Partial Meniscectomy Surgery Day

Following a nearly year-long recovery from ACL and medial and lateral meniscus surgery, my medial meniscus repair failed. Just 13 months after my initial surgery, I was back in surgery again for a partial meniscectomy.

During both of my recoveries, I found it very helpful to learn about other peoples’ experiences, so I also documented my own. In this post, I am going to share my surgery day experience for my partial meniscectomy.

To learn more about my injury, head to this post.

For information on my previous ACL/Meniscus surgery from April 2018, head to this post. Watch my entire journey for both recoveries on YouTube.

How I Felt Going into Meniscus Surgery

I felt a lot different going into my partial meniscectomy than I did going into my ACL and meniscus surgery. For one, I had already gone through the experience and did not feel so anxious about it. I generally knew what to expect and was familiar with the process. Additionally, my first surgery was much more extensive, so I figured this one could not be nearly as bad.

The week leading up to surgery, I was in a lot of pain and discomfort due to the displaced piece of the meniscus that was locking my knee and preventing it from straightening. I had a lot of trouble sleeping, since my knee was constantly aching. Of course, I was still nervous and bit stressed about the surgery, but I was very glad I only had to wait six days from the injury to get the surgery. Overall, I was looking forward to the surgery and relieving that feeling.

The Morning of Meniscus Surgery

My surgery was scheduled for about noon, so I was supposed to get there by 10:00 am. In preparing for surgery, you cannot eat or drink after midnight the night before. If you do so, they may have to reschedule the surgery. By the time I woke up at 8:00 am the day of my surgery, I was already hungry and thirsty.

I arrived on time and did not have to wait long before heading to the first room. There, I changed into my gown and the nurses hooked me up to an IV. Unfortunately, I was here a lot longer than expected because the two surgeries before mine both took longer than expected. I had to wait in that room for hours and was getting very hungry and impatient. By about 2:30 pm, they were finally ready for my surgery, and I was taken into the operating room.

After the Partial Meniscectomy Surgery

My surgery involved simply trimming the damaged meniscus, which is a partial meniscectomy. The procedure took around an hour. Waking up from this surgery was much less difficult than my first surgery. Luckily, I did not wake up in much pain and was able to get ready to leave quite quickly.

I got home by about 4:00 pm, and I did not have any nausea or other intense symptoms. I felt very very tired, so I slept on and off all day due to the anesthesia. On the first day, I also took all medications on schedule, including the Vicodin.

My knee certainly was a bit stiff and irritated, but it was not too painful. It was a little swollen, but I was able to walk on my own by the end of the day. I tried to sit with my leg elevated and propped up to help with extension as well. Throughout the day, I did some small movements like ankle pumps, leg raises, and heel slides. My range of motion was nearly normal by the end of the day and was certainly better than before the surgery.