blown knee

Jeff B

Jeff B

Thanos was right
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Location
Lincolnton N.C.
I have had issues with my right knee for years, mainly torn meniscus. scoped and trimmed in the early 90's then again in 2001. Recently it's been bothering me again, so I go for a MRI and results are showing torn meniscus and a torn ACL along with quite a bit of arthritic build up.

My Dr. sent me straight to a surgeon, of course with the wuflu the electives are just now opening up and I can't get to surgeon till June 11th.

Reading about this ACL tears, surgery is the only option and tendon harvesting or from a cadaver.

Any of you guys had an ACL repair before? I am a bit nervous about it as my Dr. stated this tendon carries all the weight. He specifically said several times during the conversation not to lift or twist cause it can let go the rest of the way at any time.
 
Been there done that, got the tshirt. ACL, both meniscus and a slight tear in my MCL in my right knee. Hamstring tendon AND cadaver method since my ACL was completely gone if I remember correctly.

It really isn't an awful surgery or process anymore. I did mine in June 07'ish I guess it was. Just a relatively lengthy recovery. It used to be one big incision down the middle of your knee to filet it open but I can't remember the last time I saw that done. Mine was done via scope and one small 2-3" incision. Rehab is the biggest thing and mediating the muscle atrophy that comes along with the surgery. Mine went a little like this:
Day 0-7 bed rest/RICE method, knee in a machine most of the day that allowed for it to bend to an X degree, slowly ramping up the angle every day to get range of motion back.
Day 8-14 I could get up and move around some, I went back to classes and hobbled around on crutches. But other than that, same as the first week.
After those first two weeks we began full rehab. Walking with support and working on getting your gait back and not limping, more range of motion work, slowly building strength back up and just increased intensity from there. Weights, pool, stretching etc. About 45 days after surgery I kind of plateaued and needed to re-evaluate the rehab plan and actually ended up firing my therapist (long story)and got my old strength coach to write me a new plan. I was fairly aggressive with the rehab and was back to full activity around the 6-7 month mark. I did stuff before that but that was the young and dumb kid in me at the time. Dr. James Fleischli with Ortho Carolina did mine.
 
Pretty much what Stretch said. I've been thru it twice now. First time due to a dirtbike accident. Completely tore my ACL, it was 100% detached as if it'd been cut with scissors. part of the bone broke, the meniscus and MCL was torn too. Got a Cadaver ACL and MCL. Was out of work 3 months because I had a physical job.
Second time was 2 years ago now. Same knee, due to wear and tear and poor surgery the first time. The first Surgeon didn't do a very good job. Your ACL and MCL are like an X to give your knee support. He had my ACL anchored in a way that is was mostly straight up. It lasted almost 10 years.

Send surgeon did a much better job and my knee feels as stable now as it did before my very first injury. However, this time I took the physical therapy very serious, as the first time I rushed it thru. I also had a much better therapist this time as well. They really pushed me to the point of sweating and wanting to quit. Recovery on the second surgery went way faster than the first, it's all come a long way in 10 years.

So my advice is don't fret, find a good highly recommended knee surgeon, and get the best physical therapy you can and stick with it. don't stop with the therapy just cause you feel ok.

Because of my first surgery not being done well, and years of wearing it down (almost no cartilage left) I have arthritis at 31 years old and will probably have a full knee replacement by 45 according to who done my last surgery.
 
I blew my right knee out playing flag football at ECU. Wife(G/f at the time) heard it pop across the field. I tore my ACL, MCL, PCL, and slight tear of the meniscus. I went to OrthoCarolina in Durham for the surgery. First few days after was bad because they had wrapped my leg so tight. I did physical therapy 4x a week for about 2 months. No issues now with it and I can squat/run as much as I want.

I had the cadaver/hamstring graft. Make sure your PT works on scar tissue rehab as I have had issues with mine in the past but its better now.

Better to do it now then wait like I did. Stepped in a hole hunting a few weeks after I tore it and I felt my whole knee come apart...
 
I hate reading this stuff, have had two scopes into my right knee now, probably due for a third....who knows what the next mri will reveal.

Good luck to you, sounds like it is a good time in history for knee surgeries at least, and you have had at least a couple guinea pigs ahead of you.
 
I think I did the ACL a few years back when I roofed my house, not sure though. I roofed it myself with my wife just watching the string line. When I was done, I was still running and started getting knee pain then. Will be nice to get back to running 5k's again.

Thanks for sharing your experiences
 
Ive had both mine done.
In addition to 4 meniscus surgeries and a couple other fun ones.

Ive got a mixed bag.
Ive got 1 cadavear ligament and 1 pig ligament (I dont think the do the "swine vine" anymore).

There are guys rehabbing much faster these days. I know of a college athlete who was squattig under heavy weight and running WR drills at the 90 day post surgery mark. He was also much younger than you.
There are also guys who elect to never have an acl repaired. Famously one dude played an NFL career without an ACL in either leg - was born that way.

If you arent opposed to grey area chemicals...research BPC157 and TB500...you want both not either or.
maresearchchems is a solid quality source.
This is for post surgery recovery. If you want more info Ill share...less publicly.
 
Ron said:
If you want more info Ill share...less publicly.
Click to expand...
you definitely have my interest, feel free to share when you have time. Thank you
 
I has cartilage removed in my right knee probably close to 30 years ago. I was a lot younger then and rehab and recovery was actually pretty quick as I remember.

Now, I'm severely bone on bone in both knees with severe arthritis, I need both knees replaced but have 2 issues. 1st is Cone isn't doing elective surgeries yet. 2nd is that some ridiculous requirement that you have to have a BMI of 40 or less or you can't have the surgery done (this was implemented within the last year, who said Insurance companies are not manipulating health care). So...... I have been losing weight so I'm ready when they finally start scheduling surgeries. I'm 4 Lbs now from that goal. I started out at 293 Lbs, now at 259 Lbs. Got to hit 255 Lbs before I can be scheduled.

Hopefully by my next appointment in late June, I should be there and hopefully, they will be scheduling surgeries.
 
cranbiz said:
I has cartilage removed in my right knee probably close to 30 years ago. I was a lot younger then and rehab and recovery was actually pretty quick as I remember.

Now, I'm severely bone on bone in both knees with severe arthritis, I need both knees replaced but have 2 issues. 1st is Cone isn't doing elective surgeries yet. 2nd is that some ridiculous requirement that you have to have a BMI of 40 or less or you can't have the surgery done (this was implemented within the last year, who said Insurance companies are not manipulating health care). So...... I have been losing weight so I'm ready when they finally start scheduling surgeries. I'm 4 Lbs now from that goal. I started out at 293 Lbs, now at 259 Lbs. Got to hit 255 Lbs before I can be scheduled.

Hopefully by my next appointment in late June, I should be there and hopefully, they will be scheduling surgeries.
Click to expand...
Good luck man, I know how difficult it can be to drop weight.
 
Don't really have anything to add here, I'm just walking around on two detached PCL's...but conversations like this always fascinate me, primarily the difference between sports medicine and family medicine. I understand age has something to do with it, but the bulk of my experience with a torn ACL is...immediate surgery and back on the field in 6 months and could probably be sooner if they wanted to push it. My brother in law had his ACL done and the process felt ridiculously drawn out and unnecessary precautions to me. And the thought of a 'weight limit' in the sports med world is ridiculous, and what possible purpose could it serve...but I assume that's some kind of risk assessment for accelerated deterioration. And good luck to all you guys trying to go under the knife.
 
ive had several knee surgeries now from snow skiing. the last one i had just moved out on my own and thought i knew better than the doctor on when to put weight on my leg... i started walking on it 7 days to early and i still have problems with it from time to time. depending on the surgery they will have you put weight on it right away or keep you off of it. with a torn meniscus id bet they will drill your bones to help with repairs and keep you off the leg, or at least thats what they did to me.
 
Loganwayne said:
drill your bones to help with repairs
Click to expand...
They didn't in the last 2 meniscus repairs, however that was morn then 16 years ago and technology changes. They did with the rotator cuff repair on my right shoulder in 2009. My MD told me to not pick up anything heave and to not twist my foot or leg.. I know the ACL is the main tendon that holds the weight. I surely will be listening to the PT and DR.
 
drkelly said:
I had meniscus repair done in 2006. I think they drilled into the bone like @Loganwayne mentioned. I had to quit running. If I ran, I would limp for a couple of days afterwards. I still ran occasionally just because I used to enjoy it so much. Now my neck hurts too if I run, but that is another story.
Click to expand...
I really hope I can get back to running. I miss this exercise.
 
I keep up on knee procedures because I find them fascinating based on all the trouble I had and my son having knee surgery young.
Micro fracture surgery is the drilling of the bone.

The idea is to cause multiple tiny traumas that your body dispatches antibodies and other natural processes to heal and trigger a growth response ending hopefully with a better outcome after a (much) longer recovery.
The trouble is the benefit is maybe a +20% recovery if all goes well. If it fails its loss of range of motion and pain PERMANENTLY.

For anyone who is an NBA fan - microfracture surgery is what ruined Greg Oden and Penny Hardaway's NBA career among many others.
When my son had a detached meniscus we consulted with several sports med doctors the onyl thing the 3 agreed upon was each was the best and all said to run from any doctor wanting to do a MF surgery.
One said it was all the rage in the 90s and docs like doing it because insurance pays like 5x what they pay for a normal surgery. But bone fractures, and total loss of limb are not unheard of..As with anything YMMV
 
drkelly said:
I had meniscus repair done in 2006. I think they drilled into the bone like @Loganwayne mentioned. I had to quit running. If I ran, I would limp for a couple of days afterwards. I still ran occasionally just because I used to enjoy it so much. Now my neck hurts too if I run, but that is another story.
Click to expand...

After my surgery I slowed way down on skiing like from 5-6 times a week to 2-3 and now I haven’t skied in probably 3 years due to the pain and other factors. Also gaining weight after surgery didn’t help anything for me


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Whatever you do, get it fixed.
I blew mine out in the dark ages before the harvest and cadavers were pretty much automatic.
I expect I'm due a knee replacement in the next few years to fix the result of that.
Get it fixed now in the most permanent way possible.
 
Went to the surgeon today, he x rayed and stated my meniscus is shot. it's squeezed out the side. Doesn't think the ACL is torn after the exam on my knee.

According to him there is nothing to be done short of lower knee replacement.

I am going to another Dr.
 
If the meniscus is gone, there is nothing else to do.
Its essentially the bushing the ball and socket ride on. There isnt a synthetic option there.

But a torn meniscus should present as knee pain (bone on bone rub - duh it hurts) possibly occasionally a knee "catching" or "locking up" if the discarded cartilege "jams" into the socket.
But you shouldnt have any stability or strength issues like an ACL...

If hes right that the meniscus is gone...there really isnt an option other than "togught it out" or "knee replacement"

That said if he diagnosed your ACL off an XRAY and not with an MRI....um...yeah new doc time.
XRAYS dont show soft tissue.
 
Ron said:
If the meniscus is gone, there is nothing else to do.
Its essentially the bushing the ball and socket ride on. There isnt a synthetic option there.

But a torn meniscus should present as knee pain (bone on bone rub - duh it hurts) possibly occasionally a knee "catching" or "locking up" if the discarded cartilege "jams" into the socket.
But you shouldnt have any stability or strength issues like an ACL...

If hes right that the meniscus is gone...there really isnt an option other than "togught it out" or "knee replacement"

That said if he diagnosed your ACL off an XRAY and not with an MRI....um...yeah new doc time.
XRAYS dont show soft tissue.
Click to expand...


My MD and the radiologist said torn ACL from reading the MRI, he said no tear after physical exam I don't think he even looked at the MRI. His exam and the entire time in the office with x rays was under 30 minutes.

Charlotte orthocarolina has meniscus replacement procedure also cartilage rebuilding from what I read on their website. I don't know if I am a candidate for either, worth getting another opinion. Seems like this guy wants do do knee replacements on older folks. He had to be asked if he would see me because I am under 50. (49 in July)

Very disappointed in the lack of light at the end of this tunnel.
 
Jeff B said:
I have had issues with my right knee for years, mainly torn meniscus. scoped and trimmed in the early 90's then again in 2001. Recently it's been bothering me again, so I go for a MRI and results are showing torn meniscus and a torn ACL along with quite a bit of arthritic build up.

My Dr. sent me straight to a surgeon, of course with the wuflu the electives are just now opening up and I can't get to surgeon till June 11th.

Reading about this ACL tears, surgery is the only option and tendon harvesting or from a cadaver.

Any of you guys had an ACL repair before? I am a bit nervous about it as my Dr. stated this tendon carries all the weight. He specifically said several times during the conversation not to lift or twist cause it can let go the rest of the way at any time.
Click to expand...


Did you name it?



My blown knee has a first name...….. it's O S C A R......


My blown knee has a second name, it's M A Y E R....


I got nothing. My knees pop like fireworks on the 4th. Probably will need to have them looked at one of these days.
 
ManglerYJ said:
Did you name it?



My blown knee has a first name...….. it's O S C A R......


My blown knee has a second name, it's M A Y E R....


I got nothing. My knees pop like fireworks on the 4th. Probably will need to have them looked at one of these days.
Click to expand...

Forgive me if I don't laugh.
 
My meniscus is pretty shot. But I had a lot of unstableness in my knee the second time my ACL was torn. If I took weight off if just right, it would pop out. It would also lock up and the only thing I could do was sit down and slowly, carefully straighten my knee out. You could visibly see my knee pop back in, it almost my made my wife puke the first time she saw it.
Tims when it popped out, I’d almost always catch it in time. But if I were to really come down on it or be running when that happened I’d have wrecked my knee so bad. Luckily that never happened. I dealt with it for a long time, always being aware and careful. Since my second surgery all is good and I can run around and play a little soccer with my kids. Still being cautious though.

If you have those symptoms, I’d get another opinion. If your knee feels sturdy and stable but just hurts like hell, he may be right.
 
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