V8 Beast Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 I'm going to have to have my acl reconstructed. I was wondering if anyone has had it done and what I should expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWW$HEEET Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 No but knee injuries scare the fukk outta me. Godspeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 I'm going to have to have my acl reconstructed. I was wondering if anyone has had it done and what I should expect. Yep, after the motorcycle accident. Kirk can give you all the info in the world on it. What are you "expecting"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suprabst Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 I'm going to have to have my acl reconstructed. I was wondering if anyone has had it done and what I should expect. Lots of pain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 PM Kirk. He's the man. Good luck to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsm_sleeper Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Take your pain meds and make sure they stay in your system even if you have to get up in the middle of the night to take a pill. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cranium Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 I'm going to have to have my acl reconstructed. I was wondering if anyone has had it done and what I should expect. Not me, but Carol had her ACL replaced and meniscus repaired in the spring. She's doing great, but it's sucked. After the surgery, she had the ice machine cooler combo with a big gizmo that moved her knee for her. I they told her to use it 8 hours a day to keep the knee from tightening up. I think she made a good call when she slept with it on. I think she used it about 20 hours a day. They had her on pain killers every 4 hours for a week. I got her on a 2, 6, 10 schedule, so the only crappy time slot was waking up for her 2am pill. After the surgery though she walked under her own power into the house with a walker and a knee brace. She had the brace off in 4 - 6 weeks. PT 2 to 3 times a week. They even had her do PT before the surgery to help keep things from getting worse. If you are looking for recommendations she had hers done by Dr. Robles(sp?) down at Grant. You'll be on the couch a bunch, a free 30 days of Netflix would be your friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 I elected to do the patellar graft from my own tendon. It was my own tissue, so better chance of it lasting. Recovery is longer when you do that. A cadaver tendon graft is less trauma to the knee, so recovery is faster but you body could reject it and run more of a risk of doing it again in 5 years or so. Do your rehab, every bit of it, they know what they are doing and they will get you into better shape. My therapist was part of the Indianapolis Colts staff for a few years. You should start rehab within a couple days of your surgery, first couple of times it hurts like hell. They are trained to hurt you, let them, be a man, it's only working if it hurts. Working on full range of motion sux. I was taken to rehab twice, had crutches, Those went away after the first couple sessions and I drove to my rehab the second week. (Left ACL and I had the STi which only comes in a 6speed) If you want to talk, pm me, I'll give you my number and answer any questions the best I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imstock2 Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Tore my acl a few years back.. My knee has never been the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 My knee is fine now, I play sports, am virtually pain free and don't even think about it when I am active. I followed my rehab exactly how I was told down to my home routine and exercises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 Beast Posted October 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thanks, thats pretty much what I was looking for. I've never had surgery so I'm trying to set myself up mentally. I think the sitting still will hurt me more than the surgery. Right now its kind of an off and on lingering pain since I still have fluid and inflammation on my knee. Little things like trying to drive are even a hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Partial tear of my MCL a few years ago, fractured patella last spring that required surgery. Therapy has helped but I still can't even jog yet. Knee injuries can kiss my ass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledhead36 Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Who is doing the surgery? That makes all the difference in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Mine was done by Dr. Scott Van Steyn at the Ohio Orthopedic Center of Excellence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledhead36 Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Mine was done by Dr. Scott Van Steyn at the Ohio Orthopedic Center of Excellence. Scott is an excellent surgeon. You got a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 I had my ACL replaced by Dr. Wilcox (cardinal orthopedic institute) 10 months ago, and I must admit I am JUST NOW getting into sport again, but it feels solid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPFSTheFett Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Who is doing the surgery? That makes all the difference in the world. What he said. My wife had knee surgery over the summer and her surgen was just terrible. The surgen brought her out of anastasia with out any pain meds, just to ask her on a scale of 1-10 how much pain she was in, lost all of her paperwork, then our primary doctor said he should have never even done the surgery till they could have figured out what the underlying problem was. The surgen also downplayed it saying that she should be able to walk out after the surgery, gave us no crutches, or after care instructions. They removed a tumor from behind her knee cap and shaved the entire surface from the front of the knee cap, there is no walking out from that...wtf. The physical therapy after sucks but the best thing we did for her was to get a exercise bike(where you sit and the pedals are in front of you) This allowed her to work on range of motion and saw amazing results in just a week. It's really like anything, work through the pain and try to get back to your usual routine as quick as possible. The longer you wait the longer the recovery will take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboGoKart Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 I've had 4 knee surgeries on the same knee, 2 of those were full ACL reconstructions. I also used to work at a physical therapy clinic. My first ACL reconstruction I opted for the cadaveour graft. Recovery was pretty decent with that; painful yes, but not terrible. I had to be on crutches for 2 months prior to the first surgery so that my meniscus could heal. If you have a meniscus tear, there are two ways to fix it depending on where it tears: 1) Stay off of it and let it heal, or 2) They can trim away the torn area. Problem is, you only get 1 meniscus lol. They don't have an artificial meniscus as of yet so if it's possible for it to heal, they'll take that route. There are 3 ways to replace a torn ACL. Cadaveour graft, a graft from your own hamstring, or part of your patellar tendon. The cadaveour graft is obviously least invasive, but also comes with a rejection possibility if your body rejects the graft. In my case, my body took the graft, but due to my extremely active lifestyle and more importantly me not doing NEAR as much physical therapy as I should have to re-strengthen the muscles around my knee from being on crutches for so long, I re-tore it about 4 months after the surgery, but didn't find out until close to 4 years after the surgery when I was working in the physical therapy clinic lol. The hamstring graft is a little more invasive, and no chance of rejection, however, the con to this route is that it typically doesn't hold your joint together quite as well. Depending on your lifestyle this may or may not be an issue. When I went back for my second ACL reconstruction I opted for the patellar graft. The major upside to this route is how well it holds your knee together. There is very little movement (bad movement, aka laterally, lateral pivioting, and front to back movement) with the patellar graft, but the major downsides to this are it's a bit more painful because they take a small part of your patellar (knee cap) and tibia to use as good anchors when they anchor it in your femur and tibia. It also makes you a bit more prone to arthritis because of how secure it holds the knee joint. So there is a bit more pain and time required for recovery for this graft. With all that said, fast forward 3-4yrs from when I had the second reconstruction done with the patellar graft, and I re-tore my meniscus. I had my knee scoped to remove the torn piece of meniscus and my doctor said my knee looked remarkable (arthritis-wise) considering all the work I had had done on it. My second reconstruction w/the patellar graft was about 7yrs ago and the last meniscus trim was about 3-4yrs ago and I have not had any problems with it. I live a very active lifestyle and run regularly, and I do not have any pain associated with it now. I am able to do anything (squat, sit indian-style, etc) with it now that I could before my surgeries. I would highly recommend the patellar graft despite the added pain and recovery time, which really isn't much more all things considered. The outcome is well worth the extra couple weeks and extra pain pills, plus, who doesn't like pain pills?! Lol. Also, I would HIGHLY recommend doing ALL your physical therapy to prevent a re-injury. Take it from someone who has been there, you'd much rather only have one surgery than multiples! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboGoKart Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Mine was done by Dr. Scott Van Steyn at the Ohio Orthopedic Center of Excellence. GREAT doc!! That's who did my two ACL reconstructions. He is extremely skilled and does a LOT of orthopedic surgeries for the OSU athletic teams. He's their go-to doc for anything orthopedic related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboGoKart Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 My knee is fine now, I play sports, am virtually pain free and don't even think about it when I am active. I followed my rehab exactly how I was told down to my home routine and exercises. This is KEY, especially the home exercises and working on getting your range of motion back as soon as possible/allowed. It can be painful to work on range of motion, but it's one thing if you push thru really hard on, you will be SO thankful in the long run. I can completely squat now pain free, like squat and sit on my heels pain free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKilbourne Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 I've had a few....I'm a little over 4 weeks out from the latest ACL reconstruction. They had to use the hamstring this time as I had the patellar done the first time on this knee. Expect to be rather frustrated with the fact that you can't move comfortably for awhile and are stuck with your leg elevated for a bit. When walking with your crutches try to put as much, this won't be much at first, weight on your "bad" leg as you can. It helps to get the process moving. Don't be scared of pain in PT and make sure to do the exercises that they give you to do at home. One more thing, make sure she is on top for awhile......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustlestiltskin Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 What the hell are you guys doing thats blowing out all your knees??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 What the hell are you guys doing thats blowing out all your knees??? likely the result of sports and exercise over time during their younger years and now that everyone is aging it's catching up. I have shoulder and knee pain no doubt from all the shit I did when I was younger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirks5oh Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 two keys to success 1) the surgery being done correctly---this is 100% on the surgeon. don't pick someone who does these every once in a while. ask the surgeon how many he/she does per month, and the answer should be at least a couple per month for acl's. the problem with the guys who do 20 per month is that they will likely use shortcuts--like an allograft (cadaver tendon). 2) correct rehab/expectations---that is your responsibility. follow directions, don't assume that because you feel good, that you can do more than is recommended earlier. there are 100 ways to do the surgery and 100 ways to rehab an acl---just follow directions honestly, i'm 35 and if i tore my acl tomorrow, i'd at least consider non-operative treatment. i'm done with soccer, tennis, football, and all other 'cutting' sports. you can rehab your quad muscle to effectively substitute for an acl, and be ok with running/etc. but that's a whole different discussion. if i had the surgery, i would use my hamstring tendons for the reconstruction. if i couldn't do that, i'd use the patellar tendon. i would NOT use an allograft. this is attractive to surgeons because it cuts the surgical time in half and you get paid the same amount. plenty of good surgeons in town who do this surgery. wroble, van styn, steensen, westerheide, martin, grant jones, kaeding, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRocket1647545505 Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 plenty of good surgeons in town who do this surgery. wroble, van styn, steensen, westerheide, martin, grant jones, kaeding, etc. What do you know about Lefkowitz? He did my knee when I destroyed it at the age of 13. It's been giving me problems for a few years now and I'm thinking about getting someone to take a look at it again. Granted, I'm overweight and don't exercise like I should so I'm sure it's mostly my fault. I work with him at the hospital but rarely get ortho patients since I work ICU. I'm not sure I'd have him do it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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