First meeting with the surgeon
On Wednesday I had my first meeting with a consultant surgeon to discuss my pending knee surgery. First thing he did was examine my knee and test the ligaments. He certainly wasn’t gentle, and damn it hurt! He pushed it sideways, up and down, pressed into the different parts of the knee to see if it was tender etc. It was back-arching-tongue-bitingly painful. I guess my expression and stiffening up proved to him that something was wrong, although I was pretty sure the MRI and x-ray scans could have shown him that.
Afterwards, he discussed what needed to be done. It was exactly the same as the operation I’d posted about previously, except they would first try to use the hamstring ligament instead of the one at the front of my shin. He also explained that when they first remove the ligament and put it into the new position it’s technically “dead” – there is no blood flowing through it. But the body recognises it’s there, and uses it as a “template” to create a brand new living ligament. I found that really fascinating! While it was going through the process the knee couldn’t be put under any stress, ensuring a new healthy strong ligament. The whole process takes a fair amount of time, hence the reason the rehabilitation period is from 6 – 9 months.
Then came the bad news. If I wanted to go through the public health system the wait for the operation was approximately 6 – 12 months. Screw that! If I went through the private system the waiting period was much shorter, only a month or so. The catch is that I would have to pay the extra after medicare had paid their limit. The doctor thought off the top of his head it would be approximately $1,500.
He asked what I wanted to do, and I said I would have to think about it so for the moment I’m listed as being a private patient. They’ll set a surgery date and forward me a quote, and if it cost too much then I was free to cancel it and go onto the public waiting list. My gut feeling is that I should go private. I don’t have the patience to wait 6 – 12 months, and the longer I wait for surgery the longer I postpone my dream of joining the police service. I signed the forms saying that if I die on the operating table then it’s my problem, and left.
Yesterday about lunch time they rang, and informed me they had an availability on Tuesday for the surgery if I was interested. Someone had cancelled, so they had a free spot. I would have to go to the hospital straight away to meet with the anaesthesist though. I sadly declined, and asked about getting a quotation any earlier. Without a surgery date, there was really nothing they could do, and Tuesday was just a little bit too early for me.
Not to worry, I’m sure it won’t be too long until I know what’s going on. I have a friend who underwent his own knee reconstruction, who has been providing me with advice; it’s great to have someone I can constantly nag with questions!! Now just to get my finances in order!!
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