It's been now 4 weeks since my knee surgery. I had my surgery on Nov 5. Since then I feel that I have been treated like a sports athlete, since this doctor specializes in using
Growth Factors to help regenerate some of the torn meniscus that was removed from the knee and to facilitate quicker healing. I've received 3 injections of my own plasma enriched with other substances into my knee to promote healing. I have also received
Ozone Therapy, which reduces pain in joints, which in my case is my knee. I feel like the famous Barcelona football player, Messi, although he has not been getting good press recently. These treatments are not FDA recognized so I need to pay this out of my own pocket. But I believe it's worth it.
Progress
After my first two weeks on crutches, I was able to go the third week with just one crutch and in the
house without any at times. After the third week I have not had to use crutches at all. I could go grocery shopping on my own again!! The knee is stiff and a little painful, especially when I bend it. I will be starting three weeks of physical therapy this week. The physical therapist that examined my knee said that it is healing very nicely and is in good condition considering that the surgery was so recent.
When I talked with my surgeon on Wednesday, he said that mid-way through my therapy sessions I can begin to do light sports activities. After the 3 weeks of therapy I can do moderate exercise, and in January I should be back to normal. We'll see how all this goes.
Medical Records
Unlike in the U.S. where there has been a big push to store all medical records electronically (which has had mixed reviews, especially among U.S. medical professionals), here in Barcelona, many records are still written on paper. I was amused when I went into the doctor's office the other day and they had large index cards with information about me on it. There are file folders, and envelopes and index cards and paper documents to keep track of my records. Of course this hinders the ability to easily communicate to other health professionals working with the patient. But it also reduces the amount of administrative work that US health workers are burdened with.
Medical Privacy
I also noticed that there is not the rigor to keep an individual's medical information absolutely private. I am not saying that information is indiscreetly shared, but there seems to be a more casualness to sharing. In my case, I found this doctor through a good friend who highly recommended him. One day, I was talking to my friend. He mentioned that the doctor had told him that when they went into my knee, they found that there was a lot more torn meniscus there than what they were expecting. He said that the doctor told him that it was pretty beat up. I already knew this information, but I was surprised to hear it from my friend who had heard it from our mutual doctor. Although I was not offended by this, my initial shock came from my experience of the strict standard in the U.S. for professionals to never share medical information about their clients. I don't know if this was an isolated incident or whether this is a common occurrence.
