| Author | Message | ||
     M2statz |
What can I expect? I have consulted with our PT department and started a strengthening program before my surgery. Would just like to hear others experiences. Thanks for sharing! m2 | ||
| Reindog |
I just had arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus which isn't nearly as drastic as ACL repair. The clinic gave me a nearly worthless ice compress for my swollen knee so my neighbor who had ACL surgery loaned me his Polar Care Cold Therapy by Breg. It is a motorized delivery of cold water stored in a cooler to a velcro strap around your knee. I notice they are available on Ebay from $30-80. I highly recommend this. http://www.foompfamp.com/images/06_039D209.jpg Good luck on your surgery (Message edited by reindog on June 10, 2009) | ||
| Fez |
If your doc is any good, they'll 'give' you one of those ice thingys. with give meaning charge your insurance company a few hundy. some health supply places rent them. you can/should also rent crutches. i had mine done a couple years ago. good job getting started on PT, PT is the key, both before and after. another key is an ortho who does lots of them. my ortho is a US Ski Team physician and also the knee guy for the Montana State U football team. he's probably done 5,000+ ACLs. make sure your doc knows you dont just want to walk ok, you want to run, jump, cut, any of that stuff. do you know what kind of graft you are going to get? my doc did a autograft from my patellar tendon. if i had to do it again, i'd choose a hamstring graft, it seems people recover faster (it took me a while to be able to walk down stairs normally because of the patellar tendon). I would not go with a allograft (cadaver) tendon. it seems most people who have lots of problems and/or re-tear had allografts. im also a member of a ski forum, and trust me those guys know ACLs. check out the gimp central board at the TGR forums. http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/ (Message edited by fez on June 10, 2009) | ||
| Damnut |
I had it done a year and a half ago. I had ACL replacement surgery and it was done with donor tissue (cadaver) I have to say it was the best decision I have ever made about surgeries. I have also had 2 scopes prior to the ACL for my torn meniscus. Before the surgery I couldn't walk for more than a couple of miles before my knee was killing me. Now I am running, making cuts while running and riding my mountain bike again. There are folks that say that the cadaver is best and others that don't agree. You will recover faster with a donor ligament than if they get it from another part of your body. If you have any questions, just ask. Oh and PT is very important to get back to normal quickly. It sucks though, REALLY SUCKS!!! lol I think I still have my knee ice wrap cooler thingy if you need it. | ||
| Damnut |
Oh and I never had to go to PT before my ACL replacement. I don't know if that is because I had donor tissue or not though. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Gotta schedule my surgery tomorrow, I decided on the cadaver graft as well... So whats the recovery time for the donor tissue graft, assuming I have a really high pain threshold and work the PT really hard? | ||
| Firebolt32 |
Never did PT before my surgery. Plenty afterwards though. I had a complete reconstruction about 8 yrs ago now. ACL, MCL, menicus...whole deal. First couple of weeks is going to be pretty painful. They made me walk right after I woke up basically. The best thing to do is listen to every word them doctors tell you. I was very close to never being able to run again and having a permenant limp because I thought I knew more than the doctors. | ||
| Randlepmcmurphy |
I had mine done in February. Every patient is different and every surgeon will have a different recovery schedule. The general rule is about 6 months till you are normal. Then 9-12 months before you can play contact sports without a brace. I went in this Monday and the doc cleared me to stop going to PT, but I told them I wanted to keep going at least once a week. As long as the insurance is paying I'm going. At first you may be really concerned about getting your knee to bend and get full flexion. But just as important is getting full extension, I am struggling with that right now I am stuck at about 1 degree from full extension. Good luck and definitely get the Polar Care, my doc didn't give me one and by the second day I was contemplating cutting my own leg off. Plus my doc told me not to move my leg for at least a day after surgery. I payed for that with pain in PT. Move it around as soon as possible they will probably put you in a passive motion machine, it will hurt but it is good for you. | ||
| Damnut |
Had my surgery on a Thursday and on the following Monday I was in PT. They really get you back on your feet pretty quickly. The pain for the first few days REALLY sucks but that's what the pain killers are for. You will be surprised how fast you get going again. | ||
| Spatten1 |
Most of my neighbors have had ACL surgery (Colorado, go figure). It's not too bad. They were getting around on crutches almost immediately and all of them are back to skiing and mountain biking. | ||
| M2statz |
Thanks for all the input!! I will look into the Polar Care!! The Orthopod that I am seeing uses the patellar tendon. He is the best in the area. The pre-surgery PT is new to me also but I have too to do this summer... | ||
| Elf |
I took a digger on some black ice at the end of December '07 and tore the ACL completely, partial on the MCL, strained the PCL, and shredded a quarter of the meniscus. Did a real number on it (twisting and bending when I went down). Had the surgery end of April '08. Allograft. Doc specializes in just Knee and Shoulder sports-type injuries. He put me on Antibiotics (for the allograft - there is a risk of infection), and all the Vicodin I could swallow for a week after, plus the Polar Care, Passive Motion machine, crutches, and PT. They used a Femoral Nerve Block, so for the first day or so after the surgery, I couldn't feel much. I'm thinking, "This is NO problem!". The pain came with a vengeance about 2 days after it wore off. Gritted thru it (I agree with Randle about wanting to cut my leg off!). Hobbling around on it using a crutch actually made it feel better! Doc wanted me moving it IMMEDIATELY (hence the P.M. Machine). I was back to work after about a week and a half using crutches, and PT released me after about 8 weeks. Allograft shortens recovery time, but takes longer to COMPLETELY heal, as it is foreign tissue to your body. It's now been a little over a year, and I'm probably about 97% of what I was before the accident. Is it perfect? No, but I didn't expect it to be, considering the amount of damage. It is much better than I had anticipated, however. I lost 25% of the meniscus, so I still get a pop & grind occasionally if I move just right, but no pain. Strange sensation, really. Flexion & extension are enough to do what I want to do (running, riding, stairs, playing lacrosse with my son) I can tell when the weather is going to change, though! Plus, I get to tell people that I've had power tools used on me! I have a funky pattern of small scars (there goes my modeling career!  ) all around the knee where they cut and drilled. The only thing I can say, other than to DO IT, is to KEEP MOVING IT!!! If you don't, the tendon tightens up and the muscles atrophy. No Bueno. It makes life difficult during recovery and thereafter. For your entertainment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8EpT3uCVWU This is not my surgery, but similar. Don't watch if you have a weak stomach! | ||
| Reepicheep |
Thanks Elf, I was looking for some first hand experience from somebody who went the allograft route... that's my plan. Just scheduled the surgery this morning in fact... | ||
| M2statz |
Reep, please keep me posted on your progress. Thanks and best of luck with your surgery!! M2 | ||
| Reepicheep |
Will do. It'll be done in early July... I'll post updates. And pictures  |
