Acl, Mcl surgery coming up

Krayola

Krayola

Member
I'm finally getting surgery... in two weeks!

I've never had surgery before apart from my wisdom teeth. Can anyone here that has undergone acl, mcl surgery or both give me some tips. Not looking forward to the recovery but I know this surgery needs to get done and I'm ready to put effort into the physio and recovery. I also purchased a pricey cryo-cuff

My surgeon already gave me a pamphlet with some info but I want to hear from you guys who have had the surgery and what your experience was like!

-How bad is the pain after the surgery?

-do's and don'ts

-Any Tips?

Thanks everyone?
 
I'm in the same boat, getting ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair on the 16th. Any opinions on patellar vs hamstring graft? I'm pretty torn between the two
 
13458350:epapageorges said:
I'm in the same boat, getting ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair on the 16th. Any opinions on patellar vs hamstring graft? I'm pretty torn between the two
Click to expand...

I believe i'm going with the hamstring graft. my surgeon suggested it as it is stronger compared to the patella
 
13458558:Krayola said:
I believe i'm going with the hamstring graft. my surgeon suggested it as it is stronger compared to the patella
Click to expand...

I've read the hamstring doesn't heal as well as the patella, on the other hand. It's a fucking hard decision.
 
I got mine 10 days ago! Acl and meniscus repair for me, had a hamstring graft. I've also been waiting a long time, not necessarily a bad thing because I've had alot of time to work my ass off and get as much quads power as I could going into surgery. My mum is a physiotherapist, so I also had alot of great advice going into surgery and am lucky to be staying with her right now while I recover.

The first day was the worst, but I also had a 16 hour drive back home which sucked. I was going pretty hard on the morphine and still had about 5/10 pain most of the day. By day two it was way down, by day three I was off morphine in the daytime and down to t3s. You'll have a constant ache (they drill a hole into your tibia, what can ya do), but a t3 every 4 hours takes care of it no problem. My surgeon said my hamstring graft is one of the biggest she's ever done so I'm lucky there, but now at day 10 I'm off my crutches and rode the exercise bike today! It's painful at first but as long as ya keep moving and keep your leg elevated when you're not, you'll have great progress every day! Good luck!
 
I had ACL reconstruction 2 years ago, I'll fill you in on what I learnt

- pain: way less than I expected. they gave me a nerve block (ask your doctor about this) which blocked all pain for about a day and a half; it was a beautiful thing. after that it was general ache and such but nothing like I expected at all. I would imagine w/o the nerve block the pain would have been worse; since every surgery I've had the worst is always the first couple days.

- graft: I went with patellar. I have 0 lasting problems. Back to skiing hard and playing soccer (originally busted it off playing soccer). When hiking my opposite knee will always start aching long before the one I had surgery on ever bothers me. Ofc I'm not a doctor so listen to what he suggests, but my surgeon told me girls are a better hamstring candidate. if I had another ACL graft I'd go patellar again.

- recovery: as everyone says this is the most important part. a friend of mine that has had the surgery multiple times said i absolutely should get a continuous motion machine. basically it just bends your knee continuously all day/night after the surgery. at first I thought this would be painful using this immediately after getting home but again I was wrong. with the nerve block it didnt bother me one bit, and getting that new ACL stretching asap is good for recovery. after that I did PT 3 times a week for months, maybe 4? Back to skiing nice and easy at about 5 months

Good luck fam, remember its a common surgery that tons of people have had (especially on NS)
 
I tore my ACL and meniscus 3 years ago in April and got a hamstring graft. I was back skiing by November (just taking it easy on groomers), and by December or January I was back to skiing at the same level I was at pre-injury. I stayed out of the park until about March though. A year out of surgery my knee felt 100% recovered, and I currently have no lasting issues.

Pain was fairly bad the day of and after surgery, but it eventually subsided to a just a general ache, like everyone else mentioned.

Physical therapy is the most important part of your recovery. If you can, try to find a rehab clinic that focuses on sports medicine and do everything they tell you. Put 100% effort into your training regimen. Conversely, don't overdo the rehab. If your therapist tells you to do excerises 3 times a day, do them 3 times a day. Don't be like some overacheivers and think that doing excercises 5 times a day will help you. I think I still have my rehab program lying around somewhere. If you want, PM me and I can give you the details.

During my recovery, I spent a lot of time on the stationary bike, lifted weights for my upper body and even lifted weights with my uninjured leg, which can prevent muscle atrophy in both legs.

Just take it one day at a time and stay positive and you should be fine.
 
I haven't read any other posts, but I tore my acl 10 years ago (i was 16) and didnt get surgery until this time of year (july 5th actually) and I was skiing in november.

My orthopedic center in bozeman offered a "accelerated" program for athletes, I was a mogul skier so it was important to me to be healthy for the season.

I did a patella graph and they cut out some meniscus too. I 'walked' after 3 days, no crutches really after 7 days (low meniscus damage/cut helped) and i was on an automated machine like day 1 after surgery that bent my knee for me, basically to help you regain range of motion earlier.

Worked my ass of in PT and i was like 80% after 4 months, 90% by late november and I skied with a brace all season. I probably had my most productive year of skiing in big air and moguls (lol) went to jr olympics/jr nations that year, did awful but was stoked to be there.

Basically, my point is stick with your PT, work hard and you will have a full and fun ski season.
 
I've done mine twice in the same knee. Patellar first and now cadaver. My surgeon does not do hammy, strongly advises against it. First time was more painful after, but I also had a ton of swelling right before surgery and that was not good. Still barely have feeling along the front of my knee where they scooped the patellar from.

As long as you keep up with your PT you will be fine. 6 months goes by quickly. Everyone is different, I can tell you PT was easy / difficult / painful / a breeze, it is going to be different for everyone. The second time I did it they had to repair my meniscus so I was non weight bearing for a month which SUCKED. Doc said I would never ski the same after the first one, proved him wrong on 2 accounts. The only time I wear my brace is while I am skiing. Also don't overdo the pain meds. Only take what you need. They are some powerful shit and I hated it. It was almost better to deal with the pain than to take them.

Advice: get some good books / movies to watch, do your leg raises as often and soon as possible after surgery. You will realize how much you take your quads for granted, because they disappear.
 
Just tore my ACL and MCL back in January at age 24. The pain after surgery was pretty rough a few times in the first week, just make sure you take the pain meds they give you. I tried to go without like a supreme idiot and the first night was hell. The cryo-cuff is a good tool to have. Use it often.
 
haven't had acl or mcl but have had 3 knee surgeries. they're a huge pain in the ass. physical therapy is rough and takes A LOT of effort (and money.) crutches are a nightmare but you do get used to them.
 
Wow, I was just in the same situation that you're in, no surgeries except wisdom teeth... I'm 4 months out as of tomorrow.

Basic rundown is that I tore my ACL over two separate falls a few weeks apart, first crash was only a partial tear and the second just blew my ACL completely out. Honestly, I was VERY worried on the days approaching the surgery (I went with a patellar graft) because, like you, I had real way to get a decent gauge of how much pain I would be experiencing.

Day of the surgery was super quick, I woke up and just thought to myself, "Fuck. Is this really happening to me?" Next thing I know, I'm in the bed getting all pumped up with drugs... I was honestly awake when the rolled me into the surgical room and I remember them starting to intubate me, which was awful. Then I just woke up and was drinking apple juice... My knee felt so weird, like the tingling feeling when your foot falls asleep.

That afternoon was a breeze (thank god for nerve block, consult your doctor about this, it's a huge help), no real pain. The following days were all pretty easy too, the worst day was the 3rd day (when the nerve block was starting to wear off) but even that wasn't painful. Really, the pain wasn't bad at all for me... The hardest part was really just being relatively immobile for so long. That really got to me. It's hard when you see all of your friends having fun, going out and skating or skiing when you're just stuck home watching movies and stuff... I remember listening to wish you were here one night and getting super depressed haha. I never thought being immobile could be so bad, but it really got to me.

After I started PT, things got much better very fast, I could drive at the 3 week mark. Being able to be independent and not rely on friends for rides is great... After I could start driving everything just seemed to click into place and work out well.

Now I'm 4 months out and feel really, really good. Probably at around 90% and getting better every day. Hopefully I'll be back to skating within the next month.

Anyways, take it easy. Don't push yourself too far within the first 8 weeks, you have one chance at this so don't mess it up. It is frustrating that you can't do everything right away, but you'll get there. I think this whole experience has really made me grow as an individual and am honestly not regretful... If the pain is all that you're worried about, don't worry, it'll be a breeze in that aspect. My knee still does feel a little bit numbed where they harvested the patellar graft, and I've heard it will never feel as natural it did before, but if you work hard enough you'll be able to do everything you did before.

Good luck man, wish you the best. It's not an easy thing to go through, but it'll get better very soon!
 
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