Knee Doc Referral (in Tahoe this time)?

[britney]

I can't believe I'm asking for another ACL doc!

No - not for my other knee (although I wish I could trade it). This time it's for Mr. Britney (aka Huckwheat). :(

Truckee ER doc *thinks* he tore his left ACL, but we need MRI to confirm.

I did some searches (including my old thread) and saw that lph recommends Terry Orr and Steve Bannar in South Lake.

Anyone else know who's GOOD in North Shore or Reno???

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions!! THX!
-b

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

awww Christ that sucks B. Hopin for the best here....

Sorry I don't know any acl docs in North Shore / Reno...but lph's suggestion of Orr & Bannar is spot on. A lot of the North Shore 'rockstars' who have had their ACL's torn go to them.

[freshies]

...and the Truckee ER docs are usually right (sad to say..), they see so many knees every yr...When my GF went in there last spring, he looked at her knee for about 1 min and called it: torn ACL, partial MCL tear....MRI was spot on :frown:

[Kellie]

Nooooo! What happened?!?!? I know he wants to be like you, but this is a bit excessive!!!!!!!!

I hope it's not torn, and everything is peachy . . . or here's to a speedy recovery!!!

[G]

I'll second that for the doctors at tahoe fracture. Orr and bannar and I'll add dr randy watson to that list too.

all secondhand info, though.

[lph]

I'll second that for the doctors at tahoe fracture. Orr and bannar and I'll add dr randy watson to that list too.

all secondhand info, though.

ya, for those that saw the Kreitler movie, watson was the doc kent went to after the dislocation.

[britney]

my doc in SF, Lesley Anderson, also recommended Randy Watson today. However, he has no appointments till late January!

Huckwheat is seeing Dr. Foley here in Truckee tomorrow, just to get the MRI and confirm the diagnosis ASAP, then trekking to South Lake to see Orr on Monday if the tear is confirmed by the MRI.

Hoping we can cancel that Monday appt!

Thanks to all for their good wishes and spot-on recs (especially lph - good to have a doctor in the house!) :D
-b

PS I do not recommend Reno Othorpaedic Clinic for the sole reason that getting an appointment through their telephone system is a nightmare! :mad: Orr's and Watson's offices were very professional and easy to talk to.

[Huckwheat]

I am still saying that Britney is jumping the gun (positive thinking, right?). I have never felt anything like this in my knee before.....BUT. There is no (not much at least) swelling, I can still put full pressure on the leg, and drive stick, with no pain. The one thing it doesnt like is fully flexing the Quad. Weird stuff.

Thanks for all the advice and wishes....keep those fingers crossed.

[Karl Stall]

Hope you're o.k., man. This place is ACL info central [/knocks on wood]. You're welcome to hang here more as well.

Good luck.

[Darkside]

I am still saying that Britney is jumping the gun (positive thinking, right?). I have never felt anything like this in my knee before.....BUT. There is no (not much at least) swelling, I can still put full pressure on the leg, and drive stick, with no pain. The one thing it doesnt like is fully flexing the Quad. Weird stuff.

Thanks for all the advice and wishes....keep those fingers crossed.

What did it feel like when you did it? Did you hear/feel "the pop"? Let's hope that Britney's wrong...

[britney]

What did it feel like when you did it? Did you hear/feel "the pop"? Let's hope that Britney's wrong...

haha! Dont worry i'm also hoping I'm wrong (AND the small detail that the Truckee ER doc is also wrong)!!

But yes, he heard it. sounded like two "pings." he immediately thought at the time that he blew his knee. but he did ski down. i couldnt even stand up when i did mine - i was about to pass out, and had to take the toboggan of shame.

AND the patroller pulling me had twin tips!!! :mad:

-b

[britney]

i REALLY hate being right. :frown:

Dr Foley (Truckee) confirmed that Huckwheat's left ACL is torn. he got the MRI today so we will know tomorrow if anything else is damaged.

He sees Dr Orr on Monday.

Foley says that he can ski the season w/o getting the surgery (assuming nothing but the ACL is damaged), but he can't jump.

if you have seen page 9 of the maggot picture thread, you know this will be a looooong season for HW. :frown:

i know others here have dealt with the question whether to ski the season or get the surgery now, and i am going to search those threads now and send some PM's.

I'm trying to find someone who has gone through it, to see what it was like, and whether they would choose to do it the same way again.
-b

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

i REALLY hate being right. :frown:

Dr Foley (Truckee) confirmed that Huckwheat's left ACL is torn. he got the MRI today so we will know tomorrow if anything else is damaged.

He sees Dr Orr on Monday.

Foley says that he can ski the season w/o getting the surgery (assuming nothing but the ACL is damaged), but he can't jump.

if you have seen page 9 of the maggot picture thread, you know this will be a looooong season for HW. :frown:

i know others here have dealt with the question whether to ski the season or get the surgery now, and i am going to search those threads now and send some PM's.

I'm trying to find someone who has gone through it, to see what it was like, and whether they would choose to do it the same way again.
-b

DAMMIT!

Brit -- Feel free to PM me any questions. I was skiing a bunch on mine while it was torn. well, 4 times isn't quite a bunch but....

[altagirl]

With my left knee I skied 36 days with no ACL. But it kept blowing out maybe every 5th or 6th ski day. And, uh, being an idiot, I'd just keep skiing. It didn't really hurt but it'd swell up so bad I'd have about 30 degrees ROM and I'd just ski on it anyway. It was my last season living in Europe and I couldn't get it diagnosed right or fixed by the army docs there so I just kept skiing. It worked, sorta, but I ended up needing a meniscus repair by the time I had the surgery, and that made recovery a lot harder (6 weeks totally non-weight bearing on crutches to let the meniscus repair heal). Was it worth it? Yes and no. Partly I was just lucky and had some huge leg muscles to compensate and I'm glad I got all those ski trips in (including an epic waist-deep day on the Aguille-du-Midi - which miraculously caused no problems for my knee), though I spent a lot of my time on groomers since it would give out more in crud and powder... but I do realize how lucky I was to only damage it as much as I did. This time when I tore my other ACL, I got it fixed ASAP. Sucks to miss out on skiing, but when you know you wouldn't be able to ski the way you want to anyway... I wanted it fixed right away.

Really sorry to hear your diagnosis... :(

[Big E]

Damn, that sucks. You can't flick a booger without having it land on an ACL expert-through-experience in here.

And I have no idea why that phrase came into my head.

[Alkasquawlik]

i REALLY hate being right. :frown:

Dr Foley (Truckee) confirmed that Huckwheat's left ACL is torn. he got the MRI today so we will know tomorrow if anything else is damaged.

He sees Dr Orr on Monday.

Foley says that he can ski the season w/o getting the surgery (assuming nothing but the ACL is damaged), but he can't jump.

if you have seen page 9 of the maggot picture thread, you know this will be a looooong season for HW. :frown:

i know others here have dealt with the question whether to ski the season or get the surgery now, and i am going to search those threads now and send some PM's.

I'm trying to find someone who has gone through it, to see what it was like, and whether they would choose to do it the same way again.
-b

That sucks B.

Foley is the shit. He has done three surgeries on me so far. One of the surgeries that he did flawlessly, many docs here in Santa Cruz said shouldn't/couldn't be done.

Definitely recommend Watson, many of my buddies have been cut by him and they're all doing a-okay now.

As far as skiing with a torn ACL. Evan Dyvbig competed in moguls at the 2000 Olympics with no ACL. Skied the whole year on it, and trained on it and competed on it.

But, and this is a big but, Evan then blew his other knee apart upon landing of the second hit in the Olympics because of the weakness in his missing ACL knee.

[bad_roo]

I guess that nixes Adrenaline Rock.

Ouch.

[hardrider]

That sucks B.

Foley is the shit. He has done three surgeries on me so far. One of the surgeries that he did flawlessly, many docs here in Santa Cruz said shouldn't/couldn't be done.

Definitely recommend Watson, many of my buddies have been cut by him and they're all doing a-okay now.

As far as skiing with a torn ACL. Evan Dyvbig competed in moguls at the 2000 Olympics with no ACL. Skied the whole year on it, and trained on it and competed on it.

But, and this is a big but, Evan then blew his other knee apart upon landing of the second hit in the Olympics because of the weakness in his missing ACL knee.

I dont know Evan but have seen him ski two years ago, the rumor was that he had no ACLs at all. :eek:

[britney]

Thanks to all for the invaluable info!!! PM's being sent...
-b

[homerjay]

My friend Andy doesn't have an ACL in one of his knees. I doubt he'll ever get it replaced. (Note - he had his first reconstruction botched, then the second doc recommended not reconstructing it) He's probably the most fit person I know, but he skis all the time. Not terribly aggressive, but he can definitely rip. It can be done if your leg strength can compensate for the missing ligament.

[britney]

My friend Andy doesn't have an ACL in one of his knees. I doubt he'll ever get it replaced. (Note - he had his first reconstruction botched, then the second doc recommended not reconstructing it) He's probably the most fit person I know, but he skis all the time. Not terribly aggressive, but he can definitely rip. It can be done if your leg strength can compensate for the missing ligament.

well he has big legs (see p. 9 of the maggot pics thread), and the doc is impressed with his strength and flexibility.

but he also has a big temptation for his skis to leave the ground (also see p. 9 of the pics thread), so i'm concerned that he will give in to temptation and do further damage... (yeah, HW, you heard me right)! :p
-b
EDIT PS - and HW does not intend to compete in world cup moguls (but that evan sure is a badass), but he does want to go backcountry - any thoughts on skinning w/one ACL also appreciated. he also seems to think he is going to become an amateur photog and videographer in his spare time, so we should have some good TRs to post! :D

PPS knowing the mags, i think this disclaimer is necessary -- NO not THAT kind of photog/videographer!!! :mad:

[altagirl]

My friend Andy doesn't have an ACL in one of his knees. I doubt he'll ever get it replaced. (Note - he had his first reconstruction botched, then the second doc recommended not reconstructing it) He's probably the most fit person I know, but he skis all the time. Not terribly aggressive, but he can definitely rip. It can be done if your leg strength can compensate for the missing ligament.

True, but there's some lucky genetics and bone structure in the equation as well as leg strength. I've heard a few stories of people who didn't even know they were missing an ACL. Other people can barely walk without it.

Not to mention whether the damage is just the ACL or if you tore up some meniscus too. If you tear the meniscus, you're going to lose more stability.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

but he also has a big temptation for his skis to leave the ground (also see p. 9 of the pics thread), so i'm concerned that he will give in to temptation and do further damage... (yeah, HW, you heard me right)! :p
-b

that's why I decided to get surgery. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold myself back and I just thought it would be too risky.

The few days I did get in with it torn, I wore a burly customized brace, so I'm sure that helped. I even took a few very small airs, but made sure I hipchecked the landings so that my knee wouldn't take much punishment. The urge was strong to postpone surgery until after the winter, but I was really favoring my left leg, and I wasn't happy at all holding back on things, so I decided to go for surgery.

[Magoo]

Glad this is being discussed here. My wife damaged her knee Saturday, full extent not known at this time, MCL for sure, probable ACL too. She says it feels "loose" but it doesn't really hurt at all. Minor swelling -- I'd say just "puffy." MRI scheduled for Saturday for complete analysis.
We've prepaid a trip to Mammath for February, so we're hoping she can PT and strengthen a bit, get a brace (ala Tyrones), and stay on blue groomers (not a problem for her...). Do surgery upon return, be able to ride bike come spring/summer.
Keep the info coming, and I'll share what we find out....