Thursday, May 17, 2007

Can You Ever Have Too Much Information?

Since I've been laid up with only the internet as my connection to the outside world, I've been researching my injuries and what the doctors did during surgeries and what I can expect in the future. In particular, I found this interesting interactive video that allows the user to be the doctor during a hip replacement surgery, something I expect to have in the next several months. Thing is, I have a lot of hardware in that hip and chances are I won't be able to use it without a lot of pain. And, even if I don't have pain when I go to walk on it in a few weeks, chances are I'll develop arthritis there fairly soon. Hip replacement surgery has been shown to very successfully eliminate arthritis pain and the folks who have it tend to start using a walker the day after their surgery. So, I'm not terribly concerned after all about the likelihood that I'll need the surgery.

I also found out that people who suffer the kind of injury that I have to my knee, a tibial plateau level 5 fracture, tend to develop arthritis there because of the damage to the cartilage and the bone. It's not clear to me yet whether a knee replacement will remedy arthritis pain caused by that kind of fracture, however. More research...

3 comments:

Suzy Neal said...

Megan, Megan, Megan.... Stop looking at that medical stuff and visit some porn sites or something!

pedalista said...

My mom just had her knee done. Whipper prostetic I think. She had a really excellent surgeon and was up and around without a cane or walker within 4 weeks. The PT that came to the house did say that hip replacements are easier and less painfull than knees? I am trying to protect mine as best I can. Bad knees are hereditary on my moms side of the family...I am glad you are doing better. Is Scully able to mix margaritas and deliver them to you on command yet?

Megan: Dyer, Spinner and Weaver said...

If only I could have margaritas! They just don't mix well with the pain medication!