Tore my ACL, Surgery on the 22nd!

Looking for some input. I'll be in and out in a few hours I am told. They won't be getting a graph from me, it'll be a donar. Any input on what I can expect will be appreciated.

The hardest part for me will be the first month after the surgery. They said I won't be able to walk on it. Whew I am ready to get this done.

 

bummer luke, wish the best for you.

 

Had my right acl repaired about 10 years ago. The hardest part was the rehab afterwords. I had to have some kind of machine that flexed and extended my knee that I had to lay down and use 8 hours per day and my wife had to keep putting ice in the machine and I think she was ready to leave me after a week or 2 of that thing. Plus rehab (weights, and some electric stimulation to wake my leg muscles up). Looking back...I'm glad I had it repaired, that knee is now much stronger than my left knee. Good luck!!

 

Damn dude...I hope you feel better after all this. Good luck.

 

Wow how did you do tear yours? I hope thats not how every one has to heal? I was told I have a minor tear. I injured it back in august, and only have issues with movements at an angle and when I try to run. Needless to say it cut out a lot of my activities though.

 

Sorry to hear that! The technology today is amazing tho. Much different from when I tore my ACL many years ago when I was 19. (yeah I'm an old lady ) Mine was repaired via a hamstring graft and after a very lengthy recovery got back to lead a very active life. You will too!

Keep your legs strong so your muscles do not atrophy. Also ice is your friend As mentioned, they get your knee moving much more quickly today so you do not lose range of motion plus the operation in itself is less invasive which equals less trauma on the joint. I think the fact you are not having either a patella tendon or hamstring graft will speed your recovery. Did your doctor say that or why he was going with the donor graft?


I just had surgery on the same knee this August to clean out some debris and evaluate its status. Even after all those years, the knee came right back and I skied a couple of weeks ago. The body and its recovery process is amazing.
I wish you the best Luke, try to stay positive and this too shall pass, soon you will be good as new! Plus keep us posted on your status.

 

I tore mine playing "flag" football, trying to act like I was a teenager again .
It was a complete tear though so maybe that's why the post-op stuff was so intense. Hopefully yours will be quick and not too much rehab after. It is still worth it I think, especially if you are young.

 

I don't buy the old lady stuff! Its all about how you feel.
The doctor said like you assume that having a donor will quicken the recovery time. He has laid it out like this, 1 month no walking on it while wearing a brace, 1 month wearing the brace with light walking on it. No carrying stuff or acting the fool. Then after that it is a person to person issue. I am in very good shape, which is a great plus, the doctor seemed excited for me. However on the down side is I don't mind pain much, I feel that may hurt me. However I am very concerned about my knee and being able to play with my little girl in the yard again. I'll be on my best behavior.

Don't feel bad I was directing traffic on one of those Air jump water slides for my daughter and her cousins birthday party. Keeping 8 5yr olds from wrecking, somehow I moved wrong.

Hopefully we never stop acting like teenagers! and Thanks to everyone wishing me the best. I'm not concerned about the surgery just hoping in the future it will be just as good a knee that it was in the past. Everything else I have busted in the past gives me greif every now and then.

List of accidents:
Cuccussion
Broken collar bone
3 broken rims (not at same time)
Fractured ankle
Dislocated Wrist
Dislocated shoulder
Broken fingers and toes
Whip lash
5th vertibrate in back all jacked up
5th vertibrate in neck cock eyed
Broken Jaw (3 places)
Now Torn ACL.

 

I tore my acl in my right knew eight years ago. It was a bit different than yours though. I had a compete tear due to dislocating it. Instead of having a donor ligament, I had a hamstring graph.

Regardless of technique, or graph, etc., the most important thing comes after the surgery, REHAB. Be patient with your knee, and with your progress. You may want to rush it because you get sick of sitting around, I can't stress this more --- do not rush it. The more you rehab, lift weights, ice, and give your knee a chance to heal, the better.

I stayed in my immobilizer for about 4-5 weeks before they began to allow me add degrees of bend to my brace, and was allowed to walk with partial weight (like 10% weight). This may seem quite slow/conservative, but boy am I glad for the Doc's and Physical Therapists for keepin' it slow.

However, do not let any of what I've wrote or anyone else scare you. The surgery is easy to recover from, and can actually be a great thing because by the time you're done both of your legs will be strong, and probably like tree stumps due to all the rehab and weight lifting. By taking it slow and steady I have had NO problems at all, and as Ranger being on my feet all day in the mountains, I rely on my legs.

On the reverse side - I had a friend in knee rehab who rushed things and returned to sports/hiking to soon after surgery and he tore it again. He allowed only 6 months to pass before he went back to playing backyard football and backpacking. He didn't realize the amount of stress that we put on our legs everyday, not just in sports, and when he tore it the 2nd time and he returned to the Doc his Doc told him, "Are you going to listen to me this time, or are you gonna be bonehead - go slow."

If you need help/advice with it, PM me anytime!!

Stay strong.

 

x2...I tore mine 8 yrs. ago on a Sunday playing basketball, felt three pops tore my ACL & Lateral & Medial Collateral Ligaments also tore up some Meniscus (see picture) and my kneecap was off to one side. MAJOR twist. That same week (get this) on a Thursday my wife gave birth to my daughter, and my son was 2 years old at the time, needless to say she was pissed what a year THAT was. They ONLY fixed my ACL the DR. said sense I am not in PRO Sports I did'nt need to fix my lateral & medial ligaments. It has healed completely and is stronger then my left knee.But hey like everyone else says this to will pass and be strong!! By the way I'm going to be running a 10K this saturday You too will be up and around in no time!! My best advice to you, REHAB,REHAB and be patient with your progress!!! Keep us posted on your progress!!

 

I am already beating it into my head how slow I need to take this. Thanks for your reinforcement.!!

 

I had surgery on the 22nd of Feb, just 5 days ago. After the surgery the doc said my knee looked great and was in excellent health. However by the MRI and how I behaved he would have never guessed I had such a bad tear. He is extremely happy with how things went, took about 2 hrs.
Back at home pain is not very much, I had a pain pump in a pouch that was in the top of my thigh near my groin about an 1" deep. Dripped fluids to kill the pain for 72 hrs. I then pulled it out this past wednesday. No difference in pain so far, it had been leaking a great deal so I don't think I was getting much.
Went to the doctor on the 26th and he said I am moving way more than he expected. Seems I am doing a great job of taking care of it. Well theirs my update for now.

 

Do the rehab..that is the most important thing other than the dr doing it right. I have had 2 ACL replaced. 98 and 2004. Good luck.

 

Sounds like you are doing great!.
Keep up the good work don't try to set a new world record for recovery.
If you tear it doing too much you will be back to square one.
I had that damm 8hr knee flex machine for a while. I did 4 hours first thing when I got up and 4 hours in the late afternoon. That thing is a bore fest!!!.
Keep up the good work!!

 

just take it easy and finish the rehab all the way . take some glucasamine chrondriition everyday and don't walk around to much

 

So far all I do is relax on the sofa, and then move to a different chair. I have a hinged brace on but am not doing any rehab.

That brings me to my question. When should one start to rehab a knee after surgery? I am of the thinking that if scar tissue starts to form it limit my mobility. My doctor doesen't seem to think I need to worry about it and actually hasn't answered my questions about it.

I'm also looking at being off of work for atleast 4 months. Not because the healing will be so slow but the work doesn't offer light duty.

 

i've had acl reconstruction in both knees now. just had my left on fixed up this past september. i started rehab 7 days after surgery.

 

I tore my left ACL & had some meniscus damage in Sept of 09, almost 6 months ago. I had a pettela tendion graph. The first week was absolute hell for me! I had the pain pump & apparentlly they missed my nerve when they put it in, it never worked & they told me I could be admitted & they would give me an epidural in my spine for a few days or could go home & fight it out on vicodin, so I went home in pretty bad pain. After that it was not so bad, the physical therapy sucks but it is worth it. Now my knee feels great! Get up & get moving! I only missed 1-1/2 days from work from my surgery. Had it on a friday & was able to work a half day on Monday. If you just lay around it is going to get stiff & more painful. I started physical therapy 1 week after the surgery.Good luck in your recovery.

 

Luk. Sorry to hear about your ACL. I tore mine last march and had surg. in June of last year. I went with my hamstring as a donor. I was put into rehab the day following surg. and was mowing my lawn in my brace the third day after surg. I ski pretty hard and almost every day (chairlift mechanic). I would do what your Dr. says but for me it was all about Mtn. biking. I was hitting the dirt roads at about three to four weeks out and rode the white rim trail in Utah (120 miles) at six monthes out. At first skiing was a bit wierd just because my left leg was stronger than my right but after a few falls I feel pretty stong with it (no more cliff drops). I am lucky as I live in a ski town so there are alot of rehab options with very good equip. Mabey call around to some of the PT places in your area and see what they think. One more thing, eat healthy!!! No junk food. Premium gas makes for speedy recovery!

Good luck with the healing.

 

Thanks guys for the input. I enjoy having different opinions.

My knee is still wraped and bandaged and I still have the stitches in. I move my knee all day even though I am on the sofa. I also eat pretty well all the time, I'm very active or was very active until this happened. I teach Martial Arts so I am fairly healthy. I'll certainly call around to see what kind of rehab is avaliable in my area.