Anyone's teen had ACL repair surgery?

[Bryonyshcmyony]

As the consultant is pretty sure dd has ruptured her ACL

even going privately an MRI is a month's wait, so we won't know for sure until then.

I'd love to hear stories about teens who have had this surgery but only if they are good ones ending up with them playing football for England

DD ruptured hers playing hockey and had an op in December 2020.

Our GP (phone only consultation then) suggested getting her seen by my physio (I'd recently broken my ankle) to see what he thought. Physio was certain it was ruptured and needed an MRI to confirm. Miraculously we got an NHS MRI appointment that weekend which confirmed she had ruptured the ACL, torn the meniscus and damaged another tendon.

Went private for the op. The surgeon had hoped to repair but when he went in, had to do a reconstruction instead. Meniscus and other tendon weren't damaged too badly so he left them. DD had intensive physio for the first 7 months and this has really helped. She was given the okay to jog six weeks ago and has been going to the gym for some months. I also bought an exercise bike (on physio's advice) to aid recovery. She's been fastidious about doing physio exercises and is due to see the consultant next week, presumably to be discharged. She will have a session with physio (advised by consultant) focusing on warming up before sport to avoid a reoccurrence of it. Consultant said many ACL repairs etc. fail because physio exercises aren't done for long enough time afterwards and people feel good but haven't allowed knee to recover and strengthen properly.
We have just been away and walked around 25k steps a day. Her knee was sore after day 3 so she iced it and rested it which helped, so she still has to be mindful of it. She is about to go to uni though and is looking forward to getting stuck into hockey again soon.
Hope your DD is okay. Recovery seems to take forever but it's worth not rushing back to doing things that will set her back. Good luck.

An adult friend ruptured their ACL and is back skiing (the cause of the rupture).

I had knee surgery once...they will learn a lot of patience as crutches are frustrating and physio is boring. But people are helpful if you are on crutches.

I echo what PP said about doing the physio religiously.

I ruptured mine as a young adult, dancing. I’m in my 40s now and can do pretty much anything, including running. I haven’t played for England - I don’t qualify on nationality - but I’ve done ok.

My brother had it as a teen, a few months after me. I was in crutches for 6 weeks because I damaged the meniscus as well and had that sutured, DB only need them for a couple of weeks and was then allowed to bear weight. Physio was long though - I had daily physio from a couple of days after leaving hospital, then after a few weeks I was allowed in the pool and after that, when my knee was strong enough, I was prescribed the gym, weight work on the leg muscles.

My son had surgery after tearing his in 2018, despite hospital saying it was a bruised ligament,by playing Sunday league football,9 months wait for surgery during A levels, horrific time for all ! He desperately wants to play again only I've said if it goes again your on your own!!! Plus it will be more like a 2 year wait for surgery!!! Good luck sending best wishes to you both

My DH (very much not a teen!!) had this done a while back. You need to read up about the different methods if doing this surgery - some use cadaver ligaments , others use your own hamstrings, some do bog incisions, some do it keyhole, some give a spinal block for post op pain relief, some don’t etc etc . It’s really worth spending time to do a bit of research, seek recommendations of surgeons etc as it does make a big difference. DH used his own hamstring, keyhole, with spinal block and never had any pain. Had to be religious about physio afterwards and was back playing sport within 6 months

Thank you
She'll go private (bye holiday) with the specialist that did mine years ago. Used my hamstring.

I had two reconstructions - first using a hamstring at 15, then a cadaver at 18. Ultimately both reconstructions failed, but I’d still recommend giving it a go at least once - especially for a teenager.

Ultimately her knee will never be the same again, regardless of the surgery. To protect her knee from further damage, and/or to protect the reconstruction, she will need to commit to developing and maintaining strong quads from here on. The difference is that a reconstruction may enable her to continue things such as contact sports, tennis, trampolining etc. - which otherwise may be off limits.

To this extent, the wait for an ACL reconstruction isn’t so important, as it won’t be what fixes the knee - physio will. The reconstruction will (hopefully) simply allow for a return to a greater range of sport/activities.

My brother had one at 18 after a rugby injury. He wore his brace for a really really long time after but he's back to playing rugby and all that now. Just a heads up It's an intense surgery and made me feel quite queasy, it's really gross

I've actually had acl surgery myself. Spent a week in bed then got up and moved around. Recovery was pretty good. I wasn't an athlete though

I feel so sorry for her. She got a sports scholarship to a private school and now isn't going to be able to do sport for at least a year by which time she'll be in the 6th form anyway

My sister had hers done. She was playing netball for the county when she did it and she's back playing for them now, around 2 years after the operation..she went private for it too and was worth every penny as the waiting list was so long!

Dd is a footballer. The only thing that's making me feel better is thst she's been saying she's keen to switch to trialthon which seems like it might be easier on the acl

I had a total rupture of acl and partial mcl tear in my early 20s. Physio was tough but really helped with recovery.

All these years later i don't really have issues with my knee, can do plenty of sports, running, etc. The only things that make it twinge are going on a trampoline and if I spend a day wearing high heels.

Thanks all. She (encouraged by me) is going to work hard at the physio and perhaps do some static cycling and rowing in the gym to build strength.

She's been hit really hard by it as sport is how she defines herself as a person and is struggling to think of anything else she is good at. Her school have been really unhelpful actually and just leave her out of everything and aren't doing anything to make her feel better about it, the games teacher is annoyed and dismissive. Despite being a very expensive private school. She only went for the sport can't help feeling she'd be happier at local state but she's in last year of GCSEs so can't move her

Hello OP @Bryonyshcmyony , I'm sorry to resurrect your thread but did your DD have surgery?

Mine is in a similar position (tho not sports scholarship etc) and we've just got the estimated cost to go private 😮but reading this, it sounds though on the NHS, particularly now, it would be a very long wait?

How did your DD recover and how is she now? What a blow for her.

Apologies, I know this is an oldish thread but not TOO old to be a Zombie thread (I think).

OP, just wondered if you could update his your DD’s recovery went?

Ds (also 16) needs ACL surgery (in December) and tbh, I’m dreading the ‘intense 6 months of physio) afterwards. He’s in Y11 at school so quite important.

Just wondered if anyone could add some really optimistic outcomes.

we’re going to get an exercise bike to aid physio.