Sometimes I really wonder about all of the radiation that I expose my body to because of all of my injuries, especially my latest one. To date, since my initial injury on February 2, 2010, I’ve had an X-ray, MRI, another X-ray, and now a CT scan. I only bring this up because yesterday was my CT scan. During the test, I was lying down on my back holding my foot and knees still in a particular position. The machine looked like a big donut; it was round and had a donut hole. The platform that I was on lifted up and quickly went in toward the donut hole and then paused. After a brief pause, the light that looked like a “caution: radiation” light blinked and the machine made a loud noise. It did this several times. At least my lower abdomen was shielded by those aprons they make women wear.
Overall, the CT scan was painless and actually quick. I was expecting a longer test, especially since MRIs take so long, but this one was maybe five minutes. After I was done, the technician made me a CD with all of the images on it.
So of course, the minute I get home I have to load the CD and look at the images. I must say that the picture of both of my knees is pretty startling with the amount of metal my knees are packing. In total, I counted two screws in my left knee and five screws and some sort of odd-looking plate in my left. In my opinion, my left knee should not have that much hardware at all! My previous orthopedic surgeon should have taken out my old hardware before completing my revision surgery. Or at least, that is what all of the doctors online say in all of the ACL revision surgery articles I read. You can even see the screw that is protruding from my right knee. It is the one that is on the lower right had side going diagonally that looks like it is placed just underneath my patella. Ouch.
So now I have these images, and my appointment isn’t until the 31st. I have absolutely no idea how to read these images with the exception of being able to spot the foreign metal in my knee. I’m hoping my appointment comes quickly because I am really curious to know what these images mean and what it means for my recovery.
