My doctor recommended surgery rather than just PT. He said that due to my activity level I would probably reinjure the knee and would develop arthritis. The healing process was slow, but at least my knee is straight and strong. I’m glad that I did the surgery. My brother tore his ACL and waited 9 years before deciding on surgery.
Just to clarify, my surgeon is not refusing to operate. There is some research that says there is no difference in getting it reconstructed immediately verses 6 months later on development of arthritis. The ACL tearing causes arthritis regardless if you do surgery or not. As someone pointed out, if I have surgery now, I’m out of work for 5-6 months. If I’m one of the 25-50% they don’t need an ACL to go back to all activities I’m good in 3 months. I’ve not had any additional episodes of instability except for two bad ones early on…my own dumb fault. Thanks for responding everyone. It’s helpful to hear others experience. For those who have had it reconstructed how long till you had a “full release” from surgeon to do anything you wanted to do?
[QUOTE=DVM2003;7743677]
It’s helpful to hear others experience. For those who have had it reconstructed how long till you had a “full release” from surgeon to do anything you wanted to do?[/QUOTE]
Maybe 3 months?
One of our pony club moms was still hobbling 6 months after surgery. I know that most people recover much faster than she did. One of our pony clubbers had the surgery, but then tore the graft a year later. I am not sure if she has had a second surgery.
I think the surgical technique can make a big difference in recovery time. An orthopedic nurse who I know said one of the surgeons she worked with does it all with the scope, and recovery is faster. Interestingly, that is the surgeon who has an ACL deficient knee himself after 2 unsuccessful repairs. He is the one who advised my daughter to wait and see if she really needed the surgery.
I feel like people always tell me about their surgical problems and never about their successes. It is nice to read this thread and see that a lot of people are happy with their rebuilt knees.
To add to the confusion…I saw my PT today and showed him my MRI report. He’s wondering why I’m walking around on a tibial fracture…
No PT today (mostly because I will run out of visits before surgery if that is where this is heading.). He’s going to pow wow with the doc and get a plan. Frustrating.
[QUOTE=DVM2003;7744648]
To add to the confusion…I saw my PT today and showed him my MRI report. He’s wondering why I’m walking around on a tibial fracture…
No PT today (mostly because I will run out of visits before surgery if that is where this is heading.). He’s going to pow wow with the doc and get a plan. Frustrating.[/QUOTE]
Ugh, I do not envy you! I also wonder why the fractured tibia hasn’t been addressed… Fibula is no big deal, but the tibia is pretty darn important! When I broke my leg (compound tib/fib), the tibia had a rod and screws put in, while the fibula was left alone. Felt pretty weird until it started healing. I’m sure there are times when the fracture is so slight there’s really nothing to do, but it seems strange to me that the ortho didn’t mention it. Even if the tibial fracture is no big deal, I would expect the ortho to at least say “the MRI showed a tibial fracture, it’s nothing to worry about, just telling you so you’re not surprised when you see it.”
But again, if you have any doubts, consider a second opinion… My first ortho (the one who fixed the broken leg) looked at the MRI, said “yeah, your ACL is torn, you might need surgery, you might not, make an appointment with this person.” Having been unhappy with ortho #1 anyway, I went to ortho #2 for a second opinion. Ortho #2 said “yes, it’s torn, yes, you need surgery, as soon as the broken leg is healed more we’ll fix it.” It certainly won’t hurt to get another opinion.
I hope you can get this sorted out quickly!
My first ortho said most people “my age” could manage without an ACL with a few modifications. My PT told me to make a list of what I enjoyed doing and taking it with me when I got the MRI results and then ask the Dr. if I could still do all of them without surgery. The PT convinced me to have the surgery so I changed orthos but kept the PT and he was RIGHT.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
OP, did the PT have any luck talking to the ortho?
[QUOTE=amastrike;7747563]
OP, did the PT have any luck talking to the ortho?[/QUOTE]
Yup! The ortho is not at all concerned about the “fracture”. He said it’s the textbook bone injury that comes with an ACL tear. It shows up as bone edema on the MRI so the radiologist reads it out as a fracture…
I’ve gone back to work part time…
Waiting on recheck to see if I will need surgery or not. I’m really hoping not, but I’m realistic that living with an unstable knee will not agree with my lifestyle. So is the surgeon, so if I’m not making major progress in the stability department he will schedule surgery then. As far as walking goes I’m doing much better…I’d call myself servicably sound, but no way I’d pass a prepurchase or flexions.
I know there are a lot of things worse than this that could happen to a person, but is still think it royally sucks. I’m lucky to have a very supportive husband. I’ve not been very easy to live with the past few weeks.
Oh, that makes sense… phew!! Glad it’s not really a fracture…
I’d call myself servicably sound, but no way I’d pass a prepurchase or flexions.
Oh man, I accidentally did a flexion on my knee a few months back… I was sitting with my knee bent and my foot tucked up under me for a while. When I got up and tried to walk on it, I just about fell over from the pain.
New ACL, just go for it!
I wanted to share a “non-horror” story about my ACL replacement… Bascially, there was no choice BUT surgery as my ACL was gone, no sign of it on the MRI…but a few fibers floating around in the knee. I totally obliterated it. :eek:
Had the surgery June 5th, 2014, was released to ride my horse 5 1/2 weeks post op, was working 2 1/2 weeks post op, (went back to work June 23rd, not a desk job).
I"m 6 months post op on the knee and it feels REALLY good, strong and I have full ROM, can touch my heel to my butt and the about a month ago simply squatted down to check my horse’s legs and realized what I did. I haven’t been able to squat for a LONG time. Yup, the little things make me happy, LOL.
Anyway, hope you’re doing well with whatever path you chose!
The main reason that convinced me I needed surgery was that I hopped off a bank (2 days before surgery) and hit the ground like I was poleaxed. The pain literally took my breath away, I rolled on the ground and realized that I would not be able to jump or hop with such an unstable knee… I went into surgery with a much better attitude!
[QUOTE=RubysMom;7897109]
I wanted to share a “non-horror” story about my ACL replacement… Bascially, there was no choice BUT surgery as my ACL was gone, no sign of it on the MRI…but a few fibers floating around in the knee. I totally obliterated it. :eek:
Had the surgery June 5th, 2014, was released to ride my horse 5 1/2 weeks post op, was working 2 1/2 weeks post op, (went back to work June 23rd, not a desk job).
I"m 6 months post op on the knee and it feels REALLY good, strong and I have full ROM, can touch my heel to my butt and the about a month ago simply squatted down to check my horse’s legs and realized what I did. I haven’t been able to squat for a LONG time. Yup, the little things make me happy, LOL.
Anyway, hope you’re doing well with whatever path you chose!
The main reason that convinced me I needed surgery was that I hopped off a bank (2 days before surgery) and hit the ground like I was poleaxed. The pain literally took my breath away, I rolled on the ground and realized that I would not be able to jump or hop with such an unstable knee… I went into surgery with a much better attitude![/QUOTE]
Thank you for sharing!! I’m one of those without ACL, not sure if i popped it and had amazing pain tolerance or born without it. I realized something was wrong during a taekwondo sparring tournament, and had it checked and MRI showed it was completely gone.
However the difference in my case from yours is that I don’t have any issues with it outside of that one sparring incident. I’ve been able to run marathons, snowboarding and ride horses (I’m a beginner riding for a year so only jumped cross rails and super low verticals).
Was there any discussion of consequences of not fixing it? Thanks for your input!
Faye, I discussed it with my dr, he feels that I damaged the ACL years ago, and told me that many people can function well with a damaged ACL and they do compensate and many don’t even realize they have damaged ACL’s til something happens.
Edited to add, my Dr felt that the knee was too unstable without the ACL, which was true as I could not jump down from anything w/o the knee hyperextending and collapsing on me, (and the pain, OMG!) If I didn’t ride, or run or jump or if I was not very active, I could have gotten by fine, but I wasn’t going to give up riding or being able to jump down from something, so I opted for the surgery and I’m glad I did!
What you probably have in your favor is very strong leg muscles that are supporting the knee and are thus able to function well without an ACL… I am not a marathon runner or skier, (which is huge in your favor!!) but having strong hamstrings and quads help keep the knee in place and somewhat make up for not having an ACL. That is probably why I was able to function with a less than perfect ACL…til I broke my left ankle and was non weight bearing on the left leg, hopped for my crutches and twisted to grab them and BAM, hit the ground feeling the worst pain EVER… Not even breaking my ankle hurt as bad, it was excruciating. 
So I had a double whammy… Pins and plates in my left ankle, new ACL on the right, lol… my friends call me the “bionic woman”, LOL! But, 9 months after ankle surgery and 6 months post op on the knee I’m pretty much back to 100% and still improving!
I am glad that sharing my experience helped… I was pretty amazed at how simple the ACL recovery was, but after going thru the ankle recovery (8 weeks totally NON weight bearing) and there was a lot of discomfort post op on the ankle, dealing with the knee surgery really wasn’t that bad compared to the ankle.
My Mother tore her ACL in the weirdest way. She use to ride race horses and to dismount was not really sliding off, it was more like jumping off and getting out of the way. Well years later, she still jumps off like that. She launched herself off my 16.3H Irish Sporthorse and tore her ACL when she landed.
She had surgery and had it replaced. She rode quite soon after the surgery, just had to position the mountain block so when she got off, she would not have as far to go.
She probably had a little tear prior from all the running or skiing she does and then jumping off the horse was the final straw.
It is such a habit for her to jump off, I had to teach her how to slide off.
My Mother tore her ACL in the weirdest way. She use to ride race horses and to dismount was not really sliding off, it was more like jumping off and getting out of the way. Well years later, she still jumps off like that. She launched herself off my 16.3H Irish Sporthorse and tore her ACL when she landed.
She had surgery and had it replaced. She rode quite soon after the surgery, just had to position the mounting block so when she got off, she would not have as far to go.
She probably had a little tear prior from all the running or skiing she does and then jumping off the horse was the final straw.
It is such a habit for her to jump off, I had to teach her how to slide off. lol!
