just returned from Southmead Hospital Bristol after 51/2 hrs of surgical intervention to my right knee.
This was a biological knee resplacement or also known as a meniscus transplant from a donor to the lateral(outside ) compartment of my right knee. I have also had a Femoral Osteotomy, which is the surgeaon breaking the lower half of my right femur bone, removing a wedge and rejoining it with screws and a plate. This will give me a 10 degree correction to my knee and weight bearing correction from the new transplant lateral side to the medial side which has stable healthy meniscus still in tact.Basically my right knee has gone from being slightly knock kneed into a more bandy or bow legged knee. Finally the third part of my surgery was to drill multiple holes through the end of my knee into the bone marrow to release stem cells to the surface where I have worn away all the articular cartilage on my bone ends. Thids is in the how to try and regenerate some meniscus growth on my femoral and tibial bone ends as not to wear out the newly sutured meniscus transplant.

I was in Hospital a total of 5 days on a Morphine PCA drip and I was discharged once i had shown sufficient stability on crutches. The whole experience was a positive one and my spirits feel high and hopeful. The surgeons assistants have visited me and said that the surgery was a complete success on every level. However I have a very slow and painful recovery ahead of me. 6-10 weeks on crutches non weight bearing followed by partial weight bearing for another month, then the beginning of flexion and strengthening exercises to bring my knee and general fitness levels back to and hopefully beyond my preoperative state.

I plan on turning my blog into a recovery diary for this period..

This is a quick video clip of the effects of morphine on a pca drip and having my dressings removed 3 days following surgery..