Pattyka

Suzy, 

I had a first melanoma wide excision surgery on my thigh April 27, 2012, and also got a hematoma and could not bend my knee.  The scar is three inches long, and it is about three inches above my right knee.  The hematoma was all around the wound. I had a lot of pain, a limp and my knee would lock up after two to three steps.  Any slight slope, like walking down my driveway would lock up my knee as well.  I assumed I would be lame for the rest of my life, but decided to try to fix this with PT.  My surgeon left the sutures in for four full weeks. And I did the following things, to get my knee mobility back:

Three things help this hemotoma, ice, laying my back and head  on a floor with my calf resting on a chair and relaxing so my thigh was verticle, letting gravity move fluids through the area.  I did this at least twice per say.   Then I worked the leg hard twice a week  with a physical therapist to loosen the scar after two weeks of healing.    That included light massage while the stitches were still in, and working on a stationary bike, doing some weights as my leg was very weak.  Started very slow on this. Then I iced the swelling every night, even sleeping with a blue ice on the spots that hurt a lot after PT. I also started to walk slowly every day.  First it was a few yards.  Then I worked up to a quarter mile, then several miles.  It seemed that walking helped the process, although the swelling would be worse every evening and is still a problem. 

My experience is that my knee mobility is back now after four weeks of two thirty minute sessions of PT per week. I can bend my knee fully.   But swelling is still a problem if I walk a lot or try to walk up hill.  I develped a Baker's cyst directly behind the knee on the leg with the surgery, in the exact spot where the bruise was back there.   The cyst bothers me less and the swelling is down. I may consult an orthopedic doctor next.     

Hope this is helpful Suzy.  If anyone knows about Baker's cysts I would appreciate any advise on how to treat it. 

Pat

Suzy, 

I had a first melanoma wide excision surgery on my thigh April 27, 2012, and also got a hematoma and could not bend my knee.  The scar is three inches long, and it is about three inches above my right knee.  The hematoma was all around the wound. I had a lot of pain, a limp and my knee would lock up after two to three steps.  Any slight slope, like walking down my driveway would lock up my knee as well.  I assumed I would be lame for the rest of my life, but decided to try to fix this with PT.  My surgeon left the sutures in for four full weeks. And I did the following things, to get my knee mobility back:

Three things help this hemotoma, ice, laying my back and head  on a floor with my calf resting on a chair and relaxing so my thigh was verticle, letting gravity move fluids through the area.  I did this at least twice per say.   Then I worked the leg hard twice a week  with a physical therapist to loosen the scar after two weeks of healing.    That included light massage while the stitches were still in, and working on a stationary bike, doing some weights as my leg was very weak.  Started very slow on this. Then I iced the swelling every night, even sleeping with a blue ice on the spots that hurt a lot after PT. I also started to walk slowly every day.  First it was a few yards.  Then I worked up to a quarter mile, then several miles.  It seemed that walking helped the process, although the swelling would be worse every evening and is still a problem. 

My experience is that my knee mobility is back now after four weeks of two thirty minute sessions of PT per week. I can bend my knee fully.   But swelling is still a problem if I walk a lot or try to walk up hill.  I develped a Baker's cyst directly behind the knee on the leg with the surgery, in the exact spot where the bruise was back there.   The cyst bothers me less and the swelling is down. I may consult an orthopedic doctor next.     

Hope this is helpful Suzy.  If anyone knows about Baker's cysts I would appreciate any advise on how to treat it. 

Pat

Suzy, 

I had a first melanoma wide excision surgery on my thigh April 27, 2012, and also got a hematoma and could not bend my knee.  The scar is three inches long, and it is about three inches above my right knee.  The hematoma was all around the wound. I had a lot of pain, a limp and my knee would lock up after two to three steps.  Any slight slope, like walking down my driveway would lock up my knee as well.  I assumed I would be lame for the rest of my life, but decided to try to fix this with PT.  My surgeon left the sutures in for four full weeks. And I did the following things, to get my knee mobility back:

Three things help this hemotoma, ice, laying my back and head  on a floor with my calf resting on a chair and relaxing so my thigh was verticle, letting gravity move fluids through the area.  I did this at least twice per say.   Then I worked the leg hard twice a week  with a physical therapist to loosen the scar after two weeks of healing.    That included light massage while the stitches were still in, and working on a stationary bike, doing some weights as my leg was very weak.  Started very slow on this. Then I iced the swelling every night, even sleeping with a blue ice on the spots that hurt a lot after PT. I also started to walk slowly every day.  First it was a few yards.  Then I worked up to a quarter mile, then several miles.  It seemed that walking helped the process, although the swelling would be worse every evening and is still a problem. 

My experience is that my knee mobility is back now after four weeks of two thirty minute sessions of PT per week. I can bend my knee fully.   But swelling is still a problem if I walk a lot or try to walk up hill.  I develped a Baker's cyst directly behind the knee on the leg with the surgery, in the exact spot where the bruise was back there.   The cyst bothers me less and the swelling is down. I may consult an orthopedic doctor next.     

Hope this is helpful Suzy.  If anyone knows about Baker's cysts I would appreciate any advise on how to treat it. 

Pat