Getting a Scope

I've been having trouble with my knee since injuring it 2 1/2 years ago doing high kicks...should have known better! Anyway, it's finally continued to bug me enough that I went to see my family doctor about it and he suggested it could be the meniscus...I think that's cartilage. I thought it was a torn ligament but it turns out I'm wrong.

My family doctor sent me to an orthopedic surgeon who finally diagnosed my problem and it is the meniscus. He said I could just live with it but if it was bothering me enough he could scope it. I think scoping is sort of cleaning out the damaged meniscus and that would pretty well be the end of my recurring pain. He first wanted to do the scope later in the fall but I told him that I leave for Florida at the end of October and would like it done and healed by the time I leave so he managed to fit me in for September 7th.

It turns out that scoping is done by cutting a small hole on either side of the knee and it's done under local anesthetic so I can watch the procedure. It's also day surgery and I'll be able to walk out after it's done. It will take about 4-5 weeks to heal and it's 80% effective. My biggest worry about this knee was that it would be a torn ligament that needed stitching up so just a scoping will be a piece of cake.

Just think, if I'd been smart enough to see my doctor soon after the injury, I wouldn't have spent 2 1/2 years with recurring pain in that knee. Usually I have more sense than to ignore pain but this one was so sporadic that it was sort of easy to brush it off. Better late than never and I learned my lesson!