Collateral Ligaments and other non-cruciate tendons & ligaments around the knee :

ACL/LCL & meniscus I'm scared :( - - Posted by decibel (decibel), 3 October 2003

I'm 27 years old and I tore up my knee playing flag football (grrr).  I landed wrong (9/15/2003).  I had the MRI this monday and see the doc again 10/6/2003.  When I saw him the first time he did diagonse an ACL and LCL tear and possible mensisucs tear.  I'm pretty scared and I was wondering if I'll be able to play sports again if I'll loose strength etc?   I live in NC and I'm seeing the Doctors and Duke which seem to be pretty good.  Dr. Higgins (Duke basketball team physican knee specialist).  I have osgood-schlider (can't spell) on my knees so I don't know if he can use the patella or not but will he have to use multiple grafts for the individual tears.  ?  I'm just looking for some info on what to expect.


Thanks
Posted by amazonia (amazonia), 10 October 2003

Hi,

I feel bad that nobody has replied to your request, and although I probably can't answer all your questions, I hope at least to quell some fears.  The first thing is of course to ensure you have a good surgeon, if indeed surgery is necessary.  It sounds like you already have that base covered.  Obviously someone who understands and deals with multi ligament/ complex knee injuries and is experienced in fixing them is best!

I had a multi ligament injury in Jan '02 doing complete tears to the ACL/PCL and LCL (and posterior lateral corner), and have had 3 surgeries since.  So...a lot of damage, and a lot of repair and rehab needed.  My last surgery was reconstruction of the PCL and PLC which involved grafts - hamstring tendon for the LCL and an allograft for the PCL.  I still don't have an ACL, as I re-tore it 3 weeks prior to surgery.  However, it's now 4 mo's post surgery, and I'm walking around without much of a limp, and am able to workout, swim, go for walks etc.  I lost (through atrophy) a significant amount of muscle on my leg, and am working hard to rebuild the muscle with physio - but it takes time and a lot of work.  Even if I never get the ACL fixed, I should be able to resume a pretty active lifestyle - just no sports requiring quick turns or changes of direction.  SO...if you're getting the ACL and LCL fixed, and then work hard at physio to regain your strength, balance and flexion, then I would imagine you should be able to return to sports.  I'm no Doctor, and obviously your Dr. is the best one to answer that question for you, but if you keep a positive attitude, and do what the Dr. says in the way of rest and then physio - you should get a good result!  It's pretty amazing what they can fix these days!  My Dr. told me that even 30 years ago, an injury like mine resulted in amputation 50% of the time...which was a pretty sobering thought!

Good luck, and stay positive!  
Posted by decibel (decibel), 10 October 2003

Thanks for your reply!!

I saw the surgeon and I have a complete ACL tear and a I have a somewhat large LCL tear and a small PCL tear.  I have Physical Therapary for 3 weeks then see him again.   I'm sorry to hear about all your knee injures but you're keeping a good attitude (which I haven't had lately) but it does make me feel a little better to hear from someboy else.

Good luck with your recovery

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