The following week (third week of June), on a thursday morning, got an MRI done and was given a CD which I thought would have a report. So quickly went to my office and checked out the contents - only saw images but nothing else. It is really intriguing that in this era of ultra fast computing and high tech diagnosis, the MRI images are still black and white! Wouldn't it be nice to see them in color? Not that any of the 290+ pictures made any sense. I cut a few copies and contacted some of my doctor friends/advisors to see if they can get the MRI diagnosis. In the mean time, I got an appointment to see the orthopaedic doctor the following tuesday.
The first diagnosis I got from a doctor advisor (courtesy a Radiologist that works in the hospital) was that ACL is fine, meniscus is fine, but there is degenerative arthritis. I wasn't sure if it was good news or bad news. So, there I went to the internet and starting searching for degenerative arthritis and it sounded like it is osteoarthritis which results from damage to the knee or could be due to age (remember I am still not 'aged').
So, I go to the orthopaedic doctor whose assistant went over radiologist's report which gave the diagnosis as: 1. Full ACL tear; 2. Medial meniscal tear; 3. fluid in the knee; 4. arthritis. In the mean time, the doctor comes in and goes over the film with me showing these things. He had me lie down and this time was certain there was some laxity in my knee which he couldn't find during his baseball practice with my leg during the previous session. He gave two options - 1. rehab and take anti-inflammatory drugs and live with it. There may be times when these things flare up and I have to go through this process of rehab/drugs, and 2. get in, perform ACL repair/reconstruction and rehab until better. I wasn't prepared for this as this was in complete contrast with the initial reading I got. So, I couldn't prepare the way I did for getting an MRI. I needed time and said that I will have to check with my "better" half before making a decision. The doctor said he will drain the fluid since the knee was quite swollen still (after almost two months of injury). Got a huge syringe and drained out like a cup of blood. Apparently, blood in the knee is also an indication of ACL tear!
The fun continues in my next post...
The first diagnosis I got from a doctor advisor (courtesy a Radiologist that works in the hospital) was that ACL is fine, meniscus is fine, but there is degenerative arthritis. I wasn't sure if it was good news or bad news. So, there I went to the internet and starting searching for degenerative arthritis and it sounded like it is osteoarthritis which results from damage to the knee or could be due to age (remember I am still not 'aged').
So, I go to the orthopaedic doctor whose assistant went over radiologist's report which gave the diagnosis as: 1. Full ACL tear; 2. Medial meniscal tear; 3. fluid in the knee; 4. arthritis. In the mean time, the doctor comes in and goes over the film with me showing these things. He had me lie down and this time was certain there was some laxity in my knee which he couldn't find during his baseball practice with my leg during the previous session. He gave two options - 1. rehab and take anti-inflammatory drugs and live with it. There may be times when these things flare up and I have to go through this process of rehab/drugs, and 2. get in, perform ACL repair/reconstruction and rehab until better. I wasn't prepared for this as this was in complete contrast with the initial reading I got. So, I couldn't prepare the way I did for getting an MRI. I needed time and said that I will have to check with my "better" half before making a decision. The doctor said he will drain the fluid since the knee was quite swollen still (after almost two months of injury). Got a huge syringe and drained out like a cup of blood. Apparently, blood in the knee is also an indication of ACL tear!
The fun continues in my next post...
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