Skip to main content

First Night After MACI Procedure

June 21, 2018

As I arrive home I begin to grasp the magnitude of the procedure as I run my hands along my knee and feel at least 20 staples.

My wife, parents and siblings all rush to help me out of the car and although I try to assure them that I am fine, my lack of coordination and balance tell a different story. They all manage to help me out of the car and into my room. I'm very glad that the local is still very much in effect or trying to get my leg on the bed would've been really painful.

I settle in and pop two Oxycodone. I'm out within a few minutes and only wake up about four hours later when I hear my kids running by my room. The local had started to wear off and I'm becoming increasingly aware of the throbbing wound on my leg. I resist the urge to take any more pain meds and instead ask my wife to please hook me up to the CPM machine.

The instructions said to aim for 30 degrees in the first week, so of course being a stubborn man I started at that setting. Surprisingly, the pain was not too bad and after a few minutes the pain actually got better by using the machine. I spent six hours on it and only stopped using it because I didn't want to overdo it on the first day. I took two more Oxycodone and went to sleep.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MACI Procedure Recovery - Day 3

June 24, 2018 My knee woke up feeling pretty good in terms of pain but my calf feels like it is about to explode. After taking off the leg brace and inspecting it nothing seems to be swollen but I'm still glad I have my first post-op appointment today. I again managed to make it through the night with no pain meds but popped a couple of more pills before jumping on the CPM. I also decided to turn her up to 60 degrees as the MACI guide says I'm supposed to be at 90 by week 2 and I figure it is probably good to transition in stages. Surprisingly, it feels really good and only slightly more painful than 30 degrees. After six hours, it is time to go see the doctor/surgeon. I can't wait to ask about my calf. He pulls off the dressing and takes a look and says that it looks absolutely great. He explains that the procedure went as well as he could have ever imagined and that the MACI graft went in perfectly. I tell him about my progress and CPM setting and he is really surpr...
Post a Comment
Read more

MACI Procedure Recovery - Day 1

June 22, 2018 I woke up several times throughout the night because of pain and popped two more pills to manage it slightly. The local definitely work off shortly after having fallen asleep and I can say resoundingly that this is a painful procedure. I tried to let my wife rest and only woke her up in the morning because my pee jar was full. Sidenote, I did not realize that Oxycodone can inhibit your ability to urinate and when I went sleep my bladder was hurting because I had been loaded up with IV fluids and couldn't go pee. It is actually quite disheartening to put your junk into the pee jar and just stare at it for upwards of a minute with no results. I did eventually manage to pee overnight without making a mess or walking my wife so that was a win. I popped two more pills and asked my wife to hook me up to the ice water circulating machine. After 30 minutes it was on to the CPM and six hours of Netflix. Their new show Cobra Kai is pretty bad ass. During my time on CPM I ...
Post a Comment
Read more