ACL injury in 10 year old

[1Boysie]

Dear All

Knowing that I have just had an ACL reconstruction, a friend has just called me from Winter Park in the US to say that his son has a suspected ACL/rupture tear. Not sure what grade but undergoing an MRI now.

Naturally the father is very distressed and has asked me if I know what is done for people as young as this.

This kid is a STAR skier and was hoping to race...

Anyone got any helpful knowledge/advice??

:-/

Julian

[Joe_F]

To Julian

My 12 year old son is very fit and plays football at a high standard. He is generally very good at all sports ie: swimming, tennis athletics and basketball. In February he injured his right knee while playing football. An MRI scan showed damage to the ACL and an arthroscopy confirmed that the ACL was severed and beyond repair. The front section of the ACL was flapping about and was removed to stop it causing further damage.
An ACL reconstruction cannot be carried out on a boy until he stops growing at approximately 18 years of age. When we were told this, we feared that our son would be effectively handicapped in the sense that participating in even normal things like running, climbing, dancing not to mention football, tennis, athletics and basketball would be severely hampered, if not virtually impossible. However, the physiotherapist and surgeon who both treat professional footballers said that the injured knee was nearly as stable as the good knee and that apart from some bruising and the damage to his ACL, that the knee was in good condition. They are both convinced that intensive physiotherapy aimed at making the hamstring and quads stronger than pre-injury and improving the proprioception, will result in a full recovery in 4/5 months. So far, my son is three weeks post op and his exersises are three times a day, seven days a week and progressively getting more difficult. He now has something to aim towards and is very positive and on the road to recovery.
Advice : Make sure that - a) The MRI scan is conclusive. b) The surgeon is a knee specialist and has had vast experience treating young elite athletes. c) The physiotherapist has had vast experience treating young elite athletes. d) If possible, the physiotherapist is present at the arthroscopy.
Did you know that six of the 'All Blacks' New Zealand rugby team do not have an ACL.
Best Wishes

Joe F

[ATsoccergirl]

Joe-

Unfortunatly your surgeon has some rather "out there" advise, which is wrong.  The conservative approach calls for delaying until skeletal maturity, which in males is typically around 15.  This refers to been the growth plates close at the knees.  However, this is not in the best interest of many patients, since delaying surgery can greatly increase the chance for cartilage damage.  The current trend is for immediate reconstruction as is done in the adult patients.  There have been some great results, and only minor modifications are done in the surgical procedure.  I work with one of the top OS in the US, and he does ACLR on kids routinely since he is one of the few experianced enough to do it.  The biggest concern is with a leg length descipency, but this is been an issue, the only one we have had is so slight that it's not an issue.

[pacelb50]

i am 16 and my acl recon was delayed 6 months for growth plate reasons.. in the 6 months all i got from my knee was alot of pain and when i tried to do anything my knee would give out causing me to tear my meniscus in 2 places... i saw no upside to delaying my surgery but in my case my acl was completly torn to pieces and had no chance to regrow

[pacelb50]

also about young boys not getting surgery until 18, i have played football with guys who have had acl recon as young as 12 and 13

[pacelb50]

sorry for having to reply so many times but i keep forgetting to put something in each time

when i first tore my acl and mcl i was told the mcl would heal but the acl wouldn't... the surgeon recomended that i go through PT and try to play with no acl and with a brace on, alot like jason white the oklahoma QB. unfortunatly, he did not tell me that it does not work as well for some people... for the 6 months i went through PT and was planning on playing this spring but early in the spring before we where in pads, i hit knee to knee with a another guy in linebacker drills and my knee gave out which resulted with me gettin surgery and my season being put on the line... hopefully through lots of pray and PT i will be playing this season

[hockeydad]

It has been several months since your post, what has your friend done with the childs ACL injury?  I only ask because my son just tore his ACL, age 10.  

[ATsoccergirl]

Look around for an OS that does a large number of ACL reconstructions per year.  If you IM me your location I should be able to locate an OS close to your area (if in the US).  

[allstardiva2005]

I had to wait for my ACL reconstruction for 2 years (i had partially tore it at the age of 13). However, many strong surgeons can now do it while avoiding the growth plates. How, I'm not sure- but one of my friends tore his ACL playing soccer at 13 and had surgery w/ the red wings, lions, & tigers surgeon- no problems since!

xoxo- Christy

[Gina Shaver]

My son tore his ACL completely when he was 10 and had a total pediatric ACL reconstructive surgery.This surgery was pioneered by Dr.Allen Anderson with TOA in Tennessee. People from all over the world come to him for this problem because it is SO unusual for a child to have this type of injury. This surgery actually goes around the growth plate as to not affect the leg growth. He is now 12 and last week tore his other ACL (in his other knee) by doing a simple layup. We are still in shock and cant believe we have to go through this again. We would not see anyone other than Dr. Anderson.

[Chase]

I tore my ACL when I was 11 years old and my doctor at the time had never seen someone so young tear their ACL.  I also had tore my patella tendon off the bone (so the knee cap kept popping in and out).  I had the Patella tendon fixed at 12 but the doctor told me that I would have to wait to get the ACL repaired because I was still growing.  I had the ACL repaired when I was 16 (I am now almost 28 and just tore my ACL graft and waiting to get it repaired again).
However, the doctor never suggested back then that I wear a brace and in between the time I was 12 and 16 I re-injured the knee 4 times and I also blew out my right ACL due to favoring my left leg.  So my suggestion would be that if your doctor does not want to do surgery, please make your son wear a brace until he is old enough to get it repaired to avoid re-injury or possible injury to the other knee due to favoring.

Good luck.