Aug. 5, 2014: Tuesday: First followup with Dr. C.

Excellent visit with Dr. C. today. Staples removed. Blood-thinner discontinued, though I will take one normal aspirin per day for a month. The pressure socks are discontinued. Schedule: Expect to drive four weeks post-op. Expect to slowly go from two crutches to one, then to a cane. No rush. Next goals are to have range being 0 to 120 degrees. Pre-op my extension range was 4°, but it should come down from current 8° to 0° slowly.

He commented that he chose the size of the spacer — the plastic cartilage substitute — to be wide, thus leading to a tight knee. This might slow down the recovery of range of motion, but in the long-term will be better for the sports (skiing) that are important to me. And he felt there was no nerve damage: quadriceps failure is quite standard for many days after this surgery.

At 10 pm there was plenty of pain. I took Oxycontin then, slept fitfully, and then woke at 3 to no pain. Presumably it is just because of the drug.

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