ACL + Meniscus Repair Surgery!

I had an ACL surgery for my left knee in 2016 and it went quite bad. After a month of surgery, they had to set me back. It was probably because of lack information and I received minimum of consultancy on how to keep the postop process going well. I lose 11kg in weight through out the 6 weeks because of the complications.

"Don't move too much". But how to measure 'much'?

"After a month, you don't have to use the crutches". But I was still feel the hell pain inside. Was I missed out something?

"Eh? where is your bandage? That could be the reason why your knee is swollen". How should I know what the bandage does? The therapist wrapped my knee so loose like it didn't exerted any force to my knee. And he didn't say anything about the important of the bandage.

Minutes before the operation.

So, yeah.

Fast forward 3 years, I had my ACL surgery but on my right knee. Same reason, badminton! This time, I and my wife knew better. No more complications and the postop process is going quite well.
During the follow up session, the nurse came over to my house (this is a new type of service available in Avisena Specialist) and explained about the reason why they bandaged my knee.

"Bandage ni takda apa pun, Encik. Hanya nak bagi kaki kita nampak macam orang sakit masa nak berjalan. Jadi, orang tau kita sakit dan berhati-hati masa nak berurusan dengan kita. Selain tu, nak elakkan infection je. Tapi Encik kan dah pakai water poof dressing ni, jadi, bandage ni dah takda fungsi apa".

Hmmm.. Wait. I recalled my conversation with my old friend, Dr Dzul. He gave me simple yet useful and effective tips how to take care of the ACL postop. They are simplified to an acronym: RICE.

R- Rest. Rest as much as possible during your first 3 weeks postop.
I- Ice. Apply ice to the swollen area as frequent as you could.
C- Compression. Put on the bandage to give compression to the swollen knee every time you off the ice.
E- Elevate. Elevate your leg higher than your heart position for a better blood circulation around the knee.

Well, pay attention to the 'C'. 😇

Expensive!

Cheap :)

Today remarks my final week before I can actually resume my site works. I'm not mentally prepared... yet. By far, I am not so far from the full recovery. Only that, I need time. I am still struggling climbing the stair. A lot more work out needed to get it back to normal.