Cartilage Damage

[Stormproof]

Today I finally got to see a Orthopaedic Consultant, 18 months after my AOD. He was shocked I had'nt been sent to the hospital sooner, I've had a year of various physio sessions, injections etc. Anyway he reckons I've torn/ripped my cartilage and have got to have an MRI (had xrays today) and probably an op to take out the damage. I did'nt ask him but should I be doing a full delivery? I've been really struggling since the AOD but because of my Stage 3 I've not wanted to kick off about it incase they get rid of me. How long does it take to recover from an Arthroscopy to remove the damage?

[easter bunny]

any absences caused by the AOD should be excused. If you went to an ET in the result of your dismissal, you would have no problem in winning it...

[andy2007]

No way, should you be doing a full Delivery round with that type of injury. You should be keeping it as mobile as you can cope with. But you shouldn't be carrying any weight. Get yourself an appointment to get a Fit Note, so that you can provide work with details of what you can and can't do at work. And more importantly, it'll be on record, in case they fail to give you suitable light duties.

Now obviously, I'm not a Doctor. But I damaged the Cartilage in my knee quite some time ago now. And I'm just passing on the medical advice I was given. There's no point risking aggrivating your injury.

[clashcityrocker]

I had a bilateral arthroscopy and I was off work for 6 weeks after the op.The surgeon told me it would be about 1 week but my doctor signed my sicknote without any hesitation.
I think the wait between the first diagnosis and the actual op was about 18 months. I was out on delivery all that time. Being on delivery wasn't the problem it was before and after when the muscles are cold. If the muscles around the knee are warm and strong enough they protect the knee but that would also depend on how bad the tear is.( My surgeon told me the tear in my cartialige was so tiny he wouldn't have performed an operation but for the fact I complained so much)
The operation is keyhole surgery and it makes a world of difference.
One of the good things about being a postie is the exercise means you have low blood pressure. However when you come round from the anaesthetic the nurses will be flapping. So best to make it clear to them beforehand what you do for a living or they'll be pumping you full of adrenalin to try and get your blood-pressure up.

[brothermagrew]

http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp05026.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Stormproof]

http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp05026.htm

Thanks for that Brother

[worktotime]

Today I finally got to see a Orthopaedic Consultant, 18 months after my AOD. He was shocked I had'nt been sent to the hospital sooner, I've had a year of various physio sessions, injections etc. Anyway he reckons I've torn/ripped my cartilage and have got to have an MRI (had xrays today) and probably an op to take out the damage. I did'nt ask him but should I be doing a full delivery? I've been really struggling since the AOD but because of my Stage 3 I've not wanted to kick off about it incase they get rid of me. How long does it take to recover from an Arthroscopy to remove the damage?

i know how you feel i thought i had torn mine told dom i was struggling on delivery and everyday stuff (deaf ears) got an op two weeks after seeing specialist ,told dom i was going in months in advance the day before i was going in he asked if i would be back the following day i said what do you think ,did a mayor job to help stop the pain, then was told i dont have any cartliage wear and tear ,and the next step would be a full knee replacement i am to young they said , i was off about 22 weeks, came back to a stage , as for you yours was done on delivery so it shouldnt trigger a stage , when its done and you go back to work make sure you get your full rehab , indoor work , and gradually build up over weeks to a full round, hope it goes ok for ya.

[pokos27]

stop and rest, dont worry about stage 3, you have a drs note.
Just get better.

[Stormproof]

Thanks for all the info everyone. I think I need to get another referral to ATOS just so I'm covered, had one a while back when I was having physio but no follow up with them.

[Geezer]

I tore all the tendons and my Medial ligaments on my right knee ( AOD over weight york 430 Kg ). I have now been in pain for nearly 30 months and have had to have 3 ops in that time.The surgens have removed all my cartlidge as they were so badly damaged because i carried on working and the joint was moving about and grinding them like your back teeth grind your food. Also the bone where it was catching kept swelling so they had to give me an op to remove a lump of bone
on the outside of my knee, they also had to flush it again as there was so much debris in the joint it would lock up and i would be in agony.It also swells up when i use it and by the time i get home i can hardly walk for swelling and pain.
Another thing is i now have a very aggressive arthritis in it, which the surgon said is a side affect of damaging it, so it just gets better and better.I have had physio, lower limb classes and strength and flexibility classes all to no avail.
I have now been told after the last op that it is now so damaged that i need a replacement, but have been told i need to wait as long as i can till i have it as im to young, and to active to have it now as it just wouldn't last.
I am now waiting for an appiontment with the pain clinic to see what meds, ect might help but i'm not holding my breath as all the ones so far have not helped one little bit.
As you can imagine i am totally pissed off, and idiots at work don't make it better when they try and make out your faking it, because believe me i wish i f***ing was.Any way Storm hope yours works out better than mine, but just
don't be an idiot like i was by carrying on working take it easy and only do what you feel comfortably doing.

[daveyeff]

any absences caused by the AOD should be excused. If you went to an ET in the result of your dismissal, you would have no problem in winning it...

sorry mate, but thats not the case, it all depends on the nature of the accident. if you were out on delivery, and you decided to take a short cut over a wall or say, a fence for quickness, then you happened to stumble and break a leg, then your a/o/d would be totally overruled. they would say you should not have been taking a shortcut. a few years back, my fingers went through a letterbox whilst delivering, and a dog bit my finger, which required stiching. i was off a fortnite, and they staged me for it, saying i,de been careless, my fingers should not have went through the letterbox. just one of the many strokes these ingrates are prepared to pull to issue a stage to people.

[brothermagrew]

any absences caused by the AOD should be excused. If you went to an ET in the result of your dismissal, you would have no problem in winning it...

sorry mate, but thats not the case, it all depends on the nature of the accident. if you were out on delivery, and you decided to take a short cut over a wall or say, a fence for quickness, then you happened to stumble and break a leg, then your a/o/d would be totally overruled. they would say you should not have been taking a shortcut. a few years back, my fingers went through a letterbox whilst delivering, and a dog bit my finger, which required stiching. i was off a fortnite, and they staged me for it, saying i,de been careless, my fingers should not have went through the letterbox. just one of the many strokes these ingrates are prepared to pull to issue a stage to people.

Always worthy of a re-read:

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... er#p220723" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TrueBlueTerrier]

any absences caused by the AOD should be excused. If you went to an ET in the result of your dismissal, you would have no problem in winning it...

sorry mate, but thats not the case, it all depends on the nature of the accident. if you were out on delivery, and you decided to take a short cut over a wall or say, a fence for quickness, then you happened to stumble and break a leg, then your a/o/d would be totally overruled. they would say you should not have been taking a shortcut. a few years back, my fingers went through a letterbox whilst delivering, and a dog bit my finger, which required stiching. i was off a fortnite, and they staged me for it, saying i,de been careless, my fingers should not have went through the letterbox. just one of the many strokes these ingrates are prepared to pull to issue a stage to people.

Well this guy took a short cut over a wall and cut open his leg - RM dismissed him and he went to tribunal and won getting £5000 in compensation. http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... nt#p177927" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Perhaps it was just this case but the tribunal said

The tribunal found the agreement with the trade union did not provide management with discretion to decide about absences caused by accidents at work.

The agreement said such absences must normally be discounted.

A manager could not start from the position that the agreement conferred a wide discretion upon him.

Employment judge Hugh Murphy added: “No evidence was laid before us to suggest that the circumstances in this case are exceptional or any way unusual.

“Indeed, as we understood Mr Cassidy, he accepted that most accidents involving postmen involve slipping or tripping, and that it is almost always possible to blame the employee at least in part for any accident on the basis that he ought to have watched where he was placing his foot, ought to have avoided the substance likely to cause him to slip, or the obstruction that caused him to trip and fall, and ought to have worn footwear that was less worn and slippery.”

[packmule]

Had cartlidge op last year,took 18 months plus to get there but results were great, in and out same day back to full duty in about 3 weeks. Did however get a stage warning , not for the amount of time i had off but for having the operation

this was a AOD but classed by our illustrious masters as a incident

couldn't make it up , anything to massage the figures , Managers ,complete tossers managed by bigger tossers :mfo :mfo :mfo

[Stormproof]

Asked LM Monday for a referral to ATOS, so hopefully I will hear from them in the near future. Going to see my GP tomorrow to see what work he reckons I should be doing, last time he saw me he told me to change jobs and made it perfectly clear he don't like RM management. Got my MRI scan date through today, 4 weeks time so hopefully in about 6 weeks I will find out if they can do anything.
BTW my AOD was classed as an Industrial Injury by the DWP and AFAIK I was blameless. I was wearing correct footwear.......well if you can call Magnums 'correct footwear'