ACL class of 2015

[yeahman]

Surgery date was February 20th. Double bundle hamstring autograft. No work needed on LCL or MCL, and my meniscus didn't have any damage.

Was off painkillers by day +3
At work and driving on day +4
Off crutches by day +4
Rode stationary bike at day +5
Full extension day +7, still working on flexion.

I was really looking forward to how my body was going to respond to this surgery. As I heard everyone's different, and there can be quite the range of recovery times. I went into the surgery with a really positive attitude and I think that really paid off for me. Going forward I think the toughest part of this recovery will be not pushing too hard in the next few months & reinjuring my graft.

That was my experience almost exactly. All in all it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I'm glad I had it done. I'm two weeks out from surgery now and walking around normally, just working on PT. Kind of enjoying the process in a twisted way.

No more terrain parks and I'm not gonna miss 'em.

[MMP]

Officially joined the class yesterday when the MRI results came back. ACL and slight meniscus. I'm sure it's been hashed out before, but thoughts on graft source? My guy said they usually use a hamstring rather than the patella tendon, and said the donor graft is likely the best way for me. I think that's probably based more on my being 50, having 5 kids, a business to run, and will provide an easier recovery.

That said, I'm a pretty aggressive tele skier, mtn bike, referee high school lacrosse, and really need this repair to be rock solid.

While bummed, i knew it was a matter of time before I had a knee injury. It's a miracle it didn't happen sooner given the abuse and sports played. We had a pretty awesome winter (so far) at Magic with many powder days. On my second run at Breckenridge after touring CU Boulder with my son, I was going very fast at the bottom of horseshoe bowl, and when stopping got chattery, caught an edge and twisted the shit out of it. It didn't swell, i made easy turns the rest of the vacation, skied last weekend and will gently make some turns this weekend AMA.

[retirwntm]

MMP - sorry to hear it. Not sure whether a "hey, you broke your cherry!" is a better response.

Like you said, you go hard enough with skiing (soccer, biking, etc.) and it's a matter of when not if.

Please take this from someone who mostly cheated off the guy who's now a pediatric surgeon in bio, Chem and physics classes while staring at Caroline Falange:

I have a friend of a friend who did residency together thats been advising me through multiple partial tears.

He was a sports Dr. at Rothmann in Phila / NJ and recently moved to do same in NYC. Glad to pass his name along if you can get work done there.

May be able to ask him a specific question or questions but his tack has generally been to pick a surgeon and talk it out with them then follow their advice and religiously do the rehab.

He said the technology and procedures are advancing at such a geometric clip that not having issues prior helps with issues like arthritis and scar tissue that probably would have been hard to overcome / remediate. Id assume additional work - menisectomy etc. once they've already elected surgery. Makes sense.

You'll be back for opening day!

[Brock Landers]

Officially joined the class yesterday when the MRI results came back. ACL and slight meniscus. I'm sure it's been hashed out before, but thoughts on graft source? My guy said they usually use a hamstring rather than the patella tendon, and said the donor graft is likely the best way for me. I think that's probably based more on my being 50, having 5 kids, a business to run, and will provide an easier recovery.

That said, I'm a pretty aggressive tele skier, mtn bike, referee high school lacrosse, and really need this repair to be rock solid.

You can still drink right? Not all is lost.

[yeahman]

Officially joined the class yesterday when the MRI results came back. ACL and slight meniscus. I'm sure it's been hashed out before, but thoughts on graft source? My guy said they usually use a hamstring rather than the patella tendon, and said the donor graft is likely the best way for me. I think that's probably based more on my being 50, having 5 kids, a business to run, and will provide an easier recovery.

I went with hamstring based on my surgeon's recommendation (I'm same age as you). But I used my own tendon to avoid possible complications or reaction with a donor graft. I guess my philosophy was "heal thyself" if possible. Also I think the long-term success rate is higher when you use your own hamstring (6% failure vs. 17% for allograft was what the doc told me), although short term recovery time can be longer due to having to rehab your hamstring and be careful not to F it up. However, my doc said that studies show hamstring strength can be recovered close to 100 percent over 18-24 months (but enough for skiing in 6-8 months, and according to him very few people need all their hamstring strength anyway unless they are an Olympic sprinter).

No perfect answer to the graft question--I have many friends with a variety of grafts that seem to be working fine. It largely depends on what your surgeon recommends and is most comfortable with. I don't have any long-term results to share, but I feel pretty darn good two and a half weeks after surgery. A month of prehab before surgery helped a LOT, I think. Good luck with it.

[montanaskier]

I had a double bundle with my own hammy and a donor graft. Wife just had a single hammy graft that was her own hammy.

It happens to most of us in time. Good luck!

[MMP]

I appreciate the good wishes, and it's reassuring to hear how well you all and your families have recovered. We scheduled a pre-op for wednesday, and likely will have it done 4/3. The orthopedic PA is a guy whose kid played lax for me when I coached my youngest's team, and the surgeon's kid plays JV for Deerfield and I've officiated many of his and his brother's games. They know me, and being from town kind of know me as the ski nutjob. I trust his opinion will be based on the best sports type outcome.

By october my short game is going to be in pretty good shape, with any luck.

Brock, come to Magic this weekend, I have a Heady Topper with your name on it.

[Kevin_mcbride]

I just had my first ACL reconstruction on Tuesday, the knee that had the graft taken from it is progressing very quickly, and the repaired knee is beginning to come along

[MMP]

They harvest from the same knee as the ACL I assume? Seems crazy not to

[Vfury]

Thought I just sprained my knee last week but after some research beyond what the ER told me, I headed to a specialist to get it checked out. Luckily I'm relatively close to The Alpine Clinic in NH, meaning the go to for the U.S. Ski jumping team, so they know what they're doing.

Have an ACL tear and minor sprains in my other knee ligaments. I'm graduating college in May and have put off the surgery until 4 days after then. In the meantime I'm in a brace working on building up my quad strength and range of motion. I'm walking without crutches and starting some prehab routines to get strong. Any advise from those who've been there of what helps the most in building up strength without injuring the knee more?

Doc says I can resume going to class walking around, just need to be careful and listen to how it feels. Told me if my knee buckles too often, it could cause more damage so I shouldn't try to push through it if it starts acting up. Being following RICE religiously and mostly staying off it except to stretch and go to the bathroom/ get to the car for appointments but in a few days I'll be back at school motoring around for very short bursts to get to class.

Anyone who's waited for their surgery, what should I know?

[yeahman]

Anyone who's waited for their surgery, what should I know?

Consult a PT for the best exercises for prehab. There are hundreds of exercises but it depends on your situation.

My advice is work on straight-knee extension (aka "terminal extension") and try to get it back 100% before surgery if it's not already there. Extension is one of the hardest things to gain back after surgery, but if you don't do it asap there can be complications down the road like arthritis, etc. So going into surgery with 100% extension, if possible, will probably be beneficial when you are rehabbing after surgery. But again, you should consult your doc or a PT about this because I for sure ain't either.

Good luck, I hope it goes well for you.

[yeahman]

They harvest from the same knee as the ACL I assume? Seems crazy not to

I think they can do it either way, depending. Tiger Woods had his hamstring taken from his "good" leg and used as a graft on the other knee. I believe they can do the same with a patellar graft and take it from the good knee and put it on the injured knee if they have reason to think it will be stronger. It does require an extra surgery, of course.

[yeahman]

Off topic, but this is a pretty interesting 3D video of a knee replacement.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1048080491886574

[lasereyes]

Consult a PT for the best exercises for prehab. There are hundreds of exercises but it depends on your situation.

My advice is work on straight-knee extension (aka "terminal extension") and try to get it back 100% before surgery if it's not already there. Extension is one of the hardest things to gain back after surgery, but if you don't do it asap there can be complications down the road like arthritis, etc. So going into surgery with 100% extension, if possible, will probably be beneficial when you are rehabbing after surgery. But again, you should consult your doc or a PT about this because I for sure ain't either.

Good luck, I hope it goes well for you.

AWTA. Getting strength in your knee and quads before surgery and your general conditioning are key. If you work on both, your recovery will be faster. Then after surgery, doing the PT-recommended knee stretches daily is critical (I do them twice a day - around 35 mins each morn and eve). Also be prepared for the first week to be tough, tiring and soul-sapping. But keep telling yourself that it gets better from there - cos it definitely does. Also, take as much time off work as you can. A lot of folks go back to work after 1 week, but there is no substitute for resting in the confines of your own home - if your job allows.

Best of luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[lasereyes]

I never thought it would happen to me. Until it did. Was skiing in Utah in mid Feb. It was the final day of our vacation and I was in a tree-filled area off piste in rather poor snow. Musing over the irony of skiing for the past 5 years in a myriad of often-tricky conditions out East and then taking my first trip out West the one year that my native states were monopolizing all the snow in the country! As I turned to traverse through a narrow space, my right ski slipped on some ice. I skidded at a fair pace into a clump of foliage. My skiis hit and wedged between two bulbous growths and I capsized with my knees twisting violently as I fell. As soon as it happened, I knew and felt something wasn't right. Got to my feet and was able to put my skis back on. Initially i thought it was just a sprain and continued to ski for that day. When I got home, I immediately went to the orthopedist who based on an inspection, diagnosed an MCL sprain on my right knee but ordered an MRI on the left knee due to instability that he felt.

The MRI confirmed the bad news that i had a complete ACL tear in my left knee. After a couple of weeks of stretching and regaining flexibility, based on my orthopedists' advice, to opt for Allograft surgery. I was able to move around and walk without too much pain. And the prognosis for a normal sort of life with conservative treatment was apparently good. But I love skiing and tennis too much, and those would definitely remain high risk for me sans ACL. So surgery seemed the best option for a 49 year old, physically fit, sports-active individual!

I continued my daily stretches until my surgery day last Tues. It was quite a surreal experience - one moment, my leg was being numbed with a nerve blocker; the next thing I knew, I was looking across the room at the hospital nurse who informed me that the surgery was over. There was a large bulbous brace around my knee and I couldnt feel anything around my leg.

The next 3 days were quite an experience. My wife had very kindly set me up in our Library with a very comfortable inflatable bed to avoid my having to traverse up and downstairs. My only movement was hobbling around on crutches to go to the bathroom and sporadic hops around the house to avoid going stir-crazy. There was quite a lot of pain in the surgery knee, initially masked by the nerve block and painkillers, but increasing in intensity as those wore off. My 3rd night was the most difficult - I had taken 2 painkillers and woke up around 2am feeling queasy and woozy. I staggered to the bathroom to relieve myself and almost passed out. But i held myself together and minute by minute things got better.

And from there, I have continued to improve. On Friday (3rd day after surgery), i took off my large bandage and dressing as per doctor's instructions. I was able to see my reconstructed knee for the first time, most notably the 5 incision points neatly stitched up where the arthroscopic camera had probed into. What technology!

I have started my rehab exercises. Managed 100 leg stretches this morning (day 4) and also to flex my knee to about 90 degrees. Still doing regular knee exercises on my right (non surgery) knee where the MCL sprain is not quite healed yet.

Feeling optimistic and very, very happy I opted for surgery. Expect to be on crutches for up to 2 weeks, but just taking it day-by-day. I have told my tennis fanatic daughter to expect a dramatic return to the court from me in Sep or Oct. Watch out my gal!

Update here. It's 2 weeks and 3 days since surgery and walking fairly comfortably and almost got full range of motion back. So very happy with those Biggest issue currently is sleeping. I get to sleep no problem, but then wake up after 3 hours with the leg feeling stiff and awkward. Have to get out and walk around; then either cannot get back to sleep or find myself waking up every hour thereafter. Any thoughts on how to manage that?

[montanaskier]

The sleep thing just seems to get better with time.

Wife has started finally making good progress with range of motion. PT has cleared her for riding a bike on level ground outside. We don't have much level ground but still good progress.

[Kevin_mcbride]

They harvest from the same knee as the ACL I assume? Seems crazy not to

The surgeon said that I would be on my feet sooner if he took the graft from the opposite knee, the idea behind that is so in instead of having one really bad knee that takes a while to be able to bear weight, I have two kind of bad knees that can bear weight pretty much two days after the surgery

[yeahman]

Update here. It's 2 weeks and 3 days since surgery and walking fairly comfortably and almost got full range of motion back. So very happy with those Biggest issue currently is sleeping. I get to sleep no problem, but then wake up after 3 hours with the leg feeling stiff and awkward. Have to get out and walk around; then either cannot get back to sleep or find myself waking up every hour thereafter. Any thoughts on how to manage that?

I took half a pain pill before bed and then another half at about 2 or 3 a.m. until I was about three weeks along (didn't need any during the day). Also, sleeping with a pillow between the knees helps a lot if you are a side sleeper.

[Casey E]

I need some advice for a knee brace. Left ACL is shot and not to be replaced. I want to keep skiing (no stunting, just cruising groomers and decent pow), am 50ish, and fit. Anyone had experience with OSSUR CTI OTS? Seems it is the only good knee brace sold in Chile, so any reviews are useful.
THANKS!

[MMP]

The surgeon said that I would be on my feet sooner if he took the graft from the opposite knee, the idea behind that is so in instead of having one really bad knee that takes a while to be able to bear weight, I have two kind of bad knees that can bear weight pretty much two days after the surgery

Interesting, and amazing how far things have progressed in orthopedic medicine.

I had surgery this morning. Nerve block, so my leg is dead and feels bizarre. They used a hammy graft which they recommended, knowing me, my age, activity level, etc. They used 3 lengths rather than the typical 2, and were able to harvest 10cm grafts rather than the typical 8 cm.

Disappointed to miss spring and mtb, but grateful for my health, and life in general.

So here we go.

[kokomas]

Interesting, and amazing how far things have progressed in orthopedic medicine.

I had surgery this morning. Nerve block, so my leg is dead and feels bizarre. They used a hammy graft which they recommended, knowing me, my age, activity level, etc. They used 3 lengths rather than the typical 2, and were able to harvest 10cm grafts rather than the typical 8 cm.

Disappointed to miss spring and mtb, but grateful for my health, and life in general.

So here we go.

MMP I'm sorry to hear about your injury, and props for the positive attitude. Heal up quick man

[MMP]

MMP I'm sorry to hear about your injury, and props for the positive attitude. Heal up quick man

Thanks Pete, I appreciate it.

[lasereyes]

I took half a pain pill before bed and then another half at about 2 or 3 a.m. until I was about three weeks along (didn't need any during the day). Also, sleeping with a pillow between the knees helps a lot if you are a side sleeper.

Thanks yeahman. We replaced our mattress and the sleep is getting better. Not sure if it's the change of mattress or just the leg becoming more comfortable. Still waking up 2 or 3 times, but at least able to get back to sleep. Almost 4 weeks since surgery now. Walking around ok, but leg still feels stiff despite having good range of motion. And almost perpetual cracking of the knee-cap when I walk. Went for an hour long walk and felt pretty tired at the end (and I can normally walk 10 miles without any problem). So general conditioning will take a while also ...

[lasereyes]

MMP I'm sorry to hear about your injury, and props for the positive attitude. Heal up quick man

Big thumbs up - positive attitude is really half the battle. Best of luck to everyone rehabbing along with me!

[pfluffenmeister]

I have an appointment tomorrow morning to get my knee assessed.
I keep on going from "it feels great (not bad anyway)" to "eek! it's not supposed to move quite that far".
MCL doesn't feel so good.

Going in to see Dr. Purcell at the Colorado Center of Orthopedic Excellence; fingers crossed.