John Bowman was a family doctor who now specializes in sport medicine. He is the Medical Director of the Collingwood Sport Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre.

FROM A PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE

by Dr. John Bowman, M.D.                              (reprinted from October 2003)

Once in a while every doctor should be on the receiving end of the health care system. I had my opportunity this summer.

My problem, thankfully a minor one, began in May on the first day of a windsurfing holiday. While squatting to fix a sail, I felt a pop in my knee and was pretty sure I had torn a cartilage. I figured that was the end of my sailing, but luckily my symptoms settled quickly, helped by ice and anti-inflammatory medications.

All was well until I played tennis for the first time in a couple of years. Ignoring common sense, I played too hard and for too long. By the next morning, my knee was so swollen I could hardly walk (fortunately I could still cycle).

 I knew at that point surgery was likely inevitable, so an appointment was arranged with an orthopaedic surgeon. He agreed with my diagnosis and arthroscopy was scheduled for early October.

With me asleep under a general anaesthetic, the surgeon inserted a fibre optic scope into my knee through tiny incisions, allowing him to see the various parts of the joint on a TV monitor. He found, and repaired, a tear in one of the meniscal cartilages. 

The whole procedure took less than an hour, and when I woke up in the recovery room, I was amazed that I felt so well: no hangover, no nausea. Moreover, I prided myself in being really tough, since I felt absolutely no pain.

The pain hit the next morning when the local anaesthetic in my knee had worn off. By then it was too late to cancel my office, so I valiantly limped around, gaining whatever sympathy I could.

My “saviour” was one of our physiotherapists, Ron Herman, who treated me that afternoon. Even though I prescribe physio all the time, I couldn’t believe how much relief I got. The pain and swelling subsided quickly after a few treatments.

I credit my rapid recovery to a number of things. First of all, I was fortunate there was no evidence of significant wear of the weight-bearing surfaces in the knee (what we call arthritis). Secondly, my leg muscles were strong prior to surgery, because of all the cycling I was doing. Finally I got immediate post-op therapy, which relieved pain and swelling and allowed me to keep moving.

This was a good opportunity for me to gain better appreciation of what it is like to be a patient.