Exclusive | Doctors refused to operate on me because I was pregnant — then a pregnant surgeon stepped in
It was supposed to be peak relaxation.
Kate Johnson and her husband, Sean, planned a 10-day ski vacation to Japan early last year. They figured it would be their last big trip for a while since they were trying to get pregnant.
A few weeks before boarding the plane, the Hoboken couple found out they were expecting.
“I weighed my options on being able to ski and figured that so early on in the pregnancy, it wouldn’t have that much of an effect,” Johnson, 38, told The Post. “Little did I know how that was going to turn out.”
Spoiler alert: It went downhill fast. A harrowing fall while skiing in the backcountry of Japan complicated Johnson’s pregnancy in aggravating ways — and underscored how difficult it can be for pregnant women’s health concerns to be taken seriously.
High hopes on the slopes
Johnson’s tumble came on her second day of skiing in the area of Nagano, the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics. She and Sean were being led by a guide up and down a mountain and throughout a nearby valley.
“The second run down, I just caught like an edge. I got a little bit too much speed, and I sort of fell backwards,” the digital retail sales specialist recalled.
“And when that happened, I sort of heard this pop,” she continued. “I don’t fall that often, so I didn’t really know exactly what was happening.”
Johnson — who began skiing at 4 years old — tried to get her bearings. She was startled to hear a “massive cracking sound” in her right knee when she pulled her boot back on.
And, unfortunately, she had fallen in an avalanche zone, so a helicopter came to dramatically rescue her.
Johnson landed in a nearby hospital, where doctors suspected a patellar tendon injury but didn’t perform an MRI. Many doctors avoid MRIs in the first trimester as a precaution, even though there are no proven harmful effects on the fetus.
Johnson was given “an enormous brace” and crutches to navigate the rest of her dream vacation.
Once she got back to the States, the real nightmare began.
A run of bad luck
At home in New Jersey, she struggled to find a doctor who would fix the problem.
She had to jump through hoops just to get an MRI, which revealed a full rupture of her ACL and a tear in her meniscus, the cartilage pad in the knee that absorbs shock and provides stability.
Most of the 15 to 20 doctors she contacted suggested she wait until after she delivered to undergo surgery — but Johnson was ready to move forward.
“[I] have a history of depression, anxiety and disordered eating, so movement is super important to me [for] regulating myself,” she explained.
She finally came upon Dr. Abigail Campbell, co-director of the NYU Langone Center for Women’s Sports Medicine.
While some surgeons may postpone non-emergency procedures on pregnant women due to the potential risks of anesthesia, Campbell was game to do the procedure.
“Like many things in pregnancy, [anesthesia] is one of those things that there has been minimal data on, so when unsure, it is assumed that it may not be safe in pregnancy,” Campbell told The Post.
“However, there have been several studies in the past few years come out in the orthopedic trauma literature regarding safe practices and safe outcomes for surgery (for orthopedic injuries) in pregnant individuals.”
Inside the cutting-edge care
Johnson’s medical team decided to perform the surgery when she was about 16 weeks along.
“The second trimester is preferred for elective procedures in pregnant patients because of the confounding risk of spontaneous abortion (which is elevated in the first trimester) and the risk of preterm labor (which is higher in the third trimester),” Campbell noted.
The operation required a single X-ray, which confirmed that Johnson had actually torn the other meniscus in her right knee as well because her knee was so unstable.
To capture that image, Campbell and Johnson each had to wear two layers of lead aprons to protect their fetuses from radiation.
Campbell, herself, was pregnant with a girl at the time.
“Normally, surgeons wear one layer of lead aprons during surgery,” Campbell said. “On my end, wearing two layers of lead just made me hot during the procedure, but I had to do this all the time! Got used to it.”
Johnson was given spinal anesthesia for the ACL reconstruction and meniscus repairs. The entire ordeal took over 90 minutes, during which Johnson’s baby was monitored to make sure he was OK.
Post-procedure, Johnson had scar tissue and a couple of nights of restless leg syndrome to contend with, but her recovery went “surprisingly” well. That’s good news since she eschewed painkillers throughout the pregnancy.
Johnson gave birth to son Brody on Oct. 3 — he clocked in at a healthy 6 pounds, 8 ounces.
Finding her footing again
By the time she delivered, Johnson was walking every day, squatting and taking prenatal sculpt classes. Physical therapy helped get her back on track.
“Now it’s just a matter of building up the muscles that have sort of atrophied through non-use on both knees at this point,” Johnson said.
For her part, Campbell gave birth in July to daughter Louise.
She’s proud of Johnson’s recovery and her persistence in getting a variety of medical opinions.
“Truly elective surgery, like cosmetic surgery, are not recommended, but in situations like this, in which waiting could result in long-term irreversible joint damage, the benefits outweigh the risks,” Campbell said about surgery while pregnant.
And the whole misadventure hasn’t given Johnson cold feet for skiing.
“I’m really lucky that this year the snow is so terrible that I’m not having horrible FOMO, but I’m already thinking about next year — when we can get back out and when we can get Brody on skis,” she confessed.
