Ligament repair, anybody had one??

[anteater]

DP has torn her ACL last week, told she would need a repair on her return to UK, anyone had this repair. Was told last night by friend that the MRI scan could take MONTHS on the NHS..??
True? If so what £ are we talking to go private??

would you mind if we continued this on another thread I think I have a few ideas that you may already be aware of but may find useful...

If you guys head to another thread, please provde link.

\link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=138&threadid=150808&stamp=060228164315\i seem to be the only one on it at present!}

I would be more than prepared for the long haul recovery - I have spent the best part of last year hobbling about. Last night I did an hour's hard swim and my knee actually aches from doing that today. I really think recon is the way to go for me.

Does anyone know:

1. How long on crutches after recon?
2. Plaster for how long?
3. How long until able to weight bear on recon'd leg?

QE
You should NOT need plaster after an ACL recon. I walked out of the hospital after my operation, w/a full leg brace, however. I used sticks to help me walk w/a normal gait - you don't want to limp, but you do want to walk w/a normal gait. But it's going to be slow-going at first - expect that!

I made sure I had a rucksack handy for caring things. I also purchased one of those gel packs you can place in the freezer - beats the hell out of a bag of frozen peas for icing, b/c you can velcro it to your leg and it doesn't slide around.

You should be weight-bearing asap and given pain relief to make this possible. Believe it or not, this helps improves the chances the graft will be successful - blood flowing to the graft is a good thing!

It sounds like w/your level of activity, if you are suffering pain after a low-impact sport like swimming, recon is for you b/c your joint may suffer more damage if it's left unrepaired.

There are peaks and valleys during hte recovery. You will learn to be more in touch w/your body and to listen to the cues your body is giving you as to how your recovery is going.

But man, the first time you play netball again and just enjoy a really good game - it'll all be worth it!!

:)

yes doc, it was of course my intention to personally insult you. no doubt from my posts on this site you can see that i go around being bitchy to all and sundry with no provocation whatsoever. i for no reason decided to set out to insult you. i am not a human being with my own shit going on.

you were rude to chapsmum - who has been a wonderful friend to me recently, at a time when i have been royally shat upon by the medical profession and left to basically sod off and die. i read the post the same day i had come from yet another pointless doctors appointment with a gp who, as chapsmum can confirm, has totally failed me.

additionally, when having my first child, it was a doctor who dismissed my fears during pregnancy and basically told me i was being stupid for claiming that i felt i would not be able to deliver. no doctor would listen to me and it was a doctor was responsibile for him nearly dying during delivery and she left him with a lifelong physical disability. A doctor also oversaw my haemorage that nearly ended my life at the same time.

It was a doctor that told my wonderful neigbour that she was a hyperchondriac and to go away - 6 weeks later she was dead. cancer.

it was a doctor who told me to not worry about ds2, that there was nothing wrong with him. my dh had to become very cross to get her to agree to get ds2 tests. he is very very badly anemic and has now been referred to a consultant for further examination.

doctors have let me down timne and time and time again in my life. through dismissing me and their arrogance in thinking they know everything and i know nothing they have nearly killed one of my children and left him with a lifelong disability, and they saw my other son turn into a bloody zombie, all the time treating me like a pest.

every time i try to ask for information, or to challege them in any way, i am met with anger and a 'how dare you speak back to me dont you know how much better than you i am' attitude.

so i dont think very much of doctors and their arrogant attitudes. myself and people i love have been royally screwed over too many times.

and right now, when my own health is so very bad and the doctors are doing NOTHING to help me, i dont feel very lovey towards the profession and am enraged by every example of doctor-attitude i see. and i saw it in you - attack attack the challenger and i brought my own shitty feelings into it and posted my overwhelming anger about it all.

so there you go.

mtpw, I didn't accuse you of setting out to insult me for no reason- we all have our reasons for what we say or do! I wasn't particularly rude to chapsmum, she said something that irritated me, and later corrected herself.I replied to that. I understand why "members of the public" complain so much about the NHS, but it galls me to see one of the "frontline staff" apparently having a go, particularly about my specialty. I am qualified to talk about that, whether you like it or not. If she'd seemed to be having a go at physicians, or psychiatrists I probably would have agreed, or at least kept my mouth shut.

Anyway, FWIW, we have(I think) buried our differences. I'm sorry your experience of doctors has been so bad, but we are not all like that (as I hope chapsmum would agree).

doc - I'm sorry. I have had a very bad time with doctors and especially so right now and I took that out on you, now I have taken a deep breath, I can say I'm sorry for that. My dr encounters have left me feeling like taking a machine gun and firing from a high tower into the middle of the bma's agm.

I'm not a horrible person and I am sure you aren't either, and I'm sorry for raging at you specifically. I had a kaboom moment.

Paging Expatinscotland or any fellow knee-martyrs. I have to go in 3 weeks for an ACL reconstruction using my hamstring. Skiing accident, sigh... Any tips for recovering, things I should buy or help I should ask for, especially since it is the Easter School hols.

I had an ACL reconstruction at Nottingham about 10 years ago. Back then they were using Goretex braid for the new ligament.

I was lucky because Nottingham at the time had a dedicated outpatients rehabilitation centre staffed with great physiotherapists (it might still have for all I know). I did 6 hours of physio, 5 days a week for 4 months until I got complete range of movement back in the knee.

So, my tip is - no matter how great the surgeon, it is the physio that will get you better. Despite the surgery, if you don't do the physio you won't be going skiing again.

I think recovery is a bit quicker now. But thanks for that. I will do my physio. Frankly, I don t care if I never ski again. I just want to run or even walk without worrying.

you coudl get a trendy stik

;)

I already own some natty crutches.

lol
fof hurt his leg on hol in france and hte GB doctors were wowed by his trendy french'uns

Mine are a shimmery green. They were in fancy dress box until i knew i needed an op. Can t believe having spent whole of 2006 recovering from accident, I ll have to spend rest of year getting over the op.

Dull
DK is SPOT on about the physio. Be religious about it. I bought one of those gel packs you can velcro on your knee - you can put it in the freezer for cold or dunk it in boiling water for heat - and I swear it was the BEST buy I've ever made.

USE pain meds! Don't believe all that 'you'll get addicted' or 'work thru the pain' bullshit. You won't if you're using htem for serious surgery like this. Don't let them fob you off w/paracetomol. Sorry, this is a BIG surgery.

I had an amazing French surgeon who had been a surgeon for the French Olympic/World Cup ski team. He told me that if you're hurting a lot, especially in the first few weeks after the surgery, you won't recover well. Yes, some pain is expected as part of the recovery, but not so much whilst you're trying to re-establish ROM.

I used prescription pain relief for about 6 weeks after my surgery.

Get a chair and put it next to the toilet. That way you can use it to slide on and off.

Get a rucksack and keep it close. You'll need it to carry stuff. Also a good flask for tea or coffee.

Get your legs WAXED.

it was a year till i skied again. DO NOT attempt to go back to sports before you're given the all clear. it is NOT worth it. the patella is very fragile after the surgery, and the graft needs time to re-vascularise. also, the muscles need a chance to build up to support the joint properly.

Thanks Expat. x Was yours a hamstring graft or a patella one?

hark at you too
i think expat may be just the girl to boss you dully

hamstring. my patellar tendon is too short and narrow - in the surgeon's opinion - to yield a good graft.