Cruise after torn meniscus surgery

Originally posted by Cruise peace I have a cruise out of Mobile scheduled for Nov 13, 2017 and have injured my knee. We won't know for sure until my MRI next week, but it looks like I will need need surgery to remove torn meniscus. Has anyone cruised within a month to 6 weeks after this type of knee surgery? Were you miserable?--thanks

Best to follow your doctor's advice.

Not familiar with your knee problem but last week, a 73 y/o lady who was also on our cruise had a knee replacement a little over a month before sail date. She was using a cane and said she decided to go ahead cruising to enjoy part of her recovery period.

Maybe you can ask your surgeon for his opinion on your case.

I sailed about 3 weeks after having a repair of a torn meniscus. Previously had the same surgery on my other knee a year or so earlier. Both surgeries went well and recovery was similar but I thought the second one was easier. Point I am trying to make is that you might not know until after surgery. Surgeon told me the tear was smaller, less damage, with second surgery. These were on different knees. These were tears not removal.

I definitely cut down on walking. Physical therapist had given me excercises to do. I rode elevators, even for one floor, as stairs seemed to aggravate pain. Pain wasn't bad - easily handled with OTC meds and some days didn't take any.

Muster drill I did in a lounge with people in wheelchairs or other disabilities.

Biggest help was cabin steward. I explained that I had to ice my knee , especially if just sitting on the balcony. He brought huge buckets of ice, (like the bars use), extra towels and plastic bags. He was wonderful!

Don't know how active you are normally, but surgery didn't spoil my cruise. Spent more time in solarium pool/hot tub than I normally would, but wasn't a big deal.

If you are flying, take advantage of early boarding. I did use a wheelchair (borrowed from RC) to board. I didn't want to get bumped or slow others down.

Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

Repair of a torn meniscus is extremely rare. Most likely you will simply have the debris scoped out. With no complications your stitches will come out in 12-14 days and you will be pronounced ready to start PT immediately. Even though my knee was still swollen and a bit stiff it felt 1000 times better than before the surgery. I would have happily jumped right on a ship...but it was the middle of tax season and I had already missed too many days work.

So press hard to get the surgery scheduled as soon as possible. It is so ridiculous that the Orthropod tells you you have to wait a week or more after the MRI to discuss the results when the Radiologist can burn you a CD of the scan on the spot.

Originally posted by Cruise peace I have a cruise out of Mobile scheduled for Nov 13, 2017 and have injured my knee. We won't know for sure until my MRI next week, but it looks like I will need need surgery to remove torn meniscus. Has anyone cruised within a month to 6 weeks after this type of knee surgery? Were you miserable?--thanks

As others said this is something to consult with your doctor.

Having had this surgery myself I would have been able to cruise and would not have been miserable.

The challenge was the first couple of days after surgery and then the rehab but a few weeks after that I was doing the rehab on my own while traveling for business.

Now each person is different and you may not even know until you have the surgery and see how you are doing.

Again just consult with your doctor but in my case it would have been very doable. You are off crutches in just around two days and very quickly into rehab.

Keith

Every experience is different. I've had torn meniscus cleaned up three times on my left knee and once on the right. I was actually able to take and pass my Firefighter physical exam just two weeks after one of those surgeries. Walking and climbing were not a problem for me. (Diving into a second story window and having to crawl on it however was NOT much fun! I had been so focused on whether or not I could get it to bend far enough to climb ladders that I forgot about crawling until my knee hit that cement floor. I suspect this won't be an issue on a cruise. lol) :o

If it's still sore and swollen by cruise time, you may want to rent a scooter. The nice thing is, you can take time to see how you feel first, and can always add the rental if you don't think you'll be up to all of the walking. Finally, I like to take one of these on each cruise in order to elevate my legs whenever I am in the cabin. It's great for beach sitting too.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K8ANZK4/ref=sxts_bia_sr_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=3182441022&pd_rd_wg=KOjff&pf_rd_r=FPJ3ACSRQFNC2HAKEWSB&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B00K8ANZK4&pd_rd_w=xDi5U&pf_rd_i=inflatable+beach+lounger&pd_rd_r=SN5J9Q720F5ZHMNTRA31&ie=UTF8&qid=1506323232&sr=1

I sailed a few weeks after the surgery and was not miserable. Heck, it was a whole lot less painful than before the surgery. I was still limited in my mobility so I took the elevators instead of the stairs. Just follow your surgeon's and PT's advice, keep up with your post surgery exercises and enjoy yourself. However, if you overdo it and your knee becomes more painful later in the day just have a seat, enjoy the ocean, and take two double scotch's on the rocks! It works wonders!;)

My niece cruised w/ me 2 weeks after meniscus surgery. Was very active walking all over, swimming and dancing all night. However she did limit herself to certain things and we had to take a few breaks while in San Juan pre-cruise. She did try to ice her knee a few times during the cruise but by the last night was feeling a bit sore and that she might have overdone it a little but not to the point where she re-injured it. However that being said this was her 5th knee surgery w/ the previous 4 being ACL repairs so she considered this one just a small surgery.

Arthroscopy for a torn meniscus is a very common procedure, minimally invasive, and with a usually fast recovery period. How quickly you bounce back is largely influenced by your current physical condition. If you are relatively fit and in good health, and most especially if you follow the post operative instructions, including the exercises religiously, then you should feel pretty much back to normal by the time you sail.

Postoperative discomfort is usually limited, and after the first couple of days can easily be managed with OTC meds. Swelling is very common, but goes away with time, and is not necessarily an indication that you've reinjured yourself. Fact is, some people just swell more easily than others. Just ice it.

I've had 4 arthroscopies and a knee replacement. The 'scopes were easy. I was back at work as a surgical nurse after 2 weeks.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. It is reassuring to know that some of you with similar experiences have been "cruise ready" 4 to 6 weeks post op. I also will definitely follow my Dr and PT recommendations, when I finally get to the point in the process to be able to talk to them ( over 2 weeks just waiting on an MRI). Having said that, I think it highly unlikely either of them will have had a similar surgery and attempted a cruise 4-6 weeks later. So I felt I would have a much better opportunity to get some real life cruiser input on this forum. Again thanks for your help!

If you decide to rent a motorized scooter, make sure it fits thru the cabin door.

Could simply put pillows, towels or your life jacket under your mattress for elevation.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I think you also need to consider where you are cruising to and how active you would want to be.

For instance, if you are cruising the Caribbean and want to do little other than relax on a beach, you will probably feel different from it you were cruising the Med and would want to do as much sightseeing as possible each day.

I think you also need to consider where you are cruising to and how active you would want to be.

 

For instance, if you are cruising the Caribbean and want to do little other than relax on a beach, you will probably feel different from it you were cruising the Med and would want to do as much sightseeing as possible each day.

The OP said he was sailing out of Mobile in Jan, which means he's on a Western Caribbean on Carnival. So no hiking around ruins, but beach time, or even snorkeling, would be fine.

As to the suggestions that the OP should rent a scooter if not yet 100% after surgery:

If your pain or immobility is such that you appear unable to easily walk about the ship you are suffering serious complications from what should have been simple arthroscopic surgery. Go back to your surgeon ASAP--and get a note for your insurance provider as you certainly should be cancelling due to medical reasons. Because as most of the responses indicate you should have had immediate improvement within days of the procedure.

I have a torn meniscus in my left knee. Right now, my orthopedist thinks that PT will take care of it. My cruise sails on October 16th, and I am seeing the orthopedist again on the 13th. He will make a final decision then regarding surgery, but said that in any case he will give me a cortisone shot to help "protect me" on the cruise. As someone stated above, walking irritates it, but nothing that OTC meds can't handle. I am wearing a knee brace that my PT recommended, which also helps a great deal. Tell your Dr. your concerns about the cruise. Good luck!