i have a damaged meniscus and an ACL thats completely torn...?

Question

i am waiting for my insurance company to authorize my consultation with an orthopedic surgeon...does any one know what i should expect from this injury? how long will i not be able to walk?? will i recover properly and be able to play baseball with the same amount of potential as before?? will i have to do physical therapy?? and how long does the surgery last in order to repair my meniscus and my torn ligaments??? if u have any more information, i would greatly appreciate it if u shared it with me....im just nervous about gettin surgery...i hate hospitals

Answer 1

unfortuantely I deal with ACL tears frequently, I am a Certified Athletic Trainer at a private university. When you tear your ACL this is the front ligament in your knee that keeps your tibia or your main lower leg bone from moving forward on your femur or the upper leg bone. When that ligament is torn it is necessary to have it repaired, especially if you are an athlete. The meniscus is a small semicircle of cartilage that you have on the inside and outside of the top of the tibia or lower leg bone. Theses cartilage help the knee joint articulation. Most people tear the medial or inside knee meniscus. The main decision that you will have is what type of ACL graft will you use. The 3 options are patellar tendon, hamstring, or cadaver. The cadaver is tissue from a non-living person, this type of graft has a higher rate of re-tear than the hamstring or patellar tendon graft. If you have had a prior history of anterior knee pain or patellar tendinitis, the literature states you might want a hamstring graft. The patellar tendon graft is the standard as it is a bone to bone fixation. They actually take a little piece of your patalla and then they put the ends of the graft in the drilled holes in your bone. The bone to bone graft then is supposed to be stronger. The hamstring graft is attached by screws in the holes. You can find more details about the specifics of surgery on the internet. I will place a link.
Surgery: The surgery typically lasts around 2 hours. You are then in what we call a straight leg immobilzer for about 2-4 weeks to protect your knee. Some doctors are may require you to wear it longer. The earliest you would be back to playing is 4 months, I usually have my players come back at 6 months. Yes, you will have to do physical therapy. It won't be easy but you will do fine. In therapy they initially work on getting your knee moving-bending and straightening and strengthening, as when you are in an immobilizer you loose quadricep and hamstring size and strength. I would not be nervous, this is a routinely performed surgery. I have the funniest line one of my athletes told the nurse prior to going in to surgery when he had just been given his sleep medication. He said, "I am a surgeon virgin", I guess they all laughed hillariously. You will be released to go home the same day, I recommend that you get a cooling/ice device to use at home. If the doctor does not provide this there are some available on e-bay at a resonable price. The one I recommend is the "Polar Care" by Breg or the Opti-ice unit.
God Bless you as you see the Dr. Take Care!! Chad

Answer 2

Don't know about the ACL, but my daughter just had her torn meniscus repaired last week. It's now done through a scope- 4 little stitches on the outside & 3 on the meniscus. Just day surgery; actual surgery just under 1 1/2 hrs. In the hospital about 5 hours.
Because the meniscus has a very poor blood supply, she is toe touch weight bearing only for 6 weeks. Her leg is in a brace that runs from the top of her thigh to the ankle (G11 brace) It's locked in at 30 degrees. In 2 weeks it gets turned to 60 degrees etc. She starts physio today & will go twice a week for the next few months.
It takes at least 3-4 months for this type of injury to heal, sometimes even up to 6 months. Also this type of surgery is not always successful. If the OS can repair yours, it's a better option in the long run than having it removed.
Removal is simple, but years down the road you'll get arthiritis. My husband had his removed about 23 yrs ago, and is now looking at knee replacement.
My daughter had her other knee done 10 years ago & her knee is just as good as new. She can play sports, snowboard etc.

Answer 3

believe me no one likes hospitals. Initial treatment of meniscal tears is RICE: rest, ice, compression and elevation. Your physician may take X-rays or use a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to further review your soft tissues. If your meniscal tear does not heal on its own, your physician may opt to perform arthroscopic surgery on an outpatient basis to remove the damaged cartilage.

I've enclosed a web site from the top orthopedic doctor at USC, that has very detailed information about this surgery for you.

Answer 4

if u wont have sport action ,it doesn't require surgery .it will a open reduction.until 3 week non weight bearing.after 6-12 month u can back to sport(with physical therapy).it is cool