Add me too the list!!

**mac19** · 09-27-2009, 04:20 PM

long story short.... ended my season a few weeks early last year with a twisted knee. No bruising but had some bad swelling I rehabbed it at the gym on my own and was back to normal with in a few weeks and didn't feel any major instabilities until this summer on a few occasions I felt my knee glide but no pain or swelling. Then about 2 weeks ago I side hopped over an obstacle that was about a 1 foot off the ground and when I landed on my right foot my knee blew out, after I regained my composure I gathered myself up and tried too weight my leg and wham out it went again. I had this identical experience in 2004 when I had a complete tear on my left ACL so I was pretty sure I knew how the story was going too be told. This time my swelling was excessive and some major bruising, this essentially confirmed my suspicions. I got my MRI results on Friday and they confirmed a complete detachment from the femur. I'm prehabbing my ass off and am hoping for a quick opening in the OR to get this program rolling. Mentally I'm ready too rock and will be soon physically. I'm currently deciding between BTB patella or hammy graph, in 2004 I had a hammy graph. I'm walking/climbing stairs without a limp and descending stairs but with obvious care and a small bit of discomfort. I'm in Canada so unfortunately my surgery will be a 3-5 months away, I envy those who are in the OR within 1-2 months. I guess this will give me some time to get this knee ubber strong going into surgery. Anyway I just thought I'd check into Gimp Town, CHEERS!!

**SkiED** · 09-27-2009, 11:43 PM

That sucks to hear but sounds like you have been there before and are upbeat enough about it, I couldnt imagine having to sit around and wait 5 months. I tore mine in the june 21 and had surgy july 6th with a great doc.

**mac19** · 12-07-2009, 10:31 PM

Nail down a surgery date today, Jan 6th 2010. Lets get this fucker fixed!!!

**KimD** · 12-10-2009, 01:14 PM

Good luck, mac. I am now one week post-op ACLR but I flew down to Texas to Dr. Mark after my Alberta surgeon declined to fix it and I didn't want to wait for a second opinion/surgery day in Canada.

**mac19** · 12-10-2009, 10:43 PM

I don't blame you one bit Kim if you don't look out for yourself nobody else will either. I'm looking forward to getting on with the process and get on with life. waiting around for second opinions if you know what is wrong and what needs too be done is a waste of your time. From what I've been reading on here DR. Mark seems like a no questions asked, petellae graph all the way if a healthy graph is available. How did you come to the final decision on what graph choice to make and what ultimately made you go with the patellae. My other question is when your a canadian do you have too pay for the surgery out of pocket or does your extended medical coverage cover it or how does it work if a guy wants to take the route you took and go see Dr. Mark?

**KimD** · 12-12-2009, 04:38 PM

Well, I just did tons of research and the bone to bone aspect just made sense to me. Plus, this is my second ACL surgery and I wanted to make sure it would be my last. It is out of pocket completely, though I can use the expense on my income tax as a deduction and there may be some recourse with Alberta Health but I have to get the details l. That yet.

**mac19** · 01-06-2010, 10:27 AM

Just laying here waiting for my IV, let the show begin...

**mac19** · 01-06-2010, 05:18 PM

Ouch....

**Rain King** · 01-06-2010, 11:57 PM

Enjoy the meds! ...and knowing you'll be hitting it at the start of next season!

**mac19** · 01-08-2010, 09:17 PM

Post OP Day #2. Exercises are going well, very close to 90 degree of flexion. lengthed out time between Percocet and torodol a bit, but still pretty damn sore. During the next several days I should see a dramatic reduction in pain if my memory serves me correctly. Damn these perc's are good...

**KimD** · 01-08-2010, 11:17 PM

Glad to hear it's so far so good. What graft did you decide on?

**mac19** · 01-09-2010, 12:30 PM

I went with the hamstring again. The first one has served me well till now, why mess with success I thought. The surgeon was more than open to using any of the grafts that I was interested in. I decided on the hamstring for the simple reason that I'm seeing way to many gimp central postings about post OP ACL laxity. Hamstring is his preferred method and thus does more of these than other graft's(However he just did A BPB graft on my cousin 3 weeks ago) like I said all options were on the table. I chatted with him about the options and my conclusion was the actual replacement graft of either the hammy or BPB are stronger than the original ACL ligament. Which means the positioning of the graft and the tensioning of the graft are the two most important variables along with rehabbing the knee properly post OP. Because of this I went with the hamstring which is the surgeons comfort zone. And Like I said I have no laxity in my other knee which was repaired with the hammy. Hoping for the same success with this one.

**mac19** · 01-15-2010, 05:20 PM

Knee is feeling good!! It definitely feels good to have a ACL again. 9 days post OP, crutches gone several days ago, off the pain meds and still rock-in the home exercises. See surgeon next week remove sutures and start with formal PT sessions. My flexion is about 100-105 and extension almost matches my other leg . For the most part the majority of the swelling has disappeared but enough still remains to restrict a bit of movement. I have a bit of aching in the knee and femur but nothing requiring prescription meds. I can walk with out limp if paying attention. The medial quad is firing good but the lateral quad is still struggling. Hamstring still sore. looking forward to getting ok'd for the stationary bike. [/blog]

**mac19** · 01-21-2010, 09:59 AM

The Doc liked what he seen yesterday and yanked the stiches. the knee is feeling great super stable no instabilities at all. Walking around the house without a limp, however I'm still limping after a long day out of the house. Lots of ice around so I'm limping around the land mines abit outside. I start physio today and should get the OK for the stationary bike and start some new exercises. definately looking forward to this.

**mac19** · 01-22-2010, 02:33 PM

My knee is feeling better everyday. My physio couldn't believe my progress 14 days post OP, he's been in the business 20years and he hasn't seen anybody this far along this early he said. He figured I was there for a shoulder injury when I walked in. He measured me at -2 extension and >125 flexion and very minimal swelling remaining. This time around I have all of the sensation and no numbness in my shin area which I experience on my left shin from my other ACL surgery . I road the bike yesterday for 20min. in the morning with very very little resistance and it felt good, road again for 30min before bed. Will continue with daily stationary biking along with everything the physio recommends. In the past the bike has always been my most successful tool for rehabbing my knee. I hope the rest of you here on Gimp Central are experienceing some success with your injuries. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming....

**mac19** · 03-30-2010, 11:24 PM

The Knee feels good!!!! Not much else to say. Both quads and hamstrings are as strong or stronger than pre-injury. 99% of the time I forget I ever had the surgery. I'm still in the gym nearly every day. Doing a combination of bike, elliptical, treadmill, strength training and balance exercises. Staying away from anything that would really put the graft at risk. looking forward to summer and the inevitable winter to follow...

**mac19** · 06-07-2010, 08:13 AM

Well you can add me to the list of "Oh fuck I think I fucked up my ACLR"
Up until this point no instability, Rehab going well. I slipped just jacking around on my skateboard and wham my knee slipped out a bit, followed by some small poping noises when knee slid back into place. Stability feels pretty good some swelling since the incident 10hrs ago. Physio will do some stability tests tomorrow and I will see what he has to say.[/blog]

**JimLad** · 06-07-2010, 08:28 AM

That's how I felt reading this thread

**mac19** · 06-07-2010, 02:40 PM

Off for a 4hr drive on friday to see the surgeon...

**mac19** · 06-12-2010, 10:31 AM

I'm a fuck tard, and I tore my ACLR. Anybody with insight into ACLR revision surgery? I will begin the "information search" immediately. The most embarassing part is not more than a year ago I gave somebody shit on Gimp Central for overdoing it during the 5-7month rehab time frame. Apperantly I should take my own advive...

**BadGalSkiier** · 06-12-2010, 02:39 PM

I have had 2 revisions on my left knee. First ACL was a hammy, the second was an achilles allograft and the one I have now is a patellar tendon allograft. The patellar allograft is holding up really well. My knee feels the best it has in years. It appears as though the achilles tendon allograft may have been bad tissue as my body reabsorbed it. There was no trace of an ACL allograft on the MRI.

2 weeks ago I just had my right ACL done with my quadriceps tendon. I wish I would of used my quad for my left knee too but I never thought about it. Quad tendon is great for revision because it's thick and you can take a bone block with it. I will warn you however, that the harvest site is a bitch and the incision is about 4 inches. I'm 2 weeks out and I can barely lift my leg. My 3 recons on my left knee were a walk in the park compared to this one but it will be worth it.

Your patellar tendon is still an excellent option too for revision since it sounds like you have not used it yet. I have issues with mine which is why I have not used them.

Rehab for a revision is usually a little slower than with a primary recon. I was partial weight bearing on crutches for 6 weeks.

Good luck