ACL Repair at 62?

[wants185s]

Background-Knee injury at 30. Had surgery to fix (remove) damaged meniscus. Old technology no scope-no MRI long recovery. Knee was never right afterwards. Gave up basketball, skiing, etc. continued running and biking. At 55 knee began locking up. Had MRI for first time. DR. said my problem could be easily fixed with minor scope procedure. I was also advised I had torn/no ACL (news to me probably the way it has been since the original injury at 30). Dr. recommended fixing my small problem but not the ACL "because of my age". I folllowed recommendations and had the scope procedure but left the ACL unrepaired. Ever since then I have thought I made a mistake not fixing the ACL. Now at 62 and still very active I wonder if I should consider having it fixed.

Thoughts or advice?

[feeny]

If I were making this decision at the age of 62 I would be trying to buy myself more time to enjoy the [physical] things I love doing.
In your case, you have had 32 years of adapting to a life without an ACL - so my questions to you are:

What would you do differently if you got it repaired?
Would there be activities that you would start doing with it repaired?
Is it giving out on you now? I.E. is the way you use your knee putting your leg at risk of more damage?

[Kaputt_Knee]

I have to echo what Feeny said: why bother if you have managed OK so far?

BUT if the instability has only recently started to stop you from taking part in the activities you enjoy then perhaps the rupture is new. In which case your age should not be a consideration. I'm just a couple of years or so behind you, very active and have just had (August this year) a revision of an ACL reconstruction. Here in Germany age is not considered to be relevant, it is the quality of life, level of activity and degree of future damage that is taken into consideration. So if you are a 20-something couch potato with no active life then you would probably not be operated on as the chances of you doing the rehab are remote. An active 70/80 year old will rehab more successfully.

It is the rehab that often is used as a reason for not operating on older patients. But at 62 you could still have 20+ years of active life in front of you if you have the stability restored to your knee. We live longer and have longer active lives than we used to.

If you are not happy about the situation under your current OS maybe you should look for a surgeon who looks at you as an individual rather than a number on a scale of life.

Sue in Germany

[dancer49]

wants185s,

Good for you! I think the doctor repaired or 'fixed' what your chief complaint was though- locking up, not the ACL. Is your knee 'giving out' on you alot? My doc says there is a bell curve when it comes to non-repaired ACLs. Some people cannot function and others function almost as well as their original knee. It also depends on your lifestyle and what you want to be able to do with your knee.

I'm 49, and got some resistance from my doc initially due to my 'age'. 20 years ago they did not do ACLr's on 40 year olds and older. But us baby boomers are living much more active lives than many of our parents aren't we?

LOVE Sue's (kaput knee) reply! Love how it's not age but lifestyle! Perfect really. My husband gave up running at age 20 due to ACL tear, knee has been giving out on him for over 30 years. He refuses to have it repaired. He's willing to live with it. For me, this would mean giving up dancing- which would destroy me emotionally-so I'm having my surgery (at the advanced age of 49!!! LOL!) tomorrow!

Good luck with your knee, and let us all know what you decide to do.

[crumpet]

Wants:

First thing that jumps out at me with your post.... You say you think it was a MISTAKE not having it repaired. This is important. If YOU feel that this needs to be repaired....to correct a problem, then you should by all means get going and get this thing done.

I also believe age is becoming less of a reason to deny the procedure...so you will encounter OSs that will take your case, but you might have to hunt around for them.

The one thing you might want to keep in mind, is that you will find recovery much easier now...than you will five years from now due to muscular changes. You will also find that your muscles may get smaller as you age and any instability you might be feeling is likely to worsen as a result.

After you consult your thoughts and feelings, it might be a good idea to look into some PT places to see if you can find a rehab specialist that might be worthy of your case. You might want to chat with them about how
they can help you rehab and what docs they've worked with.

It certainly looks like a topic worth delving into...even in the end if you decide against it in the end.

Good luck!


~crumpet

[wants185s]

Thanks all for the thoughtful comments. I have adapted to living with the knee condition. The fact that I didn't really know what the problem was for 25 years forced me to adapt since I did not know there was a sollution (no internet forums for most of those years). Fortunately my knee is reasonably stable. I have kept my legs strong and fit through cycling and weight training also have managed to maintain my weight through the years. The only time I think about it is when I over do and experience some soreness. I have to admit my life would not change much if my knee was suddenly fixed. I think I will explore this board a bit more and learn from others experiences before considering having it repaired.

[feeny]

Good plan! The one thing you are not in at this stage is a hurry!

When I read your post - I pondered what I would advise my father if he wanted knee work (which he asked about - he has a bit of damage in there from 25 yrs ago).
He's pretty active and doing lots of things - and sometimes his knee hurts him - He's 71 odd now - but you know what - he's still doing the things he loves - and adapting to keeping on doing them within his capability as his body continues to mature.

What he would be up for if he had knee work is 6-12 months of not being able to do the things he loves - and hard rehab to get back to his current (great) shape.
He could certainly do it - but Im not sure how worth it for him it might be in the long term vs. just carrying on as he is.
I want him to enjoy the best quality of life possible - and you know what, I think he's doing that just fine without needing surgery.

[Audice]

Wants ~ I was told when I ruptured my ACL at age 67 & told the OS that I needed to finish the riding season (horses) before there could be any surgery, that if I were to have ACLr I'd be the first in medical history at that age to have it done. Initially I could have taken a swat at the man for inferring I was too old but having conferred with a second OS who knew me personally & who understand my active lifesytle I was more resigned to seeing how I could live with the damage. Although I wore a brace a good part of the first year after the accident I haven't resorted to it since & in retrospect can honestly say that I don't miss having that ACL. My knee is quite stabile & there are few things I'd like to do that I can't...Ellie