In defense of going to multiple docs (ACL)

I've been wanting to share my story from last year. Had an ACL avulsion fracture on March 5 and began by seeing a sports medicine guy, young but highly rated, supposed to be one of the best. He was okay, he wanted to do a hamstring graft but then I found out he was a shoulder specialist. He seemed a little too eager to get his hands on my knee and also was going to operate before I had full ROM which bothered me.

So I went on to another doc. This guy was supposed to be a SUPER doc, writes books and all that. I was like "this is going to be great, getting to be worked on by such an awesome doc". Well he rushed me through the visit, acted like a dick and got all ruffled up when I asked him a question. I was all set to schedule with him but the interaction was so negative that I was like fuck this. I wanted to punch him, he acted that bad.

At this point, family and friends are like WTF? You go to some of the best docs and you won't schedule? What's wrong with you? Just schedule with the guy, he's one of the best. I thought it over, over the weekend and called his office to schedule with him on Monday morning. Then they put me on hold for 15 minutes. I was like fuck this shit, and I scheduled with another guy.

This guy is cool as shit, sits me down and says "Why don't we re-X-ray your knee to see how it's healing" I get X-rays, he reviews them and says "Guess what, you don't need to have surgery" It turns out the avulsion healed back by itself. We talked for 30 min or so, he didn't rush me and was really cool.

So fast forward to now, I've ridden many times this season and no problems, I feel good, hopefully it stays that way. Wanted to share this in case anyone goes through the same thing.

It's extremely important that you feel comfortable with your surgeon. Furthermore, surgeons are never offended if you ask to be referred for a second opinion, and you shouldn't hesitate to do so if you're uncomfortable with a diagnosis or treatment plan.

Lucky for you that it was an avulsion fracture...pretty rare ACL tear pattern in adults. There's a theory that the ligament undergoes some plastic deformation before pulling up that piece of bone, so that there may still be some residual laxity, but not sure this pans out clinically. Update us on how you feel once cleared to get out on the slopes.

Don't know if you saw but I've been riding all season. Thanks for your comments. There's a little bit of laxity, the doc was saying a mm or so but he was impressed with the tightness of the joint.

The only problem is when the leg is fully extended and weight on it, it's a little looser than I'd like but nothing too bad. It's held up really well and when bent feels plenty strong.

the only time you can be sure the surgeon is honest is when he says you dont need surgery

congrats on finding a good one

give him a bottle of something for all the $$$ ,pain, etc that he saved you

and tell all your friends