughts.

Do I need another MRI or X-ray before Steady? Nope.
Could you write another PT script? Could, but insurance will cut it off suddenly, so might save those for after next surgery. Angela could indicate in report that she is releasing until next surgery and patient will do on own.
My first MRI post first surgery didn't really show any scar tissue, but one this April showed a lot. Is it possible that we remove all the scar tissue that we can see but are back where we started from the first MRI? Possible - it's also possible that Steady will decide that 5 degrees is a 100% success, he'll probably determine that once he's in the knee. He'll probably start by removing as much star tissue as possible - good news is a lot of it is in the front, which is easier to get to and may be the main cause of extension loss. He may use "biters" which cut through scar tissue due to the quantity, whereas most here is just burned away (my phrase). He will get as much as he can and then might cut something behind the knee while insuring he avoids the artery that is back there. Steady is the expert in that procedure (I don't think Shelbourne believes it is necessary from a post I read on kneeguru).
I was correct in my reading of the op notes - I did have 5 degrees on the table during the MUA and only 10 degrees during the actual debridement (wrong way!)
It's possible I might have multiple surgeries, but it would be unlikely for them to be closer than 3 months apart [so they shouldn't interfere with the wedding, but who knows. I read another post on kneeguru where someone went back on the table almost the next day, so I'm guessing it happens immediately or takes a while]
He didn't have a good guess at rehab (ok, I actually forgot to ask)
He also said he knew of Shelbourne, and laughed that when Shelbourne came out with the accelerated rehab paper, Steady said he'd been doing it for years. He's a good surgeon [but it was obvious he favored Steady. I appreciated the fact he didn't try to say I shouldn't see Shelbourne or say anything negative about him

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