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I've had my right knee scoped and I'm having my left knee scoped. I was on crutches for two weeks with my right knee, but it might be different for my left knee, and it'll be different for your knee. I'm also fifteen, and this'll be my second surgery this summer. It's not really scary, it's really kinda..almost..well it's not fun, but it's not that bad. I'll tell you exactly how mine was :
Either wear soft shorts [like "Sofee" shorts or gym shorts] and a tshirt, or bring them. I had my surgery in late May, but it was a little chilly so I wore jeans and brought shorts. They'll probably tell you to pack an overnight bag, but even if they don't - it's probably a good idea, even if you don't expect to stay overnight. Don't wear any jewelry, or be prepared to take it off. Don't eat anything past the time they tell you not to eat - not even water or mints or gum. Don't wear fingernail polish because it can interfere with some of their machines. It doesn't really matter if you wear makeup - they didn't tell me I couldn't. I put on eyeliner, just because we had to go out to get my sisters who stayed with a friend and get some frozen peas and stuff.
When you go to the hospital, you'll have to go sit in the waiting room and fill out some paperwork. Then a nurse will call your name and take you into the room. The nurse will go over some paperwork with you, then give you a gown and a cup. She'll ask you to urinate in the cup and to remove all of your clothes [all of them - socks, underwear - everything] and put on the gown. Then you'll go get in your bed and pull the covers up to your chin. It's usually cold in the hospital, so I ended up asking for another blanket [it also made me feel more secure, you know]. I had my MP3 player so I could listen to it while I was waiting. I wasn't alone much though, because there was a constant flow of nurses, anesthesiologists, and my doctor coming in and out talking to us. The doctor only comes in once though, before surgery. There will be probably four or five people who ask you what your name, date of birth is, and when the last time you ate was. A nurse will write your doctor's initials on your knee just so the doctor knows which knee [for sure] to oporate on. Then the anesthesiologist will come in one last time, and give you a sedative. This will make you really seriously NOT CARE what you say - so usually the nurse will take you out of the room pretty quickly. They'll wheel you into the OR and you might not even remember that. I don't remember being wheeled to the OR at all. I was told that I had to scoot myself from the bed to the oporating table then pick out a dream vacation. I didn't do either one - I was asleep before we left the room. The last thing I remember was being in the OR with people standing over me and someone saying "Breathe this.." then I was out. They will probably put a tube down your throat - so they can make sure you're breathing while you're under, and they'll put "sticky tabs" on your chest [under your collar bone and armpits - between four and six of them] to monitor your heart. They will leave your gown on though, don't worry. It may be untied, but it'll still be on. Then, after the surgery, you'll go into the recovery room. You can be there from anywhere between 20 minutes and 3 hours. I was told that I'd been talking for 10 minutes before I even knew that I was talking. I stayed in the recovery room for about 25 minutes, then went back into my other room where my mom was. The nurse told me that before I could go home, I had to drink something, go to the bathroom and change. I drank some water, went to the bathroom and put on my normal clothes. Your leg will be wrapped up from the middle of your thigh to the middle of your calf, and it may look slightly blue- or greenish. This is from the antiseptic they use to disinfect your skin. They may or may not give you stitches - I didn't have stitches. After I'd changed into my normal clothes, soft shorts and a tshirt, I sat down in the chair - they wouldn't let me get back in my bed. It was really cold so they gave me a blanket. My boyfriend's dad works at the hospital so he said Hi. My mom moved the car around to the front and a nurse helped me into a wheelchair then wheeled me to my car and helped me in. I slept in the car to the store and to get my sisters. When we got home, I slept some more, but then woke up. I will just suggest this now, don't eat anything at first. The anesthesia may make you slightly sick to your stomach. They gave me something in the anesthesia to help with that, but it wore off before the anesthesia did. I didn't throw up, I just felt nauseated. They gave me Lortabs for my painkiller, but that made me sick, so they gave me Darvacet too. From then on I slept alot, and had everyone helping me do stuff. I couldn't take a shower for 48 hours, and then I had to sit in a plastic chair sitting in the shower. You do need to go to phsycial therapy within two or three days of surgery or scar tissue will form and - believe me - it is NOT FUN. We waited almost a week to go to phsycal therapy and scar tissue had begun to form and it set me back. We had to do neuromuscular stimulation treatment which consists of hooking your quad muscle up to two nine volt batteries and turning them on. NOT FUN. Ask your doctor before surgery about phsycal therapy. If he/she says you need it, ask them to write a perscription and fax it to the physical therapists that day. Get your mom or dad to call the physical therapists and set up an appointment time.
I didn't hurt that much the first and second days, but the next two days were painful for me.
Another mistake I made was not eating enough with my medicine. I was really groggy and didn't feel like eating so most of the time - I ate two crackers and some Sprite and took my medicine. It messed up my stomach so badly; I was sick to my stomach and had diarrhea. It was terrible.
Put ice on your knee frequently. Frozen peas or corn work fantastically - you can put them on your knee for fifteen minutes, throw them back in the freezer for thirty minutes or so and get them back out. Just don't eat them.
You won't be able to carry a cup or a plate by yourself, so try not to be alone at home for very long if you're going to want to eat. Be prepared to be dependant on other people for the next week and a half or so.
I really didn't experience that much pain other than the third and fourth day out from surgery, and after my first physical therapy session.
May I suggest looking for a local phsycal therapist instead of going to a hospital. Physical therapists who own their own business get to know their patient and are able to interact with you so much better. They have much more time to focus on you. Hospital physical therapists don't know your name, but simply refer to you as "Bed 3" or such. They usually have 5 or 6 patients at a time, so they never have much time to focus on you, and only you.
I'm scheduled to have my left knee scoped August 2nd, and I can honestly say that I'm really not scared.
My least favorite part about the whole surgery was having to be in that silly gown.
It's not that bad though. My myspace link is on my page, if you have any more questions, just message me on myspace.
[thewretchedmelody]
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