ACL Surgery
 

Ahem, anyone any experience of this? Thankfully you can save the NHS experiences.

How long did they wait before operating? Did your leg get plastered after the op? How long before you could do gentle exercise? How long before you were free to continue as you were before?

Dave

Can't believe that fit, healthy and active SN men don't have any input ;)

Matteeboy will be along soon, he'll have done both knees at the same time :)

Dave

My knees are fine, but here are a few links I came across while looking into knee injuries. My wife sprained her left medial collateral ligament while skiing.

ARTHROSCOPIC ACL SURGERY RECONSTRUCTION

Knee injuries from alpine skiing - Ski Injury

ACL Surgery and ACL Reconstruction by Houston Sports Medicine Dr. Walt Lowe

KNEEguru - comprehensive information about knee problems.

I hope they prove useful.

I had acl reconstruction and at the same time keyhole surgery to repair a damaged cartilage(sp) about 5 years ago now.
Op went well after the NHS paid for private treatment for me. (had been waiting 3 years)
Was out of bed after 24 hours and discharged after 36 (a bit sooner than they preferred, but I could't hack being at the hospital any longer)
Spent 4 weeks on crutches, physio 2 times a week for 6 weeks and 8 weeks in total off work.
Leg was not plastered but had a water filled support which was re-filled with ice water every two hours to keep swelling in check.
I have full mobility now but it's never going to be the same (strength wise) as it was before the accident.

I had this about 15yrs ago on the NHS & they (the surgeon) were very good. It is a big operation so you're out for quite a while. I was off work for 3wks (I'm no sciver so I'm rarely off work) & had to keep leg straight at all times albeit not plastered. It took 12mnths to get back to normal ie playing football again etc. Knee was never really the same again though, sorry to say :(

TX.

I think you will find his Knees are so tough and hard from all that Surfin ,cycling ,running ,boxing ,feng shui,gardening etc ,that its a problem that only lesser Mortals are likely to suffer from .!!!:cuckoo:
And if he is doing any work which requires kneeling down ,I believe he has some super special "Padded Jim-Jam bottoms ".!!!!:Suspiciou

Although he may correct me if im wrong !!!:wonder:

I also forgot to mention, I can no longer kneel down on my operated knee with any weight without it being painful.

Are you definatley having the operation done, or have you been told to consider if you want it done?

I'm not 100% sure that's what the dianosis will be yet, but that's what my consultant told my GP he thinks it is.

I've had an MRI and will get the results tomorrow.

I live a fairly active lifestyle so I'd need it doing....I just hope I get offered some of the same recovery techniques offered to Michael Owen.

My ex's sis had it done - it ended her netball career but she's still gets around and manages to chase after her manic 5yr old ok.

When I wanted to hear about experiences, words like career ending wasn't what I needed :D

Lol, you'll be glad to hear it was just the dizzy heights of the Northants netball league :lol1:

But i don't think you'll be going skiing again for a while after ;)

Not skiing I'm interested in....that's months away!

Would be nice to ride my motocross bike again this year....bit peed off having brought a new bike, kit, race license, transponder...and I can't ride the bugger after 2 races!

Had mine rebuilt April last year, my experiences aren't the best however the amount of damage i've done was rather errmm spectacular.

But anyway, from snapping it to the operation took about 6 months. The best advice i can give is to get your knee as fit as possible. Cycling, closed loop exercises (squats lunges step ups on to a box etc are the way forward, the goal being to improve the strength of the hamstring, and the vastus medialis. I was recommended not to do leg extensions or hang string curls as the leg isn't fully supported and puts too much stress through the joint.

I as in hospital for 2 days, and left with the leg heavily strapped with dressings over the wound. I was unable to work or drive for 6 weeks after the operation, though 4 weeks is a normal length of time. Rehab can start immediately, by doing isometric contractions of the effected leg.

As for light excercise, again closed loop excercises, stepper cycling. Then get some decent rehab. Don't be lulled into thinking that just because you can press a lot of weight on it that the knee is good, as i'm finding it's the support muscles that are key, so be prepared for wobble boards etc.

Please take onboard that even if your knee feels great please remember that it takes about 6 months for the graft too take, up until then it's just held in with screws, so take care and take your time as it'll save you going in for a second round of surgery when you snap the graft.

Finally, whether you return to what you were doing before, as i've found depends on what other damage you have done. I know a fair few lads who have returned to playing rugby, i however wont, as i utterly destroyed the joint.

Any more info ask away:thumb:

Good feedback!

Well, tonight's the night I find out my fate!

My daughter had this done, sadly it all went belly up, they put the dressing on too tight and didnt remove it for two days and she has ended up with DVT

I had my ACl repaired with keyhole surgery about 12 years ago.

I was in hospital for 24 hours and was up and walking almost straight after surgery.

I arranged surgery through this lot (Droitwich Knee Clinic - Home) however my surgeon was a SA guy (Mr Glen Vardi) and I had surgey in London.

I was off work for about 2 weeks but was quite mobile during this period.

I had physiotheraphy for circa 12 weeks.

My knee was never as strong or as stable as before the ACL rupture however it is good enough to play cricket although I do wear a knee brace for extra support.

Definately worth doing as without it my knee had no stability.

Kiwi

In a nut shell the damage is: The anterior cruciate ligament is ruptured, and I have a tear of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus. Bugger.

The consultant suggested doing motocross again was not altogether very clever!

One little used YZF 450 for sale :(

:( My boss ruptured his cruciate on the mx bike a few years ago and he's back up and riding now. If your really keen to get back to it then look into getting a knee brace, the proper ones are expensive but worth every penny. Try to get one of the custom made ones if you can, I think they advertise in a lot of the road / mx mags but due to work filters I can't find any for you.......:mad:

I've woken up with a few thoughts today. Going to sell my new bike and spares....but I WILL ride again.

It looks like I will need a knee brace for skiing, so I'll get the best I can get and start riding again in 12 months or so.

Hi Dave, have a word with my Mrs - she had to put up with my knee surgery last year, if you want a chat then I'm sure she will give you my number. The chap who fixed my knee did a cacking job, After having the tendon seat relocated and 3 screws put through the shin I was back running 10k within 5 months.

Best of luck! :)

For God's sake tell me you were able to do the ironing sitting down! ;)

More like "Here's a nappy and here's a child that smells - sort it out please" ;)

How the hell did I get dragged into this?

Slightly dodgy right knee but only minor. Never had surgery done thanks gaawd.

Knees and shoulders are cr4p - badly "designed"

Have hope!!

I totally buggered my left knee - ACL rupture, medial collatoral rupture and numerous other little bits and pieces gone astray.

That was fifteen years ago.

I have not had it repaired and in all that time I have only had one moment of instability and that was about four months after coming out of my (hinged) plaster. I am active and am happy with moderate anything without protection.

I ski and for that I am confident that my knee will hold up however for security I wear a Don Joy ACL Armor Brace - the very, very best sporting ACL brace in the world. In fact the ONLY brace that is suitable for genuine ACL protection. Anything you can buy in a sports shop is a total waste of money. I don't think you can buy these direct in the UK anymore, you can get them from the US.

In actually works by causing your hamstrings to contract when you bend your knee therefore compensating for the loss of the ACL. There is no external brace that will be as strong as getting your own body to compensate. You will also need to really work the little muscle just above your patella. That is also crucial for knee stability. Whenever you think about just twitch and flex it. Do this a thousand times a day and you will have excellent knee stability.

I used to have a custom fit DonJoy Gold - but the off the shelf Armor is better - they do loads of sizes and you get a fitting chart. If you want to Motocross then get one of these and you will be fine. If you plan to ski with it, make sure you order a ski-boot compatible model.

In terms of repair - proper ACL repair requires the knee to be opened up Gazza style. Keyhole solutions are not really full repairs. This is a complex operation requiring saws, drills, hammers and staples. Not things that easily go in through the keyhole ;)

Stick in there - there are sports people including footballers with unrepaired ACL. It is not ideal but certainly not the end of the world.

Finally get yourself in the gym - develop your thigh muscles, especially the hamstrings. In physio I got my hamstrings to be nearly 90% the strength of my quads and my quads were strong. Any decent physio will have Cybex for you to use for this test - it is the worst torture in the world!!!

Double finally - a year after the rupture skiing was amazing painful with the brace and I stopped. Have heart though because I started again with NO knee pain or limition at all, even with the DJ brace on.

I know someone who had it done and now there leg can go beyond straight by about 20 degrees-looks funny!

Spooky Mulder, thanks for that! Those knee braces are available in the UK. They are majorly expensive, but I am thinking it will be worth it. :)

Hi Clare,

my view is that they are the same price as a decent mountain bike or a top pair of skis. You are right though they are totally worth it. If are you getting on make sure it is for ACL and make sure you follow the strap tightening procedure for maximum effectiveness.

Once the latest one I use in on it is totally fine. You can also use inserts to limit extension to give your knee even more protection.

Spooky :D

Yep well, his bike's up for sale, so he can afford it. He'll have to do it if he wants to ride and ski safely again. I really don't want him to do it again.... :( It's bloody depressing!

You do realise that they don't use one of these :

http://www.aberfeldyplanthire.com/im.../hilti_te5.jpg

or this:

http://www.dewaltdeals.com/Dewalt%20Circular%20Saw.jpg

You're information about the knee braces sounds spot on, but afraid a bit wide of the mark on the surgery.

Gazza was opened up across the patella, not to facilitate the use of saws or drills in the joint but to allow a paetella tendon graft to be taken. This kind of graft allows 2 plugs of bone to be used during the grafting procedure. In theory this gives a stronger graft than the Hamstring graft (which uses just one bone plug and a knotted end of tendon). However the down side is that kneeling on the scar tissue afterwards can cause quite amount of pain, hence the use hamstring graft which has a scar on the upper inner shin.

If however there is a minute chance you are right, then i'll ask my surgeon to explain himself on how he managed to fully repair my ACL using drills, water injection, staples and using 2 key hole ports, and all with out the requirement to tear my knee apart. Anyone would think he was a surgeon or something :freak3:.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...7032008068.jpg

Whoa, whats going on with that bloody staple thing :o