missing: One ACL

[milton]

The how is pretty boring....predetermined LAST RUN OF THE DAY, skiing down a frequently groomed icy run on the way to another lift. It was very icy with no bumps, but edgeable with moderate speed. Durning transition to a right hand turn my right ski, caught the ice. At this point everything was headed right except for my right ski which was still tracking left. I basically skied over it and my leg collapsed under my center of gravity until, POP. I went down like a ragdoll knowing what had just happened (thank you helmet)

I've been diagnosed with a grade III (complete tear) ACL tear without an MRI. Can they really tell from just bending my leg around? Or maybe because i told them i hear a loud pop? I visit a sports doc/ortho surgeon next week.

After 5 days on crutches I'm hobbling around ok now, wearing a neoprene brace. I'm wondering it there's any risk of further damage (cartilage,etc.) I can definitely feel stuff moving around now and then, but haven't experienced any complete collapses.

Assuming i can sit at my desk for work most of the day, how long should I expect to stay at home after surgery?

I realize i need to ask my doc this stuff too, but i think a couple peeps here can speak from experience.

[Vinman]

If you are worried about work, try planning your surgery for late in the week. Like a Thurs or fri. That way you have the weekend to recover and be able to be back at work on Monday, Assuming you have a desk job that is. You might need someone to drive you around though, with the pain meds and all it might not be a good idea to drive for the first week until the pain subsides.

[Big E]

Aaarrrggghhh, another one? That just sucks, really sorry to hear that. Last year, I had surgery on Tuesday, and was back to work the following Monday. Good luck, waayyy too many of us with experience on this one.

[milton]

Aaarrrggghhh, another one? That just sucks, really sorry to hear that. Last year, I had surgery on Tuesday, and was back to work the following Monday. Good luck, waayyy too many of us with experience on this one.

thanks....so how is the skiing for you this season?

[Snow Ranger]

aaaa shite that sucks man. Sorry. The Doc can tell from you describing the POP sound and moving your leg around. I had surgery on a Friday and was back at work the following Tuesday.

[Big E]

thanks....so how is the skiing for you this season?

Ummm.... Non-existent so far?

Not because of the knee, more like the 60 degree temps.

[Szyslak]

I had my surgery on a Tues. and went back to work the following Tues. I only worked half a day the first two days back, but that was mostly because I did not want to be there, not because of pain.

[xboat]

knees fackin blow!

sorry to hear that, milton. i've been through the highs and lows of this crap and go in for my second cut next monday. i haven't even seen any mountains yet this year and it is killing me. send a PM if you want. good luck.

[milton]

So i'm scheduled for surgery on feb 10. Really looking forward to getting this over with and getting better. Right now my surgeon is thinking of using part of my patella tendon to reconstruct the ACL. Hope there's enough of it to go around. He didn't seem all that concerned about where the spare ligament came from, but didn't offer the cadaver option. I suppose i'll ask more questions about this on our next pre-op visit. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

xboat- how'd things go for you?? Hppe you made out ok.

[Vinman]

patellar tendon and hamstring grafts are the "gold standard" for ACL reconstruction. There have been a ton of treads about this, maybe try a search. I would not go with the allograft unless there is a relly good reason to. For example, you've already used up the HS and PT grafts in previous surgeries.

Good luck.

[Arnold Babar]

Bummer Milton. When I told my doc I didn't really want to pay for mri, he told me not to worry he's never been wrong doing the feel test, and he only would push for one if he was doubtfull of a tear and wanted to confirm. You can surely work a desk job after about 5 to 7 days. You probably won't be able to drive for about 10. I had a hammy graft 9 weeks ago, and one advantage I would have to point out is that I can kneel with no problem. I had my other patela cut for surgery on a broken tibia years ago, and it still gives me trouble when kneeling. For that reason alone I would recommend hamstring. Best wishes.

[milton]

... I had my other patela cut for surgery on a broken tibia years ago, and it still gives me trouble when kneeling. For that reason alone I would recommend hamstring. Best wishes.

Definitely something i should ask my surgeon about....appreciate the feedback, and your past acl reports.

Hope your recovery is going well. I saw my PT last night, she wants me to get my 'protocol' from the doc and map everything out on a calendar for post-op recovery. She was really stressing how important it is to stick to the plan, meet the goals and to not go overboard.

[Arnold Babar]

At nine weeks progress is slow. I have normal mobility but no strength, and efforts to build it are slooooooow, but that's how it goes. I'm dismissing my physical therapist and just going it alone now because at $30 co-pay per visit they're starting to add up, and I can do everything at home. The hammy graft is supposed to reach stability slower since you don't have bone healing to bone, but the whole healing process takes months any how. It's a matter of being careful at around 4 weeks. I had no problems. Overall I'm very happy with my progress, and would reccommend the hamstring graft, but I won't be satisfied until I get back to full strength. I think early rehab is important.

[milton]

Had my surgery yesterday and everthing went relatively well. Went with a patellar graft. While the doc was in there he found an old injury of about 6 years that tore my medial meniscus. He tried to repair it but there wasn't enough of it left, so he just cleaned up around it. The numbness from the spinal lasted about 3-4 hours beyond the surgery, after which came extremo pain. I was given percosets for the pain but they didn't seem to help much other than knocking me out a couple hours at time...which at least helped get me through the night. Today I feel pretty damn good and haven't needed any. Besides the pain, i guess the worst part was driving up and back (burlington, vt) in yesterday's snow storm. Looking at 2 ft new outside the door right now with sunny skies...now that really hurts!

[xboat]

sounds like you're doing well, milton. ELEVATE! and not just a couple pillows, get that sucker up in the air. it helps a ton with the pain, it gets better every day. i was done with painkillers after 1 week.

i haven't been around much lately, so i'll update in your thread. as you probably know, i had an allograft put in there. my patella tendon had already been chopped and the doc didn't even say a word about a hammy graft. i do realize that it may not be as strong but i feel that my quick recovery time is a good trade-off. today is day 25 post-op and i am feeling pretty damn good. just got back from PT and she says that i am ahead of schedule, which makes me happy. i was at 0 degrees extension 4 days after and was able to get to 137 degrees flexion today! i've been riding an exercise bike for almost 2 weeks already. i did get the living shit scared outta me earlier this week though as i took a dive on an icy sidewalk. thank god nothing happened and i think i might have gained some flexibility out of it.

watch out man, ice and crutches don't mix. good luck.

[Arnold Babar]

Yeah, X, Milton, the ice on the sidewalks is treacherous. I've had a couple close calls myself. You just have to be super conscious. Best to both of you. Day by day...

[milton]

icy sidewalks? these crutches are dangerous enough in the house....

[Snow Ranger]

icy sidewalks? these crutches are dangerous enough in the house....

Watch out for throw rugs on hardwood floors. I went down a couple of times before I put them in the closet.

[milton]

Welp, saw my doc yesterday, 8 days after the surgery. Nurse unwrapped my leg and took off all the gauze. That's when i pulled out my wire brush and starting itching, man that was driving me crazy. Knee brace is now unlocked from 0 to 70 degrees. We didn't measure, but i'm estimating 3-4 degrees extention and about 45 degress flex. I got the OK to put 50% weight on it, the PT showed me the proper way to 'walk' with my crutches. My protocol/pt consists of moving my knee cap up/down and alot of flexing/extension. It felt really good to be able to bend my leg. However, i woke up in the middle of the night and this morning with quite a bit of pain, it feels like lactic acid build-up all through my quad and hammy.