Location: Milwaukee
Condition: Knee
Type of Procedure: Repair ACL and Meniscus
Procedure Date: November 2009
Hospital Stay: Day surgery
Doctor: Eric B. Pifel, MD
Why did you choose Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital?
Recommended by Dr. Edwards.
What was your pain/discomfort level?
My initial injury was very painful.
What was your recovery time?
After a week the pain started to subside, and it gradually got better.
When did you return to normal activity?
Normal activities for me are playing basketball and skating, and I was doing that after a few months.
How were the doctors and staff?
Dr. Pifel is an excellent surgeon and a genuine guy. He understands what he is doing and appreciates and understands athletes. His staff was excellent too, especially his PA, Mindy.
Full Story
I was in my senior year at MSOE playing on the varsity hockey team. The very first game of the season I took a routine hit on my right shoulder. It wasn’t even a hard hit. The blade of my skate got stuck in the ice, and I twisted my knee and heard a pop. My adrenaline was going so I kept going. Our team physician is Dr. Jamie Edwards from MOSH. He and the trainer, Dave Beine, took a look at my knee and did some movement right away to see if the tendon was connected. They moved my knee and leg around but couldn’t tell what had happened. So they wrapped my knee and I went out on the ice and tried to play. I collapsed on the ice because I had no power. Not long afterwards, I had an MRI and the test showed a torn ACL and meniscus. We set a date for surgery and I proceeded to do pre-surgery rehab with trainer Dave Beine at school every day. Dr. Edwards, the team physician, recommended that I see Dr. Eric Pifel.
The day of my surgery, I walked into the hospital and within 15-20 minutes I was prepped for surgery and had eight nurses around me. It was really funny. The surgery went well. Dr. Pifel explained everything to me and the follow-up with him was great. He understands sports and recovery. He is very friendly and always smiling and never seemed rushed, even though he has lots of patients. He really cared about my knee and has a great way of going about what he does. Mindy, his PA, was always there too; she helped me out and answered my questions.
The first week after surgery was very painful. I needed a lot of help from my parents and the medication helped. After a week, the pain subsided. I started going back to class and moving around and by the third week I was off crutches and walking. I started rehab two weeks after surgery. Rehab was painful. I needed to work my knee hard. It was effective but painful. The trainers thought I had a fast recovery and I feel completely normal now. I’m still building up my strength and I’m playing basketball and will start skating again as soon as the ice is back at the center. I graduated from MSOE this year with a degree in business management and will be applying to UWM for an MBA, with a concentration on investment management. No question about it, I will continue to skate.