Need info on knee surgery for torn ACL

[Mickey's sunshine]

I know there has to be a few people here who have had the surgery or know someone who has.

My brother hurt his knee a little over a week ago and they told him yesterday the MRI showed he tore his ACL and will need surgery.

How difficult is this surgery to recover from? They are saying he will be "out" for 6 months.

Any info would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[mckryan]

First, you can live with a torn ACL. My husband's ACL is just about non-existent, and he manages just fine. He did have surgery to repair a torn meniscus a few years ago, and that was done orthoscopically, so his recovery was pretty short. It was the surgery with the 3 little incisions for the instruments. He had to stay off of it for several days, and then work slowly with some physical therapy to get back up to speed without hurting anything. His doc told him if he had the ACL reconstruction surgery, his recovery time would be much longer. You need extensive physical therapy with this surgery.

My husband still runs, but prefers to do it on a treadmill because it keeps his joints from hurting. He still plays golf, but he won't be able to do lateral movement sports like basketball, soccer, skiing without risking his knee going out. So, there's some compromise, but he just wasn't willing to go through the surgery at this time. He could probably do those sports as long as he had a brace on his knee.

 

[Growin'upDisney]

mckryan - your husband is treading on very dangerous ground. My husband tore his MCL, ACL, and his menial meniscus about 8 years ago. He went 4 years doing nothing about it and "lived with the pain" and on several occassions had episodes where it felt as though his knee popped out of socket. He finally had orthroscopic to clean up some frayed edges and it helped but about 2 years later he went through the ACL rebuild.

He recovered pretty well - the rehab was 11 weeks long plus 2 weeks after surgery. So all told it was about 13 weeks. He was able to return to work after about 4 weeks becasue he worked at a desk. But normal walking and limited use was only about 4-5 weeks.

But even after the rebuild surgery the damage had been done due to the years he waited. He favored the other leg so much at times that he caused damage in that knee. Even today after physical exertion his knees ache constantly and now he has a physical labor job. I feel so bad for him sometimes because almost nothing helps to ease the pain. The cartlidge in the joint is non-existent from years of not getting the surgery. his tears might have been worse than others but he thought he could live with the pain too and it made things a lot worse.

Mickey's Sunshine - tell your brother to get the surgery done and that 6 months sounds like quite a long recovery period. He might not be playing full contact sports for many months but normal activity should be restored in less than 2 months. DH still has the screws in his knee and the doc says those can be removed at any time with a simple procedure.

Hope this helps.

 

[Snowysmom]

A co worker's son just had surgery for a torn ACL. It was day surgery. The first couple of days were very painful but he had pain meds for it He had to wear a brace on his knee whenever he got up with the crutches. He could put a little weight on it after about 5 days. He saw the doctor a week after surgery and was told to put as much weight on it as is comfortable and he can go to using just one crutch for another week, and then he won't need them any more. He can drive 2 weeks after the surgery. The pain is definately better and only needs the tough painkiller for sleeping. He is now on aleve for pain during the day. He will need several weeks of physical therapy and it will take months before he can do any sports such as soccer or skiing. But, he can continue going to school, drive, and do other activities that are not too strenuous.

 

[mckryan]

Originally posted by Growin'upDisney
mckryan - your husband is treading on very dangerous ground. My husband tore his MCL, ACL, and his menial meniscus about 8 years ago. He went 4 years doing nothing about it and "lived with the pain" and on several occassions had episodes where it felt as though his knee popped out of socket. He finally had orthroscopic to clean up some frayed edges and it helped but about 2 years later he went through the ACL rebuild.

Trust me, I've been after him to have it done, but he just stalls on it. He's not really in pain, and his active duty military. He just has normal old-age stiffness and pain if he does too much. He hasn't had the out-of-socket feeling since getting his meniscus taken care of. He has basically no cartilidge left. Too bad that doesn't regenerate!

 

[Mickey's sunshine]

thank you all for your replies. My brother is just waiting to get the word on when the surgery will happen, he just got the MRI results last night. I know he will go through with the surgery, his girlfriend had the same surgery.

He injured it playing softball and I know he loves base/softball so he will want to be able to do this again and I am sure it would be hard to do w/out the surgery.

I will keep everyone updated.


Thanks again for your repiles, I apprecitate them and will probably share them with David.

 

[marydmjj]

Originally posted by Snowysmom
A co worker's son just had surgery for a torn ACL. It was day surgery. The first couple of days were very painful but he had pain meds for it He had to wear a brace on his knee whenever he got up with the crutches. He could put a little weight on it after about 5 days. He saw the doctor a week after surgery and was told to put as much weight on it as is comfortable and he can go to using just one crutch for another week, and then he won't need them any more. He can drive 2 weeks after the surgery. The pain is definately better and only needs the tough painkiller for sleeping. He is now on aleve for pain during the day. He will need several weeks of physical therapy and it will take months before he can do any sports such as soccer or skiing. But, he can continue going to school, drive, and do other activities that are not too strenuous.

I had my right ACL repaired 8 years ago and this is exactly the way it went for me. I wore a brace for all athletic activities for the first year after the repair. All is well and has been since I had it fixed. I continue to Irish stepdance, play soccer and chase my children!

 

[Serena]

I hope it goes easy for him.

 

[Mickey's sunshine]

bump

 

[danacara]

ACL procedures used to be the stuff of nightmares. Ever seen anyone who had ACL or menial miniscus work done back in the 1970s? The scar could be up to a foot long.

Now, arthroscopic surgery has made these surgeries as or more effective with a much shorter recovery period and less scarring.

I know there are doctors on this board who could probably comment more authoritatively.

My roommate from college, however, was back playing Division 1 Lacrosse six months after ACL surgery.

 

[Mickey's sunshine]

Thanks Danacara!

I sent my brother the link to this thread.

 

[Mickey's sunshine]

 

[froglady]

The need for surgery will vary from one person to another. About 10 years ago, I completely severed my ACL, and tore my MCL and meniscus skiing. I'm EXTREMELY "tight", so my surgeon decided to keep my knee imobilized for 2 weeks, then start PT 3X/week. His only regret was not moving the knee sooner; it had already started to "freeze" because of my tight ligaments. I went through the same rehab I would have had post-surgically.

I've been skiing several times since, and no longer wear a knee brace.

My husband had a similar injury in the late 60s. danacara is absolutely right about the scar!!! He also got a pressure sore from a too tight cast; the nurses and doctor thought he was just being a "wuss" when he complained about more pain than they expected him to be having.