Monday, March 3, 2008

The day started with Mark's MRI. He was anesthetized and taken to radiology, had the MRI, his knee was manipulated in the OR and then he went to recovery for quite a while. He got back to his room and was awake but a little "loopy" and as he said "couldn't talk straight." But all in all it went well. The results were interesting although we have not had all the final information.

They could not get his leg completely straightened. This was a disappointment in that there is an encapsulation of tissue under the knee causing the problem. It is not large so that is a plus and the serial casting will continue. They think it will still work. They did, however, find a blood clot in the knee. They do not know if it is recent or an old one and perhaps the primary clot from which the pulmonary embolism found at Walter Reed came from. They did a vascular study tonight where they did an ultrasound so we should know more tomorrow. If it is going to be a chronic problem, they will probably put mesh into the groin area to prevent any additional clots to go to the lungs. Just another bump in the road.

They are going to recast the right leg tomorrow and then cut off and bi-valve both casts so that they will be able to take them off for therapy. It is more beneficial to stand him without the casts on. Hopefully, they will be able to gain a few degrees each time. It was a little frustrating to find out they couldn't get the leg straighter, but we will have to deal with it. At least he wasn't in any pain after the procedure even when the anesthetic wore off. The muscle relaxer that has been added was increased again today and they have several more steps before they reach the peak dose. It is increased every seven days and seems to be effective. Hopefully, the combination of all these treatments will work.