This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.
This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.
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11 Nov 2004
Google has my site ranked rather high for some searches about ACL injuries and some people have emailed and commented about my surgery. A number of those are people with recent ACL injuries that want to know what to expect for their surgery and recovery.
I tore mine playing indoor soccer. I planted my right foot and pivoted hard to the left, but the bottom half of my leg didn’t turn with the rest of my body. The knee sort of twisted and my momentum kept carrying me forward, bending my twisted knee sort of sideways.
The surgery and recovery will vary from doctor to doctor. Certainly tell your doctor if return to sports is your goal.
My surgery involved removing a portion of the hamstring where it connects to the shin. That was used as a replacement for the ACL. They inserted a metal pin into the femur and looped the hamstring over it and down into the knee. They drilled a hole through my tibia and threaded the hamstring down through that hole. They secured the hamstring into the hole with a screw that will eventually be absorbed into my bone. All told they cut six holes in my skin. The one where they removed the hamstring is about 3 inches long. one is a pinhole where they poked a wire into the skin to help align the hamstring onto the metal pin. The other four are small holes where they ran arthroscopes and tools into my knee.
Other replacement techniques include using a cadaver ligament or a portion of the ligament from your kneecap to your shin. It depends on what your goals for surgery and the preference of your doctor on what they’ll use to replace your ligament.
I was put under general anesthesia for the surgery and woke up about 4 hours later. The surgery itself took about 3 hours. I went home that day. I was nauseated for 3 days from the anesthesia and the Vicoden. I had the surgery on Monday and left the house for the first time on Thursday afternoon. The pain was mostly gone by then. By Saturday I was at the soccer field watching my kids play in a tournament.
I’ve heard from other people that this sort of fast recovery isn’t normal. Many people that I’ve talked to were in the hospital overnight. Most couldn’t work for three days, while I was doing some limited work the afternoon of the surgery. So don’t make any plans for about a week after the surgery.
The following Monday I had a physical therapy appointment and learned some simple exercises. They’re hard to do and quite painful, but if you don’t stick with them you won’t fully recover.
I’m on crutches for about three weeks. The recovery and movement is progressive. At first I had a brace that was locked straight. After a few days I was able to unlock the hinge and sit with my knee slightly bent, but when I walked I had to have the hinge locked. Now the hinge is unlocked all the time and I don’t need to wear the brace while I sleep. Each new step causes all sorts of new aches and pains. One of my PT exercises is the indicator of when I’m done with the crutches. When I’m able to complete the exercise, my leg is strong enough to ditch the crutches.
I’ll need to wear the brace for 4-6 weeks from the date of the surgery. As soon as I can walk without crutches without a limp, I can take the brace off.
It will be 6-9 months from the date of the surgery before I can play sports again. I can expect my knee to swell up at random times for no apparent reason for the next 2-3 months. I plan on going to Disneyland for three days at Christmas and will have just gotten out of my brace. The doctor tells me I’ll be fine, but expects that I’ll need to ice my knee at night.
Some links to good ACL information and arthroscopic pictures of my surgery are below.
The damaged ACL before the replacement. The metal object in the photo is a probe that is pushing apart the two halves of the ligament.
My kneecap as seen from the inside of the knee. The damaged ACL is visible.
The tunnel that was drilled in my femur. The new ligaments run through this tunnel.
The completed reconstruction. The hamstring is now in the place of the ACL.
The side of my knee the day after the surgery. It’s swollen about twice the normal size.
The front of my knee after the surgery. The yellow stains are some sort of antiseptic.
Tom, I am also in the 40 group considering the hamstring over the allograft. While the recovery might be longer I am hoping my hamstring will look good enough to use. Do as much pre-hab PT as possible to strenghthen your hamstring and quad. Hoping to be back on the tennis court and soccer field in late April/early May.
Hi Tom - I was lucky enough to get physio pre-op,they got me doing hamstring curls using differing strength resistance bands - you can buy these and use them at home.Also calf raises (hanging your heels off a step)on both legs and just on the leg that’s being mended,lots of wobble board balances on one leg,squats and lunges.
After the first op I was back doing the thing that broke my ACL (paragliding) after about 7 months.It took longer for the leg to feel completely normal but it ended up being stronger than my “good” leg.
Good luck - let us know how it goes.
try some bridges. Works well with a swiss ball, but if you dont, lie on your back on the floor, place your feet on the chair or couch and push up with your feet. do 3x10. Also do it “marching” alternating, lifting legs.
I had my ACL reconnstructed using a hamstring graft 2 days ago. For some reason they kept me in hospital for 2 nights(got home about 2 hours ago). I’m trying to limit the amount of painkillers that I take. About 12 hours after the op the PT came to see me to show me some basic excises that I need to do, I found these to be quite painful. It was in April 2007 that I damaged the ligament but because of NHS waiting lists I’ve had quite a long wait, I not sure if this caused further damage or not.
Phil - don’t be too hard on yourself - take the painkillers - at least for the first week. I think you really need them - especially so you can do the physio which is essential.I’m three weeks post op and ditched all the painkillers after a week.Apparently paracetamol is the best thing for bone pain so at least stick with that. Unless your knee was collapsing a lot prior to the surgery it’s unlikely to have caused any other damage. Do check with your surgeon,they’ll have photo’s of the inside of your knee which they usually show you and will be able to see if anything else had been damaged.
Good luck with the rehab.
ACl reconstruction scheduled for tomorrow. Thanks to everyone that posts on this site, I feel like I am prepared with all the experiences and insight provided here! I am looking to get off the pain killers as quickly as possible and get the PT started.
Ali - I too sustained my injury paragliding (fast downwind landing) 1 week ago. Tore ACL,LCL,MCL & some meniscus damage. Will do the hamstring graft on the 31st. How did your 2nd surgery compare to first? I will fly off of anything but am a wus when it comes to needles and nausea. My biggest fear is trying to hard to get back and re-injuring. Did you feel secure getting airborne after so much time off? Were you able to at least do any kiting before 7 months? Would love to hear more about your recovery for this activity. Kim
Last week on the 9 Aug 2010 i did my ACL Surgery … now recovery .… still feel very tight on my leg .…
help, i had my a acl repaired with my hamstring, and had some meniscus cartilage taken out and also had a partillaly torn mcl, it has been 7 months and i still have alot of swelling, and some days its really sore, i want to run so bad, but cant, can anybody let me know how long it took them to get back to normal, maybe its my age, im 49, thanks
My 9 year old son has a complete ACL tear. We have seen 2 different doctors to discuss options. Since he is so young the surgery is different than what they do for adults since they cannot go through the growth plates. We are pretty sure that we will move forward with the option to do the surgery because we do not want our son to do any more damage than what has already been done. Does anyone know of a young child that has been through this.
I am 26 years old I tore my acl feb 13 skiing and becuase i was stubborn didn’t go to the doc til 6 week later. it was another 4 weeks before the surgery. I opted for the cadaver ligiment becuase i have 3 children and a full time job on the farm. i am one week after the surgery and remember to take the motrin only becuase of the swelling. i have taken two steps without crutches. I was instructed toput full weight on it and do full range of motion (to the best of my ability). this seems to contradict what others have said. So far it seems the more active you are the faster it heals. I also take a lot of herbs. pamelavogel319@hotmail.com
I had my ACL reconstruction surgery roughly a week ago by a renown surgeon and have had a very rapid recovery which I think is surprising. The nurses had me walking to the bathroom the same day as the surgery (without any brace on the knee). I had drains in my knee which seems to have kept swelling right down to almost no swelling.
Its now 6 days after surgery and i can hobble around quite comfortably without crutches without much pain. I am also not taking any pain killers. I have ~90 degrees of movement in the knee already, which I have achieved by doing the recommended physio exercises which are slightly painful to complete.
Hope this helps those who are about to undergo surgery.
I am almost 3 weeks post acl replacement(left knee), partial meniscus repair, hammy lig. option. Waited 2 years for the surgery, roadbiking and x-country skiing only during that time. Avid gym nut, did pre-op leg stuff right up to day before surgery(day). Still on crutches, or a cane, when at home, doing physio, daily, and am quite slow getting rid of pain (6-7 out of 10) I use Advil, when going to bed. I have enough range of motion to ride a recumbent for 10-20 mins. pain free at physio., but the aftermath is swelling and pain to 7out of 10 for about 16 hours. Ice 6-10 times every 24 hours, and often ice at night when pain keeps me awake. The leg still loves to be elevated with knee 12 inches above heart. I am hoping the slight bulge through my skin on left upper entry cut, will settle down, it looks quite morbid, and chaffs on my DonJoy brace.
Anyone have this bulge issue?
I just got ACL surgery last week. I went in to get a fix in my brace and they told me i need to work on straightening my leg so i can be up n down completely.. what stretches can i use to help this becuz i have become nervous about it lol to be honest…im a college bball player needing advise!
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Tom
October 10, 2008 9:45 AM
Ali…thanks for the inspiration! Any suggestions on some simple hamstring exercises that I could do at home? My knee feels good, I can go up and donw stairs no problem. In fact it almost feels completely normal except that it wants to hyper-extend occassionally. Obviosly I am keeping it safe amd not doing anything stupid.
Thanks again for your thoughts.