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Would highly recommend dr. dillingham at SOAR in redwood city.
I had my knee surgery last month.
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Philip Berstien -> Mills Peninsula, San Mateo.
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I had two surgeries (shoulder and wrist) at www.soarmedical.com. Dr. George Thabit did my shoulder surgery. Can't remember the name of the wrist surgeon.
So far the experience has been good, everythings holding up. Dr. Thabit does his surgeries at the Waverly center, they unfortunately don't accept UHC, but they worked out something for me. Just in case your relative runs into the same issue, anyways depends on the insurance
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Dr Michael Dillingham at Soar Medical is good.. I had an ACL + meniscus tear to the right knee last year as a result of a ski injury. All is well since the surgery.
His website is at Soar Medical
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The orthopedics at www.soarmedical.com and www.pamf.org are among the very best.
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Try SOAR in Redwood City. All Surgeons in this practice are good. I would recommend Dr Wall.
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Login to MyUhc website and search for Menlo Medical Clinic. I had Dr. Allan Mishra before. He's very good, but I think he specializes in Sport Surgery. Not sure which specific field you're looking for.
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Dr. King at Palo Alto Medical Foundation. I had knee surgery with him
and it was excellent.
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Yup, I have had two surgeries ... first one for complete ACL reconstruction (long and painful ... done 10 years ago) and the second one (last October) was for MCL tears. The second one resembles closely to the one you will have ...
To answer your questions ..
1) recovery time ... basic activity: within a week. Athletic activity may take a few months. Do not be surprised if you need to undergo therapy for a few months (upto 6 months) ... this entirely depends on how good physical condition you are in. Surgeries like these are outpatient surgeries ... arthroscopic surgeries where they insert a probe into your knee area and suck out all the fragments that may be there. You will have anesthesia which will last for about 2-3 hours. One the knee is operated upon .. in any way, you lose a lot of strength in the knee .. so physical therapy after the surgery is a must.
2) Problem never goes away 100% ... but you can recover almost upto 95%
of your original strength, which is enough for most activities.
3) Side effects .. none .. other than loss of time at work and paying your portion of the surgery ... this may cost upto $10K total.
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I've had the surgery in both my knees - one a basketball injury and one a
ski injury. Torn meniscus should have surgery or else you will keep tearing away at it. Surgery they trim it up so it won't bother you. However, now you will
go bone to bone. Quick healing time with some physical therapy - walking
in 2 days, walking steady w/some pain 2 weeks, back to normal 6 weeks.
Always a chance of reinjury, but surgery makes it less likely. I also take
Glucosamine Condroitin (sp?) which is supposed to help it. They also have a
new surgery where they take some of the meniscus and regrow it to put back
in your knee - better full recovery. My knees seem fine now, lost a bit of
a step (might because I'm older and fatter), however, I seem to be getting
some arthritis now and again.
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I too hurt my left leg while swimming ~ 3 months ago and was diagnosed by
a physiotherapist as a small muscle tear on right side of the knee. I couldn't bend my knee then and couldn't walk freely. I was advised to just rest the knee and was told that injury would heal in 1 1/2 months.. But, even now, when I do exercise like brisk walking or elliptical machine or bend the knee to 0 degrees, I "feel" that something's wrong there with minor pain. I was thinking of seeing a sports specialist ASAP. Did you also wait before seeing a specialist or went to him right away? My advice about surgery is, "Get all facts, before saying yes".
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I had a surgery for torn ACL and meniscus tear 2 weeks ago. Since meniscus
was involved, Doctor has recommended 6 weeks of no weight bearing on that
leg. After six weeks I will be doing physical therapy for another 6-8 weeks. The rehabilitation period depends on the type of tear and type of surgery. My rehab period may not apply to you.
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I had a similar surgery about five years ago. I was on cruches for about 1 week, then underwent the physical therapy for about three weeks. I was about 85% by the end of the month, and within four months i was totally fine. No side affects other than a few small scars on my knee. Just be diligent about doing the exercises the doctor prescribes.
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You can try Doctor David Shurman at Stanford Medical Center. He's the
man for sports medicine (when it comes to knee problems).
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I think you must visit one of the Doctors at S.O.A.R. They
are arguably the best in the business(especially with injuries like yours). Check out their website at www.soarmedical.com. They have a list of Doctors and their corresponding specialities. The one who deals with Knee problems is Dr.Dillingham. There may be others too. They have an office at Palo Alto which is the closest to Oracle.
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When I sprained my ankle, my colleague recommended me a reputable
doctor for sports injury where she has done a surgery due to torn ligament. (Pls note that the doctor is very nice, but some of the receptionist are not)
Dr. Walter Pyka 650-342 0854, 77 N. San Mateo Drive, Suite 1.
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I had a sprain in my knee and went to SOAR. I saw Dr. George Thabit . He
is a specialist in that area. Check their website at http://www.soarmedical.com/.
I went to their Menlo Park office (phone 650-851-4900). I found them good. See the doctor first and they will help you to schedule an MRI. They accept UHC insurance. Let me know if you have any further questions.
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As far as the MRI is concerned, just discuss w/ your current doctor what your complications are and they'll have an MRI done. It takes about 30 minutes or so. They refer you to a surgeon to discuss the results.
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I just had my ACL repaired and some cartilage cleaned out about 4 1/2 months ago by doctor David Goltz at Kaiser in RWC. He specializes in sports injuries. Let me know if you have any questions. I know it's a big decision. Good luck.
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We go to a person called Sab (indian) in redwood city. He is supposed to deal with rheumatoid etc.. maybe this falls in a similar category. You can search for him in the UCP directory.