ACL surgery?

[flamesrule_kipper34]

Bumping.

Had a family member blow their knee and after seeing a knee specialist they feel confident it's a full tear. Only imaging done so far is an x-ray, no MRI yet.

They have a follow-up soon and so far they've outlined either rehab or surgery as the options.

This thread is a bit old so wondering if anyone has semi-recent experiences on what they decided and outcomes? They're mid 30's and very active with sports.

Also are waitlists pretty high for this kind of surgery? I know with my back I waited a year before I could get surgery done, so I'm inclined to tell them to get referred to a surgeon ASAP and then discuss with them what makes sense vs waiting. Also surprised that they haven't been told an MRI is necessary (yet) to confirm the full tear diagnosis, but again my experience is back and not related to this.

Any insights or recommendations in general would be appreciated!

[curves2000]

Originally Posted by flamesrule_kipper34

Bumping.

Had a family member blow their knee and after seeing a knee specialist they feel confident it's a full tear. Only imaging done so far is an x-ray, no MRI yet.

They have a follow-up soon and so far they've outlined either rehab or surgery as the options.

This thread is a bit old so wondering if anyone has semi-recent experiences on what they decided and outcomes? They're mid 30's and very active with sports.

Also are waitlists pretty high for this kind of surgery? I know with my back I waited a year before I could get surgery done, so I'm inclined to tell them to get referred to a surgeon ASAP and then discuss with them what makes sense vs waiting. Also surprised that they haven't been told an MRI is necessary (yet) to confirm the full tear diagnosis, but again my experience is back and not related to this.

Any insights or recommendations in general would be appreciated!

I don't know specific aspects of the injury but there is a rapid access clinic that was set up at the U of C a few years ago. There is a very specific criteria to meet and it has to be a recent injury.

Have a look and apply or see if they are eligible. https://sport-med.ucalgary.ca/clinics/akic

Good luck

[kevman]

Nothing semi-recent but the AKIC is still their best ticket if they're eligible. MRI waits are as long or longer than the wait for surgery after your surgical referral so getting an AKIC referral to a surgeon without needing to wait for an MRI is a huge bonus.

Other than that all I have to offer is it's going to be fine. I'm at 11+ years post op of pretty hard use and it's a non-issue

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Waits are variable. I've done both knees and the first one was 10 months, the most recent was more like 3 months. But yeah, go to the AKIC and get a referral from them.

[Regulator75]

I had my left ACL replaced (and MCL repaired) last year by "One of the best" Surgeons and I feel that my knee is only slightly better.
Had to get a Cortisone shot last week, still lots of swelling (every few days) and impossible to exercise on.

Can't even walk 30 minutes without it bothering me.

[Tiger]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

I had my left ACL replaced (and MCL repaired) last year by "One of the best" Surgeons and I feel that my knee is only slightly better.
Had to get a Cortisone shot last week, still lots of swelling (every few days) and impossible to exercise on.

Can't even walk 30 minutes without it bothering me.

Maybe look at PRP therapy for the knee too? I have had both ACL's done, but not really had any issues. Had some shoulder tears that nothing worked on though but prolotherapy and PRP (platelet rich plasma) has done wonders. Maybe that'll help

[Redliner]

I blew up me knee skiing in January 2020. Went to the hospital, which referred me to the AKIC, which assessed me with a full ACL tear and referred me to a surgeon. The surgeon agreed with the diagnosis but insisted on an MRI before doing anything. I didn't want to wait 10 months so I paid the $900 and went to Mayfair to have one done privately. The MRI revealed that the ACL was damaged but not completely torn, which resulted in the surgeon changing his mind and not wanting to operate. The argument was that he didn't want to cut out healthy tissue to do a graft, because he stated that he "might only be able to give me a knee that's as strong as what I already have". Instead he wrote me a prescription for a custom knee brace and told me to continue with physio.

A year and a half later I don't really notice it much doing day-to-day things, but I still wear the brace to go skiing or play tennis or anything high impact. In those situations I can definitely tell that it's not "normal" but at least I can do the activities. The downside is that I feel like my knee is essentially a ticking time bomb - at some point I'm sure it will let go entirely but I have no way of knowing when that might happen. I kind of wish the surgeon had just done the graft instead, but I guess that would bring with it a whole slate of other potential problems.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Redliner

I blew up me knee skiing in January 2020. Went to the hospital, which referred me to the AKIC, which assessed me with a full ACL tear and referred me to a surgeon. The surgeon agreed with the diagnosis but insisted on an MRI before doing anything. I didn't want to wait 10 months so I paid the $900 and went to Mayfair to have one done privately. The MRI revealed that the ACL was damaged but not completely torn, which resulted in the surgeon changing his mind and not wanting to operate. The argument was that he didn't want to cut out healthy tissue to do a graft, because he stated that he "might only be able to give me a knee that's as strong as what I already have". Instead he wrote me a prescription for a custom knee brace and told me to continue with physio.

A year and a half later I don't really notice it much doing day-to-day things, but I still wear the brace to go skiing or play tennis or anything high impact. In those situations I can definitely tell that it's not "normal" but at least I can do the activities. The downside is that I feel like my knee is essentially a ticking time bomb - at some point I'm sure it will let go entirely but I have no way of knowing when that might happen. I kind of wish the surgeon had just done the graft instead, but I guess that would bring with it a whole slate of other potential problems.

I'm sorry...but I read the entire rest of your post in the theme of a Jaunty Sea Shanty after your first sentence.

[Redliner]

Originally Posted by Locke

I'm sorry...but I read the entire rest of your post in the theme of a Jaunty Sea Shanty after your first sentence.

Arrrrr….. it be mighty painful

[greyshep]

I tore my left ACL fully playing basketball in July of 2019. I also went thru the AKIC process. I would strongly suggest paying for a private MRI if you can swing it. I was able to get a confirmation on the full tear much sooner that way. Having said that it was still over a year between injury and surgery. I was operated on in September of 2020.

I am mostly happy I had it done, but my knee does make some crazy crunching noises now when I bend it past 90degrees. I am mostly worried about arthritis as I get older, but hope I am lucky there.

I have mostly abandoned basketball unfortunately and stick to hockey as my main high intensity sport now. I still wear a brace when I play as a precaution.

I wish anyone in the same boat good luck and I hope the waits arent too bad. Its not a lot of fun.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Wow 15 years since I started this thread!

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by greyshep

I am mostly happy I had it done, but my knee does make some crazy crunching noises now when I bend it past 90degrees. I am mostly worried about arthritis as I get older, but hope I am lucky there.

It really depends on how much damage you did to your meniscus and how tight the graft is. My right knee's meniscus is basically destroyed, and as a result I have a lot of issues - for example, standing up from a low seat... basically my knee can't support my weight and straighten without causing pain, so I have to take a lot of the weight on my arms by pulling myself up. Left knee didn't really have any meniscus damage when I tore it, so no such issues, mostly functions as before the surgery.

That said, even the good knee is more prone to causing issues than a healthy knee if something happens to it - I fell on some ice around winter and it was messed up for almost a month to a point where I was worried I'd reinjured it. Turned out okay though.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Wow 15 years since I started this thread!

How's the knee? Always curious how these surgeries end up long term.

[Kybosh]

I'm about 3 years out from my ACLr using my hamstring tendon. I still have hamstring weakness but it's very slowly improving. I'd say my knee gets quite sore after running 5-10km but I can do it. I feel totally fine for basically any weight lifting, cycling, rock climbing (as long as I don't do any funky moves) etc. I feel like my legs are slightly imbalanced now but that might be in my head. My physio says everything looks normal but feels a bit off to me.

[kevman]

Pro tip: Go out and hurt your other knee to help overcome the mental battle with your operated knee.

I also struggled with having a "good knee" for the first year or two after surgery until one day I hit a tree snowboarding and sprained the MCL on my "good knee". Being forced to solely use the operated knee for a few weeks quickly cleared up any concerns I had with the results of the operation.

Also there might be a slight inbalance but that may have nothing to do with the operation. Most people have a dominant leg and if you're like me you tore you're non-dominant leg. No matter how much I focus on training my operated leg it's always smaller than my dominant leg.

[habernac]

A year shy of 30 since my repair. Some minor issues, but it's held up well.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by habernac

A year shy of 30 since my repair. Some minor issues, but it's held up well.

Jesus...how old are you? Did they replace your knee with wood?

Does it have a hitch so you can tow your carriage?

[Old Yeller]

Originally Posted by habernac

A year shy of 30 since my repair. Some minor issues, but it's held up well.

Well that's good to hear... patellar tendon graft?

I'm at just over 10 and mine is holding up well, but I still remember having to re-train my brain when playing soccer. I was pretty hesitant or timid of contact for a good half season after I started playing again.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Shazam

How's the knee? Always curious how these surgeries end up long term.

To be honest I'm not a success story.
I had a very difficult time in my recovery, including because of a massive amount of scar tissue that built up. I worked as hard as you can on my re-hab and still struggled to get back the range of motion. Ended up having the knee scoped to get rid of the scar tissue, but even then it was a struggle.

I ended up returning to sports but was in pretty constant pain and I developed a bad limp just to walk around. It stated to impact my hips and rest of my body.

I ended up going to a different knee specialist who helped me walk normal again and live pain free, but she was also very clear that I had to give up sports which require pivoting. So I had to give up all the sports I loved (hockey, basketball, tennis, etc). But I don't have pain most days, and I can walk normally.

Not horrible but not a success story. I miss sports dearly. I have a recuring dream where I show up to play hockey and I've forgotten my stick and therefore have to sit on the bench and watch everyone else. Doesn't take an expert to interpret that dream!

[Ruttiger]

Tore my left ACL and meniscus playing ball hockey on March 17, 2011. Was referred to AKIC by my doctor and was in, diagnosed, and operated on before I would have gotten the MRI through normal channels.

I've heard horror stories about the surgery and recovery but honestly, it was pretty painless for me - literally. The worst pain I felt post-surgery was getting a cramp in my quad doing physio one day. I never did return to ball hockey but am able to golf and hike without a brace (though arthritis in the right hip is having an increasingly larger say in that). The only thing I continued to wear the brace for was skiing, and that may have been a mental security blanket as much as anything.

I was 39 when I injured the knee and had surgery and based on my experience, I was fortunate to be referred to AKIC. Just my experience and two cents. Good luck!