The rebuild process - ACL No. 5 - the Polyfilla story

[Kaputt_Knee]

Off into hospital today for the first part of ACL reconstruction number 5. Going for the record!

The op tomorrow is to clean out the knee and remove the screws etc from the tunnels - fill them with my own bone stem cells (my own brand of polyfilla!). Then send me home to wait until they grow into place. In 4 months I will go back and have a contra-lateral hamstring reconstruction!

However if the situation in my knee is not as bad as he thinks - he may do it all tomorrow after all! Hope this one works as allografts are not that common here in Germany and I will have run out of options! Which ever way you look at it - I'm back to square one though!

Sue in Germany

[pepstar197]

Hi K_K,

My thoughts are with you. I hope for the best and that the surgery goes quickly and easily. I don't know how you'll feel for the next couple of days, but if you have your laptop I hope you can give us an update soon.

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Sue,

Best wishes and hope for a speedy recovery. Here's hoping he can take care of everything for you this surgery.

Milly

[kneebother]

Sue,
All the best. Hopefully you'll be able to change your name from Kaputt knee to Sehr Gut Knee one day.

[Kaputt_Knee]

Thanks for all the good wishes it has helped tremendously.

I've just had a visit from my surgeon and now know what he did yesterday - I was in surgery for nearly 4 hours as he has reconstructed my ACL after clearing out the wrongly placed one and filled the tunnels for the former. He also discovered that I have been running around for 30 months with a torn LCL! They have operated on me 4 times and not discovered it! I'm not sure where he got the material from to rebuild the 2 ligaments as it certainly isn't from the other knee!

I'm now sitting up and getting around in a wheelchair and crutches. I have to be NWB for 4 weeks and wear a straight leg brace for that time then I can start into rehab proper for the ACL.

Good news is that there is no arthritis in the knee - the other surgeons have said grade 3 and one said grade 4! But they have shaved my medial meniscus down to virtually nothing prior to this operation, so I will sometime or other have problems.

Let's see how this works out then!

Sue, doped up in hospital

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Interesting that they did not find the LCL. Maybe they couldn't see it from the angle of insicions/portals. Super glad there is no arithritis. You are right about the meniscus being gone, it will likely cause issues down the road. Here's to hoping it will be many, many, many years down the road. It's good that you are getting around some. Try not to over do it. Take care.

Milly

[clarky_vl]

Hey Sue,
Its really good to hear from you, i was thinking of you. i'm glad they got the ACL done, and i bet that was a surprise about the LCL too! sounds like you have had alot done, but i hope you arent feeling too bad

[miss_sporty]

Hi Sue,
Really good to hear that they could do the reconstruction now too, hope it's all going ok for you! Really good that they didn't find arthritis too, I know that was one of my concerns that they would find other damage. Hope you are feeling ok and can get arrangments sorted for the first weeks post op.
Megan

[Kaputt_Knee]

OK it is now 5 days since my operation and I'm finding out new stuff all the time.

My surgeon has reconstructed my ACL using a double bundled Semitendinosis & Gracilias implant. So that's about the best recon you can get done these days as it mimics the original ACL with the bundle effect. He has also reconstructed my LCL but I am still not 100% sure how or what he has done there. All I know is that I am forbidden to put any weight through the knee for 4 weeks and I have to keep a straight-leg brace on 24/7 because of the reconstructed LCL. So I suppose if I have understood it all correctly, he has done a reconstruction of the postereo-lateral corner as well.

He has told me that my menisci, which I was told are finished, are in fact very healthy and I have probably had unnecessary trims when repairs to the tears would have been indicated. He is going to help me pursue a claim against my Worker's Comp people to ensure that they give me the pension I am entitled to as well as all my treatment. He feels they used my age and my history to concoct an excuse for excluding me from further treatment. I lost my job because of this accident and will probably never get another position as a Sports Teacher. So I am entitled to a pension as my marketability has been drastically reduced. It is funny when he comes to see me as he is madder about the treatment I have had than I am. Even if I wanted to give up and not claim my rights I don't think he will let me!

Currently I am getting lymph drainage massage to help reduce the swelling and passive manual therapy as well as movement training - walking with all my weight going through one leg and my arms, etc!

I'm being sent home tomorrow and will be back in my own bed again! Thank God for small mercies!


Sue in Germany

[lenorem9]

Hi Sue, glad to see you made it through ACL #5 OK. Sorry to hear you joined the PLC group though. If you have any PLC questions please feel free to ask. There aren't a lot of us PLC'rs out there.

Lenore

[Kaputt_Knee]

Well 24 hours at home are behind me now and don't I know it!

I have run out of painkillers and will get a new delivery tomorrow - I used Tylenol Extra strength with sleep aid last night to get some sleep. But today the ordinary Tylenol is just not man enough for the job.

I will have my first home visit from the PT today so will spend the rest of the intervening time getting myself thoroughly washed, hair etc! After a week of basin washed, I'm not finding myself too nice to be next to!

Thanks for the offer of help Leonore - I'm not exactly a new recruit and researched things really thoroughly before this surgery. The surgeon was impressed with my knowledge and asked about the site, so I had better be circumspect if I make any negative comments!

Main problem is staying off the leg - it is virtually impossible to do anything using just one hand and the physio was adament that I should always use 2 crutches. I have the leg elevated as much as I can and am currently world champion ankle pumper and simultaneous static quad flexer. I have to be careful because of the graft sites, hammies are as sore as hell.

My brace is driving me crazy but that is their nature they can't change so I will just have to grow to love it. I'm going to push for a Townsend made to measure ACL brace for sports as soon as I can start on the normal ACL rehab. Having read alot here about the braces I think that one comes out leagues in front. ATSoccergirl - thanks for all the tips there!

OK that's as much as I can do for now. PT will be fun with no pain control, when I crawl down from the ceiling I'll try and say how it was. But I will becareful in case my choice of language disturbs the Morality Police here

Sue in a cold and rainy Germany

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Hi Sue,

Good luck with PT today. I hope you don't have to work too hard. Sounds like you are doing pretty well all things considered.

Take care.

Milly

[Kaputt_Knee]

Day 11

I went back to the surgeon today for a second check up. At least I got out of the house for the first tie in a week

He's very happy about the reduction in swelling which is a direct result of the RICE and lymph drainage massage. He took out the stitches from the larger wounds and placed some steri-strips over them instead. He reiterated that I have to be NWB for at least another 10 days then maybe I can start gradually weight-bearing. I mentioned the pain level but he is not one to over-prescribe what are in effect, addictive medicines. As long as I do as I'm told the pain is tolerable, except at night. The pain levels are fluctuating according to how distracted I am - nights are awful as there is no escaping the fact that I cannot sleep through the night without the help of the Tylenol Sleep Aid. I try to get by with only one tablet but often have to resort to two just to get a few hours rest. They also X-rayed the joint in the standing position so I could see the gap between the tib and femur.

I have to go back next week to be fitted for a new brace and I'm going to push for a Townsend Design made to measure if I can - Worker's Comp can foot the bill, as it is their fault I'm in this situation. I'm going to push for one of either the Rebel, Premier or the AirACLrange and will print out all I can to show him what they are like. As I have to stay in this rigid one at least another 2/3 weeks, there is time to measure, order and deliver before I need it. The complication of the LCL replacement is going to be challenging to get a good fit.

So the PT continues for the next 2 weeks with the passive stuff and I'll be released to do more active ACL orientated work when he's happy that the LCL is coming along nicely.

Thanks for all the messages of support - it really is a wonderful community that we have have here. With the best will in the world, those who have not had any knee problems cannot really understand how all-pervasive an injury of this sort is. I know it is my friends who have have knee injuries who are the most understanding.

So that's it folks - 11 days out 0 degrees bend and 10 degrees extension and I'm proud of it! Just goes to show how unique each of our repairs are and how we should not compare as every single one of us is different. Comparisons are futile and counter productive in my mind as none of us know exactly what has been done to us, nor to anyone asking for "advice". The best we can ever give is encouragement and understanding coming from personal experience. I've now had 5 ACL "repairs" and each time the rehab protocol has been completely different.

Will update again when there is something worthwhile to report.

Sue

[knee-will-be-great]

Dear Sue,

I am so happy that you are well, well and posting on the baord. It seems that things are looking up in the knee department for you. From the standpoint of someone who has had 33 years of knee issues and pain, punctuated by 9 surgeries and rehab, I am very, very, very grateful that you are finally getting proper treatment.

Email me personally when you have a minute. I would appreciate hearing and reading more.

Knee-will-be-great.

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Hi Sue,

Glad you seem to be on the mend. I hope you can get the brace you are looking for. I wish I could use sleep aids from the store. I am allergic to the med they use to make you sleepy and hives are not very helpful when you are trying to sleep! Hope you can "graduate" to more active PT soon. Definately don't want to rush and have a set back. Take care.

Milly