So I recently moved to a new city, San Francisco, where I don’t know a lot of people. That alone can be a little tough, but even worse when you are trying to find a new physical therapist and fellow ACL friends to share stories with each other. Lucky for me, my boyfriend’s cousin’s sister-in-law lives out here, and she recently tore her ACL. So we decided to meet over drinks to talk about our busted knees. I had my surgery (patellar tendon reconstruction/lateral meniscus repair) on May 20. She had her surgery (cadaver graft) at the end of June.
So here’s how two different sugeries and two different graphs are doing at two different points in their recoveries:
Cadaver Graft, 6 weeks out…Kate, my friend, walked into the bar like it was nothing. No crutches, no brace. Not even a gimp. If you didn’t know she had surgery, you couldn’t tell anything. Prior to her surgery, Kate enjoyed an active lifestyle of hiking, biking and skiing. (She tore her ACL skiing in Tahoe.) Now, she isn’t quite running just yet, but she uses the excercise bike and is building her strenght back up. She will be back on the slopes in no time for the season. She took off work for three weeks.
Me…still not running, but moving around just fine. I don’t even think about me knee anymore. I can sit cross-legged again, do light yoga and kneel on my knees. The scar hasn’t gone clear yet, but it is certainly starting to fade into oblivion. It will be gone in no time. I, too, plan to hit the slopes this season–that’s my current goal. Perhaps Kate and I will do an ACL ski trip, and this time she will conquer Tahoe, no fear at all. Details to come….
Any other ACL skiers out there? Perhaps we can all plan a ski trip together–a celebration of progress, if you will.
Pic from tahoesbest.com
Hi Yes We Can,
I tore my first ACL in 1988 at age 19 – and to make a long story short, (believe me – it’s a long story about how to pick a real surgeon for ACL surgery), I had a patella – bone graft on my left knee in Dec. 1990 with an excellent surgeon and a successful outcome. I returned to ride (horses) competitively, as well as do all the other sports I like to do. I had a cadaver graft on my RIGHT knee three weeks ago today, and am doing well and hoping again for a successful outcome returning to sports that I enjoy.
ANYWAY,
You and your ACL friends who are interested in skiing should ask your PT about ‘The Fitter’, if you haven’t already been introduced. ‘The Fitter’ simulates slalom skiing in a controlled atmosphere and can be adjusted for increasing difficulty.
Also, I don’t think the friend with the cadaver graft should go skiing this winter. I have been told to do swimming, yoga – with no knee twisting – stairclimber, treadmill, etc. But, to avoid all twisting and cutting sports for AT LEAST 1 year with the cadaver graft. The guy who did my knees did NFL players Marshall Faulk (Colts and St. Louis Rams) and Edgerrin James (Colts and Arizona) among others. You should be ok to ski with the patella graft this winter.
Good luck and healthy knees to you!
Katherine
Hi, Katherine!
Thank you for the stellar advice–I will certainly pass along to my cadevar graft friend. You have certainly been through a lot with your knees. All the best to them, and feel free to post my expert advice, you ACL pro!
Hey I had a cadaver for acl surgery and my surgeon is also on nfl call and is Dr. Wojtys is currently a professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of the Sports Medicine Service, and Medical Director of MedSport, all at The University of Michigan. He is also the former team physician for the University of Michigan Athletic Department and has authored more than 70 articles. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, as well as Chairman of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Research Committee and Program Committee, and the Arthroscopy Association of North America Research Committee. Dr. Wojtys has been the recipient of the prestigious O’Donoghue Sports Injury Research Award and the Excellence in Research Award for his work in ACL injuries in female athletes. And cadavers are fine to return to cutting sports prior to one year. I tore my acl 3 times and know lots of people through soccer that had cadaver graft and are doing just fine returning to sports in only 6 months.
Hi Mika!
You were, and maybe still are, in great, great surgical hands for your knee needs! Quite the doc! I also appreciate you sharing your advice. Everyone’s knees are different and it’s best to recieve advice and experiences from all angles, so thank you
I will also tell my cadaver friend what you said. She is pretty confident she will be skiing, and I believe your personal drive and dedication will accelerate your rehab process.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey YKN,
Yes, Dr. Wojtys is a great doc and I feel lucky to have great insurance at times like these. I’d also like to thank you for creating this website. I wish I had, had it for my first two ACL’s. It’s great to hear different people’s stories and support others. People don’t realize how much of a downer this injury is, and how it takes hard work and dedication to come back from it. Hearing your recovery success and optimism helps me to feel inspired. I am currently 3 1/2 weeks post op and am bearing weight 25% and can bend 70 degrees. This may not sound like much but Dr.Wojtys is extremly conservative (which is a tad bit annoying) but hearing where you are makes me want to catch up to you. It’s great to compare my progression to yours.
Keep us posted on your recovery!!
Mika
Hi~ I also tore my ACL, had a slight lateral meniscus tear, but i also fractured my tibia plataue… skiing in tahoe!
its been 3 months exactly since my surgery (meniscus repair and patella tendon reconstruction)and i would LOVE to get back on the slopes but im freaked out! freaked out but determined to ski this winter.
i havent tried yoga yet, but with your post, i think ill try it out soon~
loved reading your entires, i will be keeping up with this blog to see how your recovery is going!
Thanks for your comment! My friend tore hers in Tahoe, too. There should be a club for you guys! I am also determined to ski this winter. I’m a little nervous, but not totally freaked out, but I COMPLETELY understand your hesistation. Ask your PT to best simulate the skiing enviroment/moves/actions before you hit the slopes. Someone commented about something they did in PT to get back to skiing, let me see if I can find it. Also, my friend, who tore ACL in Tahoe, is going to go skiing with me in Tahoe sometime in Feb. I will let you know her process to conquering the slope again!
Hi-
First off I just wanted to say what a great refrence and support site this is, I’m glad you made it! I stumbed upon it tonight (woke up with some knee pain) and was checking out ACL info.
I too, injured my ACL playing soccer and live locally (Bay Area). I just had my surgery done on Sept 2nd and regret I’ll be missing most of the Tahoe ski season this year. My goal is a ski trip in Feb, but all depends on the recovery.
Since Im still in my first week of recovery the only sage advice I can give everyone is the first couple days after surgery are going to hurt bad, I made the mistake of thinking the worst I was going to feel was right after the survey, apparently i was still on an anthesia high. Other great things that others have mentioned are the ice machine and the CPM machine to prevent your leg from stiffening have been life savers.
Here is to everyone’s speed recovery.
-Dan
Dan,
I’d love to meet up and chat
Dave
Hey guys!
Let’s make this happen! Sorry for my delayed response. I know this season is fill with holiday obligations, but I’m flexible to meet up. I will get my friend Kate to meet up with us, too!
Dates that work for me: the 9th, 14th, or 15th. Anything sound good? Let me know.
My daughter who is 12 1/2 tore her ACL playing club soccer the first of September. She is almost 2 weeks post surgery and is doing great, she just today had her first theraphy session. It was devastating to us for this to happen to her at such a young age. She is recovering great and she has also been using the Don Joy ice theraphy almost all the time and it has made a huge difference in pain and swelling. We are hoping the she will back playing the sports she loves in 5 months. Has anyone else had their child have this injury at a young age?
Hi April,
It’s great to hear that your daughter is doing so well! She’ll be back in time! My only advice is “don’t come back too soon.” She has an entire LIFE of sports ahead of her, so make sure she is good and well before returning to the field.
Great blog,
So I ruptured ACL playing soccer on Sept 2nd, the swelling went down and I rested it for 3 weeks and played another game, ended with a very swollen knee and agony.
I got the surgery, Cadaver tissue on Nov 25th, I was back in work on Dec 1st.
Would love to meet for a drink and compare war wounds and get some best practises from some of you ACL’ers further along the road to recovery.
Dave
415.200.8519
Dan,
The 9th works for me, downtown SF okay ? How about the RickHouse for an afterwork brew ?
Dave
Hi, I’m not sure if this site is still active, but it was good to read the advice posted here. I am a ski patroller in the East and was skiing moguls and made a cut turn and heard the biggest POP you could imagine. My ACL was torn and along with it came a piece of my tibia which is displaced, and a torn meniscus. I have surgery next week and depending on how big the bone piece is the surgeon will either fix my meniscus, take out the bone fragment, clean it up, rehab me and then do the ACL reconstruction as a separate surgery… ORR if the bone fragment is too big to be removed he will pin it and suture it back, and then repair my ACL, meniscus and clean it all up in one surgery. Unfortunately, the second option will likely leave me with a very difficult recovery of motion.
So, I too am really nervous about the surgery and getting back to skiing. I never really thought I would have an injury like this, especially as a patroller. If this is still active, I would appreciate if anyone has had the displaced tibial bone piece I would appreciate information on the recovery for this!
Thanks, Jaime
I was skiing at Snowshoe on Valentines day and tore my ACL and MCL. I’m really confused about which surgical option to take. My surgeon recommends the allograph. I am 37 and a mother of 3 boys and I play tennis fairly competitively as a played tennis in college. I don’t know if the allograph is going to enable me to return to skiing and playing tennis at my former level. I like the idea of less recovery time and less pain but I want to make sure it will be as good as a patellar bone graph would be. Does anyone who has had these surgeries have any advice?
I had the patellar tendon graft. More pain and more recovery, but I feel confident knowing it’s my “own stuff” from my own knee–I guess your allograft would be your own stuff, too. This is a great question. Since I tore my ACL while living in Chicago, my ACL surgeon said he does not perform allograft ACL reconstructions because he doesn’t believe that graft is strong enough. However, I have since moved to San Francisco and found another surgeon to follow-up with–she’s 40+ active woman. She said if she ever tore her ACL, she’d go allograft. I know this doesn’t answer your question, but hopefully some allografters will speak up
Loveyourknees.com has written a great post on the issue. Check it out http://loveyourknees.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/autograft-vs-allograft/ Good luck!
[...] who recently commented on the ACL Happy Hour post, [...]
Thanks for the information and websites! I’m obsessing over all this information. My surgeon works with college atheletes and has done ACL surgeries on some NFL players and does many ACL surgeries daily. I feel I should trust his
opinion in using the cadaver allograph but I don’t know if he knows how active I want to be. I’ve also heard from my physical therapist whom I’m going to for prehab that sometimes you can have pain in the kneecap area because of the patellar graft from the way they remove part of the bone and patellar tendon. Have you had any problem with that? Also my Dr. said that in 20% of the hamstring surgeries a nerve is clipped that causes numbness in the shin area which is a problem for ladies when they shave their legs. Just more confusing information!
Hi Mom of 3 Boys,
Have you made your decision yet? I am a very active 47yo mom of 7 and I had the Patellar-bone graft in December. I originally tore my acl 3 years ago training at the gym ( I was training to be a personal trainer) hopping laterally, popped etc. I put off the surgery for so long because quite honestly, I was scared…I am divorced, have 7 kids and being my right knee, wondered how I would get my kids places, how I would get to PT…everything! I am also a yoga instructor and decided to have the surgery because the instability was getting worse over time, when my surgeon did the reconstruction, I also had a torn lateral and medial meniscus. Had the surgery, and quite honestly got a little ‘cocky’ at how fast it was healing, had 120 degree flexion at 3 weeks post op, went back for a post op checkup and told my surgeon it didn’t feel right, make a long story short, he sent me for another mri where they injected gadulinum into my knee for contrast and sure enough, he said my new acl is in ‘shreds’! I am so upset, have no idea why and am wondering if the 120 degree flexion at 3 weeks post op could’ve retorn it? They get fairly aggressive in pt (in my opinion:) I am scheduled for a revision in one month and he will use an allograft. I do have discomfort from the patella donor site and can’t kneel, which is upsetting because I miss my yoga!! And I have numbness on the side of my knee which does make shaving a challenge, but it has only been 3 months since the surgery. I’m sorry this is so long….I have no ‘knee friends’ to talk about this stuff with
Anyway, I was just curious as to which graft you have chosen to go with, I’m really hoping I will have less pain after this next surgery than after the first!! I wish you the best as I do all my fellow ACL ‘victims’
Hi All,
I’d just like to say that I was pleased to find a blog on ACL injuries, to see patient’s perspectives as well as the confusion that comes from so many choices. Although graft choice is important, each has benefits and disadvantages. Your surgeon should give you a choice of all three – Bone Tendon Bone Autograft, Hamstring Autograft, and Allograft. He should discuss all three options with you, get an idea of where you are in life and the activities you want to get back to, and then rank the three options for you and ultimately it should be your own decision.
There are more research studies on ACL injuries than any other type of injury in orthopaedic surgery. You will find some conflicting evidence to the success of allograft reconstruction – failure rates, time to healing, etc. Unfortunately there are some confounding variables – type of allograft material; how the allograft was sterilized can affect the material and strength properties of the graft. The method of ACL reconstruction, the type of fixation used, and whether it is an anatomic or non-anatomic reconstruction may have a major difference in your outcome as well.
Although graft choice is one important decision, there are many factors that go into the success of your ACL reconstruction, such as the following:
1. An anatomic reconstruction
2. Diagnosing and appropriately treating associated injuries, such as meniscus tears, articular cartilage injuries, and assocaited ligament damage.
3. Rehab after surgery
4. If an allograft is chosen be sure to ask your surgeon what type of allograft, what company it comes from, the testing, cleaning, sterilization process, what are the age and gender criteria the surgeon uses for the graft that he/she uses.
Good luck on your surgeries!
http://parkviewortho.com/drshah.html
http://www.paloscommunityhospital.org/news/1010/palos-physician-advances-new-therapy.aspx
Feel free to email me and I can send you an info sheet that I have put together based on patient questions, that hopefully may decrease the anxiety associated with your injury.
Regards,
Nirav A. Shah, MD
Hi, I just had ACL surgery a month ago. I had my ACL pop while on a airplane. I didn’t know what happened. I waited 4 weeks to see an orthopedic. I went Allograph and have had minimal pain. I never took any pain killers after surgery. The water machine helped a lot to take the swelling down. I am working on waking my leg up because I can’t lift it yet, but I can lift my leg when I stand. Physical Therapy they want to be conservative and work on ROM. I can’t stand wearing the brace, and I finally am getting some sleep. I can’t stand sleeping on my back. I’m tired wearing a bag around my leg when I take a shower, but those are just small complaints. I’m not use to relaxing so much. The Allograph I would suggest. I’ve met some people that had used their own bone graphs and they were in a lot of pain during physical therapy. They couldn’t bend or get their leg straight. Their recovering seemed really painful compared to mine so far.